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All Spain Aguas de Busot Spa
AO Edited

Aguas de Busot Spa

Once a spa resort, then a tuberculosis sanatorium, and now a crumbling ruin.

Aigües, Spain

Added By
Alan Newman
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  Jesús Alenda / CC BY 2.0
  Jesús Alenda / CC BY 2.0
  Dr Alan P Newman / Atlas Obscura User
  Dr Alan P Newman / Atlas Obscura User
Remains of mosaic floor at top of entrance steps   Dr Alan P Newman / Atlas Obscura User
  Dr Alan P Newman / Atlas Obscura User
  Jesús Alenda / CC BY 2.0
  Kasiber / Public Domain
The Spa in 1908   Guias Arco / Public Domain
  Pep Llanero Soloitari / CC BY-SA 3.0
View from the rear of the site.   Kasiber / Public Domain
  Kasiber / Public Domain
Aguas de Busot Spa   Xavixavir / Atlas Obscura User
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About

The former Aguas de Busot Spa was built in the 19th century near Aigües, Alicante, Spain. The spa was originally called the Hotel Miramar Winter Station by owner, designer, and Spanish aristocrat Senor Conde de Casa Rojas. The complex was located directly opposite the thermal springs that date back to the Roman period. A 1908 photograph of the hotel from the nearby hillside shows a large, open-air pool of spring-sourced water.

In the 19th century, the hotel operated as a treatment spa as well as a luxury hotel, featuring a casino and extensive hydrotherapy facilities, and earning a visit from the king and queen of Spain. During the Spanish Civil War, the hotel took on a new role. The building was converted into a sanatorium meant to cure tuberculosis in children.

The only building left standing today was built in 1816 by the engineer and architect Pedro García Faria. In 1989, a company called Prognosis acquired the building with the intention of restoring it. In 1993 the company signed an agreement with the local authority to develop the site with the construction of two hotels and a spa, but it never came to fruition, and the crumbling building is now supported by steelwork. The once regal spa now attracts graffiti taggers, artists, and urban explorers. 

Related Tags

Health Resorts Architecture Graffiti Pools

Know Before You Go

Currently access to the interior is not permitted and the site is surrounded by a chain link fence. However, it is possible to get a good feel for the site from outside the perimeter. 

Community Contributors

Added By

Dr Alan P Newman

Edited By

Xavixavir

  • Xavixavir

Published

June 24, 2024

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Aguas de Busot Spa
32 C. Bonavista
Aigües, 03569
Spain
38.506349, -0.369691
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