An Italian spa expert’s nine insider recommendations for thermal spa experiences on the idyllic island of Ischia

Italian spa expert Raffaella Dallarda shares her favourite thermal spas in Ischia, from family-friendly Sorriso Thermae to the dolce vita time capsule Albergo della Regina Isabella.

Many may have first heard of Ischia through Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels, but Italians have long adored this verdant volcanic island in the Gulf of Naples for its spectacular sea views and the healing powers of its thermal springs.

Ischia’s mineral-charged thermal waters – terme – were discovered 3,000 years ago by the Ancient Greeks. The bubbling fonts quickly became famous for their restorative properties, said to heal infertility, rheumatism and all manners of skin conditions. A thriving island spa culture emerged, thanks in no small part to Ischia’s year-round mild climate and lush hiking trails.

Today, there are dozens of thermal spring experiences throughout Ischia – ranging from ultra-glam resorts to rugged natural bays. To uncover some of the best, we spoke to Italian spa industry insider Raffaella Dallarda, a holistic expert and spa guidebook writer who has visited every thermal spa in the country.

“I love Ischia,” said Dallarda. “In Italy we have more than 400 certified natural springs, but the kingdom of the natural springs in Italy is Ischia.”

That’s because Ischia’s waters receive an extra charge from the volcanic craters in the seas surrounding the island. “[It’s] called L’Isola Verde; the Green Island,” said Dallarda. “The volcanic ash nourishes the land. [And] the volcanic waters are hotter than waters in other places [in Italy]. They have more positive properties on joints, bones, arthritis, arthrosis.”

Just a short ferry ride from Naples, Ischia is the perfect escape for anyone who desires a laidback, truly restorative Italian spa experience. “A spa has a character,” said Dallarda. “Like a person, like a wine. [In Ischia], you can find terme for all needs.”

Here are Raffaella Dallarda’s picks for the most relaxing and spectacular spas on Ischia.

1. Best of the best: San Montano Resort & Spa

Of all the thermal spa experiences on Ischia, Dallarda cites the San Montano Resort & Spa as her all-time top pick. “Super elegant. Top. Chic… I simply adore it,” she said. “There’s this incredible 360-degree view of the bay. It feels like you’re floating in the sea, just surrounded by all these gorgeous thermal and sea water pools… and in the hotel everywhere there are those locally made ceramic floor tiles.”

The stately mountaintop five-star resort boasts various levels of luxury villas and suites plus the splendid Lemontano citrus grove. “Inside the grove they have these sunbeds, set up like it’s an outdoor spa,” explained Dallarda. “And they give you massages right there in the grove with all the lemons dangling above your head. It’s absolutely insane.” The San Montano Resort also has a traditional spa, offering medicinal thermal cures, volcanic mud treatments, hydromassage and balneotherapy, as well as indulgent face and body treatments.

After days full of pampering, guests can choose from three restaurants, all with jaw-dropping panoramic views of the sea and Mt Vesuvius. “You eat all day long. It’s like being on a cruise ship,” said Dallarda. “San Montano is the absolute best.”

2. Best for living out your dolce vita dreams: Albergo Della Regina Isabella

The classic film La Dolce Vita took place in 1960s Rome, but those three words will come to mind again and again at the Albergo Della Regina Isabella – a lavish five-star hotel founded in 1956 by celebrated publisher and film producer Angelo Rizzoli that has remained frozen in time.

“In the ’60s, during the ‘dolce vita period’, the families that participated in film festivals used Ischia as their summer house, ” said Dallarda. “All the celebs from Los Angeles like Bridgit Bardot… they were all guests in the gorgeous Rizzoli villa. It’s retained that vintage 1960s style. Iconic.”

Located in a quiet bay in the hamlet of Lacco Ameno, Albergo Della Regina Isabella stuns with its original brightly patterned tile floors, ornate furnishings and mesmerising sea views. “They have this private pier where everyone comes in with their yachts,” said Dallarda. “The view is total wow.”

The hotel’s thermal springs are classified as “hyper-mineral waters”, rich in salt, sulphates and bicarbonates, flowing at a temperature between 56C and 77C. Dallarda notes that the hotel’s spa is a bit of an anomaly – a high-grade clinical structure plopped amid vintage glamour. “It’s for health, not for wellness,” she explained. “Even the uniforms of the therapists… it’s very clinical.”

The spa specialises in mud therapy, utilising Ischia’s natural volcanic mud which, after a six-month maturation process, absorbs new microelements helpful for treating inflammation and improving blood circulation. And after top-notch clinical treatments, guests can return to the hotel, refreshed, and get ready for an Aperol Spritz at sunset. The sweet life, indeed.

3. Best for a romantic getaway: Mezzatorre Hotel & Thermal Spa

Dallarda’s pick for couples is the Mezzatorre Hotel & Thermal Spa in the village of Forio. “It’s gorgeous,” she said. “Romantic, prestigious, by the sea. It’s a castle with a tower. I was there for a wedding once – they lit up the tower with fireworks to make it look like an attack on the castle. It was amazing.”

The five-star hotel and thermal spa is housed in a red 16th-Century Aragonese watchtower, perched high up on a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Before becoming a luxury hotel in 2018, Mezzatorre was also an 18th-Century ducal palace, and in the 20th Century, the hub of a cultural circle that included renowned poets and film directors. “They do these open-air massages under the gazebos as you watch the yachts pass by. It’s a ‘wow’ place,” said Dallarda.

The luxe multi-level spa offers Kneipp pools, thalassotherapy, a Turkish bath, sauna services and sensory showers combining aromatherapy, steam, light and music, as well as mud and thermal treatments. “And [the spa] keeps getting better,” said Dallarda. “They’re now working with Biologique Recherche [skincare] so they’re getting more luxury with the treatments and the menu. And take note that it’s on a promontory – gorgeous view… it’s very romantic for couples.”

4. Best sustainable experience: Botania Relais & Spa

If even the Green Island isn’t green enough, head to the Botania Relais & Spa – Ischia’s luxury sustainable resort experience. “It’s the only [spa] that has a vegetarian and vegan restaurant on the island,” said Dallarda. “It got a Michelin Green star… They have this kitchen garden where you can go pick the tomatoes, the strawberries, and eat them.”

Botania Relais & Spa offers a 100% organic, sustainably produced menu prepared with homegrown ingredients. “If I had to give an award for the breakfast, they get it,” raved Dallarda. “Everything’s farm to table. Everything made fresh to order. I love their pancakes with avocado, with salmon, made with whole wheat flour!”

The sprawling grounds are situated in a botanic garden; a series of whitewashed deluxe cottages with modern ceramic tile flooring and tasteful colourful interior décor. Guests are free to explore the beautifully manicured English-inspired gardens before visiting the Garden Spa, where they’ll find hot and cold plunge pools and a steam shower housed in a beautiful natural grotto. They can then retire to the treatment rooms to indulge in expert massages and bespoke skin and body treatments.

“Friendly service, but high-standing and so unique,” said Dallarda. “It’s an experience. Like a journey. They’re amazing.”

5. Best for vintage Neapolitan glamour: Excelsior Belvedere Hotel & Spa

The island of Ischia has long attracted visits from its neighbours on the Neapolitan mainland, and Dallarda cites the Excelsior Belvedere Hotel & Spa in the bustling port zone of Ischia Porto as a magnet for scions of Neapolitan royalty.

“It’s frequented by high-class Neapolitans… the noble families,” she said of the 19th-Century aristocratic sea-view villa. “This place is traditional, elegant, with that traditional service. The location is top.”

Just a short distance from the lively Corso Vittoria Colonna shopping street and awe-inspiring Aragonese Castle, the Excelsior Belvedere enjoys sweeping views of the Gulf of Naples and its seemingly endless sky. The lobby and rooms are a time capsule of 1960s Italian island luxury – rich brocade drapery and colourful tiled floors – while the spa is a stunning seashell-shaped haven with marble statues and wall-to-wall mosaics. Guests can choose to bathe in the mineral-packed thermal waters, get slathered in therapeutic muds or choose from a long menu of beautifying, physiotherapy and massage treatments.

6. Best medical spa: Hotel Continental Ischia

As beautiful and relaxing as Ischia’s thermal spas may be, the island’s main wellness draw is the curative properties of its waters. Patients have been finding non-invasive relief for thousands of years thanks to its high mineral content, and the nutrient-rich properties of its mud. There are a number of medical spas on the island, run by highly trained medical doctors, and Dallarda’s pick is the Hotel Continental Ischia just 500m from Ischia Porto.

“[It] has a very interesting medical spa,” said Dallarda, “And is a favourite among Italian families who demand very Italian-centred services.”

Hotel Continental Ischia’s staff uses the reserve of thermal waters and mud found 39m beneath the property to treat ailments ranging from musculoskeletal diseases and post-accident traumas to respiratory concerns and vascular disorders. To benefit from an Italian medical spa’s treatments, visitors must undergo a medical pre-examination and commit to a treatment course.

7. Best for quality water treatments: Giardini Poseidon Terme

Crowd favourite Giardini Poseidon Terme – along with mountaintop wellness retreat Fonte delle Ninfe Nitrodi and botanical oasis Negombo – is many visitors’ first exposure to Ischia’s terme. At first glance, it’s easy to see why Giardini Poseidon Terme is so popular: its structure not only manages to blend country-club vibes with white-washed Italian island architecture, it’s also adjacent to a breathtaking strip of beach with craggy cliffs and sea views. But Dallarda likes Giardini Poseidon Terme for a far more practical reason: the quality of its waters. “[The health director] is very fanatic about research,” she said. “They are the best place [on Ischia] for balneotherapy… They have 20 pools and every night they clean the waters immaculately. So if you want to have a real, ultra-natural water therapy without any skin irritation, the only place is [Giardini Poseidon Terme].”

Giardini Poseidon Terme’s spa offers a full menu of wellness, physiotherapy, high-tech face and body aesthetic treatments as well as mud and thermal water-charged medical services. “The service is great,” said Dallarda. “If you’re looking strictly for glamour, it’s not the spa for you. But the service is terrific, the quality and the medical care is top. It’s a real thermal spa.”

8. Best for families: Sorriso Thermae Resort & Spa

Going to the terme in Italy is as much a family activity as it is a healthy or relaxing one, and Ischia’s idyllic island views and warm thermal waters lend themselves perfectly to a day with the kids. Dallarda’s pick is the Sorriso Thermae Resort & Spa in Forio. “It’s a little hard to get to – you have to cross the island to get there,” said Dallarda. “But it’s really family-oriented… [you see] grandparents with their grandchildren, families with kids, people who don’t want to spend too much.”

Sorriso Thermae Resort & Spa – sorriso means smile in Italian – has been making families happy since the 1960s, with its vintage Mediterranean-style tile-and-mosaic ornamented decor, grand ocean-front restaurant and beach-adjacent swimming pool. “There’s a really large spa,” said Dallarda. “[It’s] popular for its medical treatments. Even for its rejuvenating treatments; they’ve got the mud, all the thermal health cures. And they’re open all year round… For its quality-to-price ratio, it’s a good family destination.”

9. Best for those on a budget: Hotel Terme Tritone Resort & Spa

Unlike its neighbour Capri (where a thimbleful of espresso can run you upwards of €7 (£6.08), Ischia is known for being an island of the people; glamorous in landscape only. While there are indeed many posh resorts on the island, there are also excellent budget-friendly options, like Dallarda’s pick, Hotel Terme Tritone Resort & Spa. “[It’s] a four-star [hotel] in Forio with a great spa with great service,” said Dallarda. “[It’s] basically private residences with a British cottage feel and the English-inspired gardens are extremely well tended.”

The Hotel Terme Tritone Resort & Spa is a seaside resort with a private beach and seven outdoor seafront pools. Its lavish mosaic-tiled spa offers treatments including thermal baths, a mud shower and cryotherapy. Those in need of true pampering can try the hot stone therapy and advanced beauty treatments like tailor-made facials and LPG® endermologie®, while couples can enjoy romantic aromatherapy baths and massages.

“Not everyone can afford the Mezzatorre, the Regina Isabella or even the Sorriso. The Tritone is a good compromise where the spa is lovely and does a great job,” said Dallarda. “In my opinion, everyone has a right to wellness.”

BBC Travel’s The SpeciaList is a series of guides to popular and emerging destinations around the world, as seen through the eyes of local experts and tastemakers.