Erding or Baden Baden? Which spa is best?

Which is better, NYC or LA?

They are completely different.

I have been to both, and many others in Germany, Netherlands and Belgium.

The town of Baden Baden has been built around the whole spa scene for a long time. The hotels are, to a large degree, from the age of the Belle Epoque, and many are quite fancy. Then again, there is a Holiday Inn Express out near the station.

The two different spa experiences at Baden Baden are also very different. I have only done the free flow one, and liked it very much, but I actually prefer Freiburg im Breisgau for my Black Forest spa time. I like a good current and other water toys more than in Baden Baden.

Erding is another story altogether. I like it very much and it is great fun. I wasn't there long enough and will certainly return. It wasn't a spa until very very recently when the spa water was "suddenly" discovered. I saw the demonstration that they have of the spa quelle (source) but I have to say that I am a bit dubious about their water, but it doesn't detract from my experience.

I loved it there, there are so many choices, and I never even had a change to get to saunaworld after 3 hours in the pools. I could probably spend nearly a whole day there quite happily. But, never having experienced the saunaworld like I have the others I can speak on it. And, it is so very close to Munich and so easy to get to.

I actually think my favourite saunaworld is at Thermae 2000 in the Netherlands near Maastricht and Aachen.

A lot will depend on what you want to get out of the experience, john.

I'm sure Tom will be here shortly to cast his vote for Erding. I'd also vote for Erding due to your proximity to Munich. Outside of spas and casinos there isn't much else on Baden Baden compared to the greater Munich area.

DJ

Am I that predictable? Probably...

I could probably spend nearly a whole day there quite happily. I have several times, and when I move back to Germany next year, I will probably spend many more days at Therme Erding. One of the best... hell, I'll just go out on a limb and call it "the best" without having ever visited the baths in Baden-Baden...

... Speaking of which... as pleasant as Baden-Baden might be, it's somewhat unremarkable among the several dozen officially designated spa towns in Germany (ie, Aachen, Wiesbaden, Bad Kissingen, Bad Neuenahr, Bad Tolz, Badenweiler, Bad Dürkheim, Bad Homburg, etc). So, don't look at it as a question of "Baden-Baden vs. Erding", look at it as a choice between many different thermal options.

I will say this, however. Whereas the baths in Baden-Baden are well-integrated into the center of the town, Therme Erding is a giant complex that sits in the middle of pastureland well outside Erding's pleasant little Altstadt. If you wanted to shop, dine or stroll after your spa experience in Baden-Baden (or any other German spa town), you simply step outside the door. Therme Erding has several restaurants, bars and even a hotel shaped like a ship-of-the-line , but as noted, it's a self-contained resort that sits off by itself. You're a captive audience once you check in.

Hmm, I wonder when Erding officially becomes "Bad Erding"?

Here's a vote for Therme Bad Wörishofen in Unterallgäu, an hour's train ride west of Munich. TBW is more-or-less a quieter, less-crowded 2/3-scale version of Therme Erding, which is owned by the same parent company. Bad Wörishofen itself has long been known as a spa town, with many of the resorts in town offering the hydrotherapy techniques pioneered in Bad Wörishofen in the 19th Century by Fr. Sebastian Kniepp, one of the founders of the naturopathic medicine movement.

I have been in a number of German spas or Thermen, all in the Black Forest. Of all of them, my favorite is the Palais-Therme in Bad Wildbad. The original Therme was built in the 19th century by a Duke as his private spa. It's beautiful, with a tiled Moorish decor - warm pools and saunas. Recently they have added a rooftop infinity pool.

As the self-appointed apologist for Baden-Baden, it's a lovely city with two different but delightful spas. The pictures of the Palais-Therme in Bad Wildbad reveal a great spa...and apparently only trim folks utilize it, unlike the ones in Baden-Baden where seemingly men are required to have huge beer bellies.