Aqua Dome

“Not really the classy place it wants to be, but still interesting and fun!”

We stayed at the Aqua Dome in Langenfeld, Austria, August 4th & 5th, 2023. In approaching the Aqua Dome complex you first come to the rectangular hotel building. There were 2 underground parking lots here: one for day guests, and a lot directly beneath the building for hotel guests. Since a wr... more

We stayed at the Aqua Dome in Langenfeld, Austria, August 4th & 5th, 2023. In approaching the Aqua Dome complex you first come to the rectangular hotel building. There were 2 underground parking lots here: one for day guests, and a lot directly beneath the building for hotel guests. Since a wristband is required for everything, including access to hotel parking, checking-in comes first. The hotel lobby was spacious, with a beautiful bar area and dining rooms behind it. We were offered a welcome drink and received our wristbands. Throughout our stay we found all staff to be exceedingly friendly and helpful (and English-speaking). And they really seemed to enjoy working at the Aqua Dome. Our reservation was for an “Anzeit” Double Room. We opened the door and were immediately disappointed. The Aqua Dome promotes itself as a place of luxury and elegance, but the room was neither. We later encountered an Aqua Dome review on a honeymoon travel website that indicated we weren’t alone in our impression. It reads, “We expected the bedroom to be finer. While our room was clean and comfortable, it didn’t seem like a 4-star bedroom.” We looked online at room photos too, and realized that many nicer rooms existed. Perhaps we made a poor choice and should have upgraded. The hotel had kindly honored our request for an upper floor with a meadow (south) view. Unfortunately, the view was over a construction site. Luckily, during our stay the big crane outside our deck was not in use. The room decor was what you’d call “functional” and the furniture a little mismatched. Two chairs were pulled up right to the edge of a small table, making them unusable. Perhaps this was to make the room seem roomier? On the plus side, there were extra blankets in the closet and a mattress pad could be procured if the bed seemed too hard. The hotel also has a pillow menu from which you can choose your own filling. The room had a safe and a mini-fridge, which was replenished daily with free non-alcoholic beverages. Fresh fruit on arrival was also promised. This turned out to be two apples, both soft and mealy to the point of being rotten. Later we saw more over-ripe apples on the maid’s cart and guessed this was normal. Apparently, their idea of “fresh” isn’t the same as ours. The bathroom was compact, but very nice, with a towel warmer, a toilet behind a sliding door, and heated floor. There was a hair dryer, close-up mirror and nice toiletries. For spa use, a bag with towels, robes and slippers was also supplied. DINING Breakfast was included in the room rate. A table in the dining room was already set aside specifically for us, something that’s done for everybody for all meals, though the table location varies. Breakfast was an impressive buffet offering a huge selection, including made-to-order omelets, etc. Service was efficient and friendly. Lunch is not included in the hotel rate and there is no lunch served in the hotel restaurant. That is probably because they assume guests would be either at the spa (which has its own restaurant where meals can be purchased) or out doing some other activity during the day. We discovered the hotel bar served snacks though, and had a very good grilled cheese sandwich with fries. Dinner was also included in the room rate. There was a silly dress code (“wear only sporty, elegant clothing”) and, like at breakfast, a table was already set aside for us. The menu was a mix of buffet items and served items. Salads, soups and desserts are buffet style, while entrees are chosen from a short menu and served. The buffet stations are spread out, with ample choices, and the noise of plates and silverware and people bustling about reminded us more of an American cafeteria than the elegant dining experience the hotel thinks it provides. The kids at the next table throwing food didn’t help. For some reason, entrees with meat were easy to visualize, like “Penne pasta with bacon and heavy cream” while vegetarian entrees were simply bizarre: “Creme Bruée of Goat Cheese with Turnip & Lingonberry” or “Essence of Beetroot with Apple & Focaccia.” The first was not bad, but the second was awful and had us visiting the bathroom a lot that night. For our 2nd dinner we skipped the entrees and filled up at the buffets instead. The evening’s dinner menu is conveniently printed in a little newspaper available each morning, which also includes programs and activities. There is a lot to do at the Aqua Dome, and much of it takes place in the big, strikingly-designed structure adjacent to the hotel. THERMAL The most famous thermal feature of Aqua Dome must be the 3 outdoor “basin” pools that show up in all advertising. This excited us the most and from windows in the hotel corridors we could see how popular they were. On Friday nights these pools are open until midnight, with the last hour for hotel guests only. To us that seemed rather meager. Around 10:30 the pools were emptying out and it seemed very few hotel guests were waiting around until 11pm to use them exclusively. Hotel guests also get the pools to themselves each morning for 2 hours before the paying guests arrive at 9AM. We had read a review online that mentioned these nights seemed to attract over-amorous young couples, and we found that to be true! The warm water and colored lights seemed to have attracted every horny teenager within 100 miles who treated it as a date night. Although it really didn’t ruin our evening, it did seem like we were at someone’s private pool party. Each of the 3 basins has a different focus: saltwater, whirlpool, sulfur massage. The water is regularly refreshed and each is a slightly different temperature. None were as hot as expected, but since you should only stay in hot water for a short time, it was probably better these were a bit cooler to allow for lingering. The Aqua Dome prides itself on being family-friendly, so that should be taken into account by any potential guests seeking solitude. Kids under 15 have their own play area and can use some adult facilities during certain hours. Those over 15 can use any adult facility, including those that are textile-free (nude). The thermal basins are the main destinations though, and they can get rowdy even from 15-year olds. The hotel has its own tunnel linking it with the thermal features and Sauna World. You are expected to wear the provided robes and slippers and carry the provided towels, with a swimsuit underneath. Each feature has a clothes rack nearby where you can leave your belongings, and your swimwear if it is textile-free (nude). Even then, you can keep your towel wrapped around you, even sit in it, so total nudity isn’t required unless you enter a pool. Sauna World includes an impressive array of saunas, steam rooms, showers, solariums, and special rooms like the ice grotto. It’s all textile-free (nude) and open to hotel guests and the paying public 15 years and older. We thought it had a confusing layout, even with maps on the walls. Some features we never found, and others seemed tucked in a corner or down a short stairway and we came across them unexpectedly. Some were interesting, others not so. This trail of discovery was not a bad thing, but the rush of people moving around trying to experience everything made the whole place more of an amusement park than a relaxing spa. Sauna World has a separate area just for hotel guests (and paying guests with a special pass) called “Spa 3000.” It’s on 2 levels and includes the moss pool, mineral shower, salt room and steam dome. Parts are textile-free, others not. Our favorite spot was the Langenfeld Basins, four outdoor soaking tubs on a private balcony with a view. There are fewer features here than in Sauna World, but Spa 3000 is stylish and handsomely-designed and is probably the only area that could be considered truly fancy. It is less crowded than Sauna World too, so hotel guests seeking solitude should head to Spa 3000. Aqua Dome also offers many other health treatments, usually for a fee, like yoga, massages and other beauty treatments. There’s a gym and hair salon too. Outdoor activities and special events are listed in the daily newspaper and show a commitment to the community and to health and fitness in general. Daily hikes, trail-running, cycling, are all offered as activities outside the property. Overall, we enjoyed our stay at the Aqua Dome and acknowledge that we did not have enough time to fully experience it. Apart from the Spa 3000 area, we did not find it especially luxurious or elegant, and think they should drop those descriptions and perhaps advertise family fun instead. Because of the sheer number of things to do, we highly recommend that potential guests study the Aqua Dome website and learn about as much as possible before arriving, so valuable time is not wasted doing that once there. Because of nudity and other privacy concerns, Aqua Dome restricts the taking of photo to specific spots, which are easily found online. Thus the 10 photos we added show mostly our room.

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“Honeymoon”

We are staying in Aqua Dome until the 14th of September. We asked Tui a few times if it's communicated correctly that this trip is our honeymoon. We married the 2nd of September. When we checked in, the receptionist didn't know it's our honeymoon en she called someone to fix it. When we arrived a... more

We are staying in Aqua Dome until the 14th of September. We asked Tui a few times if it's communicated correctly that this trip is our honeymoon. We married the 2nd of September. When we checked in, the receptionist didn't know it's our honeymoon en she called someone to fix it. When we arrived at our room there was some chocolate on our bed. But further nothing... We met a couple who married also the same day of us en they had a bottle prosecco and their table was decorated the first evening.. We were disappointed that we didn't get what they get. Also we would like to leave the last day at 4 am in the morning en we would like to have a lunch package because we can't eat breakfast that morning. They say it's not included.. We pay for breakfast we can't eat and we should pay extra for a lunch package? That's not very costumer friendly... The spa is amazing en everybody is very kind. Also the food is delicious! We would like to come back next year.

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