Terme Preistoriche Resort & Spa

What to expect

Montegrotto Terme and its neighbour Abano Terme sit at the foot of the Euganean Hills, south-west of Padua, on top of one of Europe’s biggest thermal basins. Almost every hotel in the two towns has its own well. That is the main thing to know about the area: the “terme” here are mostly hotels with private thermal pools, not stand-alone public baths, and many open their pools to day visitors by booking.

Terme Preistoriche is one of the older ones. The hotel says its founder, Agostino Braggion, helped set up the municipality of Montegrotto at the start of the 20th century, and his descendants, the Stoppato family, still run it. The name nods to the long human history of the Euganean Hills rather than to anything prehistoric in the pools. The building is a classic spa hotel set in a 50,000 square metre (12.4 acre) park on Via Castello, with a restaurant by the pool and a modern spa wing called Nero Spa.

The water

This is real thermal water, not heated tap water. The resort says it falls as rain in the Monti Lessini, in the pre-Alps near Vicenza, sinks into limestone 2,000 to 3,000 m down and travels up to 80 km before it rises at about 185°F85°C. It is classed as hyperthermal, with salt, bromine and iodine. For the pools it is cooled to 91-97°F33-36°C, and treatment baths run at 97-100°F36-38°C. The neighbouring Hotel Millepini describes the same pattern across the district: each hotel’s spring comes up at around 176°F80°C and is cooled for bathing, with the spare heat used to warm the buildings.

The pools

There are four thermal pools, two indoor and two outdoor, with 780 square metres of water in total.

• Chalet pools: one indoor and one outdoor pool linked together. These are the pools day guests use, open 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
• Panoramic pools: another indoor-outdoor pair, kept at 93-97°F34-36°C. They are for hotel guests until 7 p.m.

The Nero Spa adds a water path with saunas, steam rooms and showers, plus massages and fango. On Tuesday evenings from 6 p.m. (except June 1 to October 30 and December 25 to January 10), a “Nordic Tuesday” opens the saunas textile-free, with Aufguss sessions. A private spa suite with its own whirlpool, sauna and steam bath can be booked for couples.

Prices and booking

The resort does not publish day spa prices on its pages. You see them only in the online booking system, and they change with the day and time. In 2026 it added half-day “Nero Spa retreats” that bundle the water path, a ritual, pool access and a meal, plus a Sunday breakfast-and-spa package and an e-bike-and-spa day.

The rules that matter:

• Booking online is compulsory, with a credit card as guarantee. Arriving without a booking does not guarantee entry.
• At weekends, on long weekends and on holidays only packages with more than one service are sold.
• Arrive 15 minutes before your slot. Cancel at least 24 hours ahead to avoid a charge.
• Every entry includes a spa kit with bathrobe and towel. Bring your own flip-flops. Swim caps are optional.
• Fango (mud) treatments need a medical check first, which costs €45. The resort’s DOC mud is matured on site.

If you are coming for a cure rather than a swim, Italy’s national health service covers one thermal cycle a year of up to 12 days with a regional prescription, with a €55 co-payment for ages 6 to 65 (see the Terme di Pejo listing for how that works). The resort’s pages do not say whether it takes SSN prescriptions, so ask before you book.

Getting there

Montegrotto Terme is south-west of Padua.

• By car: Leave the A13 Bologna to Padua motorway at the Terme Euganee exit, or the A4 at Padova Ovest, and follow signs for Montegrotto Terme. The hotel is at Via Castello 5, in the Mandria area on the north side of town.
• By train: The nearest station is Terme Euganee Abano-Montegrotto,, served by regional trains from Padua. From the station it is a short taxi ride.
• By bike: A flat cycle path runs along the Battaglia canal from Padua, and the E2 ring route circles the Euganean Hills for about 60 km (37 miles).

When to go

The area is busiest in the spring and autumn cure seasons and on winter weekends, when people drive out from Padua and Venice. Weekend bookings come as packages only, so a weekday is cheaper and calmer. Autumn and winter evenings are the classic time for the outdoor pool: the water is hot, the air is cold and the late closing lets you stay into the night. Bear in mind the 16+ rule for day guests from October to March.

Pools or areas can close for bad weather, private events or maintenance without a refund, and events such as the Nero Festival or Jazz by the Pool change the hours.

Rules and etiquette

• Swimsuits in the pools. The Nordic Tuesday saunas are textile-free.
• Long hair tied up. Follow lifeguards’ instructions.
• Children under supervision, swim nappies for babies, armbands advised for weak swimmers.
• Mobile phones on silent. Keep voices down.
• One entry and one exit per ticket each day.
• Dogs on a lead in the park, never indoors or in the spa.

Where to stay nearby

The resort is a hotel, and overnight guests get the Panoramic pools all day. Montegrotto and Abano have dozens of thermal hotels with their own pools, most offering half board. Padua is the nearest city, with cheaper rooms and fast trains.

Safety notes

• Pools at 97°F36°C are hot for long soaks. Take breaks, drink water and get out if you feel light-headed.
• If you have heart or circulation problems, check with a doctor before mud or hot baths. The resort requires a medical check for fango.
• Floors around the outdoor pools can freeze on winter nights. Walk, do not run.

Nearby stops worth adding

Y-40 The Deep Joy, a 42 m deep diving pool filled with the same Euganean thermal water, is about 1.3 km (0.8 miles) south on Via Catajo. You can watch the divers for free from its underwater tunnel. In the hills, Castello del Catajo, Arquà Petrarca and the walled towns of Monselice and Este are all within easy cycling or driving distance. Montegrotto also has excavated Roman bath remains in the town centre.