Discovering Hot Springs of San Miguel De Allende – Mexico’s Jewel
San Miguel De Allende has some of the best hot springs in Mexico. This article provides an overview of the hot springs spas situated just north-west of San Miguel de Allende, close to the municipality of Atotonillco. These spas offer a selection of excellent swimming pools to enjoy the traditional thermal hot springs, which are sourced from the riveria laja and are known as “agua terminales” (translates to hot springs). We planned an anniversary detour away from San Miguel to soak our travel worn bodies at several properties. We take you through our thoughts as we experience the Charming Luxury of The Mayan Baths, The romantic hideaway of Nirvana Retreat, the movie set whimsy of La Gruta or under the warm waterfall at Escondido place.
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The sun has far more ground to stretch freely when outside the colonial walls of San Miguel de Allende. We are on our way to Atotonilco, a miniature town known for its severely devout population of Catholics that worship at the Sanctuary of Chapel, the Sanctuary was built with intention of employing the thermal waters that spring from the Rivera Laja.
After being named a Unesco world heritage site in 1982, those springs are now diverted from the church as the humidity was damaging the hundreds of fresco murals that tattoo its walls.
Over the last decade, San Miguel de Allende has continues to snowball in the minds of travelers looking for the perfect Mexican getaway where a beach resort is nowhere in site. Lucky for us, some of the most beautiful hot springs in Mexico are easily accessible.
As such, the trickle of tourist cash has reached the outskirts of town as noticed by a row of construction signs from the likes of Hilton lining large properties off the freeway before the main SMA exit.
Thats coming Northwest from Queretero, the nearest million plus city. On the way out of San Miguel, driving along the Silver Road towards Hildago and Guanajuato City, development is a bit sleepier but not nonexistent. The high desert planes that are spotted with mesquite and dozens of small settlements eventually lead to Atotonilco, its Sanctuary and its healing thermal springs.
We have a three day detour from SMA to explore a few of the operations that are built around the thermal springs and the small outcropping of healers and body work specialists that call this little town outside SMA, home.
Tonight was our anniversary and our intention was to leave the colonel bustle of SMA for a night of recuperation for our bodies and a chance to focus on each other instead of the baroque glory of SMA….Our first two spots are family run and small but upscale enough to offer a variety of services.
Agua Terminales
Central Mexico is a region notorious for its agua terminales, hot springs which have been used in Mexico for centuries by indigenous peoples for their therapeutic properties. Today, the tradition of soaking in these natural thermal waters continues, with numerous options available throughout the area. One such location Mexico Hot Springs location is San Miguel De Allende, a popular destination for both tourists and expats seeking to escape the hustle and bustle of city life. Here, visitors can indulge in the healing powers of these natural hot springs, ranging from luxurious spas to rustic outdoor pools and everything in between. In this article, we will explore the history of hot springs in central Mexico and highlight some of the modern options available for destinations for chronic pain management near San Miguel De Allende.
Starting with the most photogenic of the lot, the Mayan Baths is a small, family-run hot spring resort we stopped at on our way to our night at the Hotel Nirvana. The Mayan Baths focus on being a destination for adults to unwind. There are no slides or fountains for children to play in. In fact the pools are quite sparse but infinitely photogenic. The main corridor of thermal water feels as if on his wading through a small flooded alleyway in ancient Rome. Entering the main pool through the brick laid arched corridor allows one to ease into the relaxation ahead.
The natural setting offers a variety of pools, as well as a restaurant and bar.
The pools at The Mayan Baths are fed by natural hot springs and range in temperature from warm to almost hot. There is also a large pool with a waterfall, as well as a children’s pool that was nearly empty.
We treated ourselves to mojitos and a proper wade through the various pools but ultimately, none of them were hot enough to penetrate our muscles and provide the relaxation that comes with hot water. Still the Maya Baths offer a sense of adult oriented luxury La Gruta definitely does not. One thing about Hot Springs in Mexico is that they are not always hot.
The Mayan Baths are well worth a stop by if you are in the area say or if you want to unwind from a hike but I’m afraid that travelers looking to make a full day trip from San Miguel to visit the Mayan Baths might be disappointed by temperature of the pools. There are additional spa services so available like massage to help ease tension. So at leasst make sure and tour the Santuario de Jesús Nazareno de Atotonilco.
We found it to be charming and even a little luxurious without being drastic in either direction, still, a hot pool would be ideal, even if it was a jacuzzi fed by the thermal waters like at St. Martins in Washington state.
That said, if we lived in San Miguel de Allende (as we often talked about during our time there) we would most likely visit the Mayan Baths regularly for our healing water kick.
Website: The Mayan Baths
Cost:
Address: Camino Hacia Xote A solo 10 Minutos del Centro, 37880 San Miguel de Allende, Gto., Mexico
Hours:
Closed Monday – Thursday, Call for Friday Hours
Saturday 10 AM–7 PM
Sunday 10 AM–7 PM
Phone: +52 415 101 0045
I had booked a room at another family run resort that was on the other side of the highway, a little closer to Atotonilco… Hotel Nirvana started as a restaurant in San Miguel de Allende 25 years ago and moved into a beautiful property that overlooks the Riveria Laja in 2008. They have several good sized duplex bungalows with balconies and two full cabins with their own in room tubs that run thermal waters. Their kidney bean pool is large enough for all the guests to enjoy and is fed by warm thermal springs, that spray from a mini cave you can swim through. The water is warm, just above body temperature, not quite hot enough for therapeutic soaking.
It was our anniversary night and as such, I had called in and upgraded to the romantic package.
This included a couple’s massage followed by an off menu dinner featuring locally raised grass fed ribeye steaks. The massages were set in its own building where the focus was healing and body work and complimentary yoga classes. The massages were aromatic, oil based, and full body. My wife and I agreed the technique was focused on relaxation and perhaps to get us “in the mood” a bit.
After a quick shower and a change of clothes, we were escorted passed the other diners off to the side of the main restaurant, down a dimly lit winding staircase that ended in a small landing surrounded by palm trees. There, we were greeted by a single candle lit table encompassed by rope lights and hanging lanterns.
The dinner service was lovely, paired with local wine and punctuated by an out-of-this world tres de leche cake prepared following the owner’s family recipe. Secluded on our little perch overlooking the dark gully that descended into the Riveria Laja was about as romantic as we could have hoped for. The extra mile service made our momentary stay at the Hotel Nirvana property a indelible memory and a highlight of the whole trip. We could have splurged for a 5 star meal at The Restaurant, an trendy SMA place run by chef Donnie Masterson, or a room at the ritzy Rosewood – but the decision to leave town and spend it recuperating, feeding our bodies with nourishment of all kinds was one of the best decisions of our entire SMA trip.
I find the most difficult part of this kind of decision is the giving myself the permission of a body- focused detour. I admit as an enthusiastic traveler, I harbor the urge to cram a trip with as much adventure and stimulation as humanly possible, as such, these adjustment do not come naturally.
There was still dozens of sites to conquer around San Miguel and certainly with this type of detour, we would be forced to skip a few. However, I was now a traveler that lived with chronic pain, my wife and I had to learn to give ourselves these breaks so my body could spend time healing, knowing that I would inevitably be inflaming my back again soon, this hot springs detour to Atotonilco, Mexico would provide me with the ability to enjoy the rest of the trip more completely.
Address: Camino Antigua Via, del Ferrocarril 21, Cortijo, 37893 San Miguel de Allende, Gto., Mexico
Grounds Open Daily to Guests
Restaurant Open daily to everyone.
Phone: +52 415 185 2194
Marcos, the owner of Nirvana was kind enough to drive us over to La Gruta (translated: The Grotto) after the complimentary mole chiliquita breakfast. He warned us that an early Saturday afternoon was not the best time to go if you don’t have kids and he was spot on with that observation.
La Gruta Spa is clearly the most popular hot spring park in the San Miguel de Allende, Mexico area and has the largest grounds. This is a benefit because it has the most access to the original thermal springs meaning the hot pools are close to the source and are great for therapeutic soaking. However, this park is huge and its target audience is clearly large families. There are 10 different pools of varying size and temperature but sot of them seem geared to small children. The three hot pools near the main cave were slammed with adults and teenagers alike.
This doesn’t mean La Gruta didn’t have its strengths.
The hottest thermal water source is found in its underground cave pool. This pool is filled with hot, mineral-rich water and is surrounded by faux stalactites and stalagmites built like a movie set or amusement park ride. I love stuff like this. The journey through the small blue tunnel is wide enough for two people, the thick humidity of the air slowly encompasses you as you make your way to the main cave.
The main cave is huge. It’s a blast to watch the people come in and out of the cave as the echo of their conversations reverberate into nothing. Time Lapse Video below.
La Gruta Spa is the most popular hot spring resorts in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. It offers a variety of thermal pools, as well as massages and other spa treatments.
It was hard to relax with hundreds of kids running around and as the park filled up, we found ourselves wishing we had perhaps switched days with the Mayan Baths. There are picnic grounds, a snack shop and a full service restaurant that was serving up some pretty good looking BBQ.
We were thinking…a late night soak with a sparsely filled park would be the perfect time for La Gruta ? Well, La Gruta closes at 5pm. This could be the best choice for a full day trip from SMA as there are loads of pools, services, steam rooms, etc…
Website: La Gruta
Cost: $250 MXN /per person
Address: A Dolores Hidalgo km 10, 37893 El Cortijo, Gto., Mexico
Hours:
Friday 7 AM–5 PM
Saturday 7 AM–5 PM
Sunday 7 AM–5 PM
Monday Closed
Tuesday Closed
Wednesday 7 AM–5 PM
Thursday 7 AM–5 PM
Phone: +52 415 185 2162
The entrance to Escondido Place and its adjacent sister property, the Lila Hotel is hard to miss with the massive sign being three times as tall as anything else for miles. The hot spring area is free for all guests of the hotel to visit and a short walk. It is open to the public from 8-5 daily for a fee of $250 MXN. It is set in a beautiful natural setting and offers a variety of pools, as well as a restaurant, bar, and spa.
The pools at Escondido Place are fed by natural hot springs and range in temperature from warm to really warm.
There is also a large pool with a waterfall, as well as a children’s pool. Its somewhere in the middle of La Gruta’s family friendly water park atmosphere and the chill adult vibes of the Mayan Bathes.
Unfortunately, being in the middle left us luke warm. The lack of a hot pool , again, had us disappointed, there was quite a few children but the park wasn’t bug enough to be able to seclude ourselves in a corner of the pool away from the decidedly unrelaxing screeches and scrawls of kids playing in the pools. Kids also means urine, lots of urine, and I just couldn’t get it out of my head because the temperature of the pool was that of urine.
The rooms in the hotel were decent, dressed in simple country white with matching decor and a few even had small in room jacuzzis in the them.
Ultimately, we decided to head back to SMA instead of staying at Lila, knowing we would not be felling the need to revisit Escondido.
Escondido Place might be a great place for a family to relax and escape the hustle and bustle of Las Gruta’s and it seems to be a popular destination for families with children.
For us, because it was right in the middle of everything from temperature to price, it was not for us. We ended up getting a table at The Restaurant that night at a wonderful two top right in front of a rose pedal filled fountain continuing our excellent streak of romantic dinners.
Website: Escondido Place
Cost: $250 MXN
Address: San Miguel de Allende – Dolores Hidalgo, 37700 San Miguel de Allende, Gto., Mexico
Hours:
Friday 8 AM–5 PM
Saturday 8 AM–5 PM
Sunday 8 AM–5 PM
Monday 8 AM–5 PM
Tuesday 8 AM–5 PM
Wednesday 8 AM–5 PM
Thursday 8 AM–5 PM
Phone: +52 415 185 2022
Parque Acuatico Xote
A park we didn’t visit was Parque Acuatico Xote, a water park located close to the Mayan Baths.
This might not be the best choice for hot springs near san miguel de allende, however, it looks like a great place for families with children and offers a variety of water slides, pools, and other attractions. The water slides at Parque Acuatico Xote are some of the tallest and fastest in Mexico. There are also several pools for swimming, as well as a lazy river and a children’s water park. Parque Acuatico Xote is a great place to cool off on a hot day. It is also a popular destination for families looking for a fun and affordable day out.
Website: XOTE
Cost: $220 MXN
Address: Carretera San Miguel A Dolores Hidalgo km 5.5 Xote, 37880 San Miguel de Allende, Gto., Mexico
Hours:
Friday 9 AM–6 PM
Saturday 9 AM–6 PM
Sunday 9 AM–6 PM
Monday 9 AM–6 PM
Tuesday 9 AM–6 PM
Wednesday 9 AM–6 PM
Thursday 9 AM–6 PM
Phone: +52 415 155 8330