Italian Hospitality Collection is delighted to announce that Grotta Giusti, Tuscany, has been voted the World’s Best Thermal Grotto Spa at the prestigious World Spa Awards 2017.

Grotta Giusti, the historic Tuscan spa retreat, is home to an ancient Grotto – a millennial thermal cave and a thermal underground hot spring lake – which famed composer, Giuseppe Verdi, regarded as “the eighth wonder of the world”.

The expert team at Grotta Giusti believe that the therapeutic side of wellness is paramount; the medical staff specialise in diverse techniques including diet, hydrology, dermatology and aesthetic medicine.

The spa was founded on a firm belief in Salus Per Aquam - health by water - utilising the therapeutic properties of the hot spring water and vapours to offer a ‘Spa’ in the true meaning of the word.

The jewel in the hotel’s crown, the Grotto is divided into three distinct areas; Heaven, Purgatory and Hell, which allows guests to experience different temperatures, ranging between 28°C to 34°C, and the therapeutic effects of the thermal vapours in a wellness circuit that lasts around 50 minutes.

The water running through the Grotto is rich in salt, sulphate, and alkaline earth and comes out of the ground at around 34°C.

Its vapours generate a steam bath that provides effective treatment for respiratory, circulatory, osteo-muscular, nervous, and skin complaints.

In the underground hot spring lake, guests can opt to have soothing floating therapy, a deeply relaxing and highly effective treatment for relieving pain and combatting stress.

The spa also uses mud baths, inhalations, sprays and aerosol treatments all of which incorporate thermal water and mud from the Grotto.

Grotta Giusti is the only hotel in the world to have an underground thermal cave and lake that you can scuba dive in and there is no experience quite like diving into its warm, thermal waters.

The interiors of the cave both above and under water are decorated with stalactite and stalagmite formations, and feature several underground labyrinths with spacious caverns.

With a decadent history as the 19th century former home of famed poet Giuseppe Giusti, Grotta Giusti is now a prestigious hotel that has maintained its historical air and natural charm with a backdrop of antique furnishings and paintings.

As well as the private underground thermal cave and lake, the hotel offers 64 lavish rooms with marble bathrooms, an outdoor thermal swimming pool and a large summer pool in the garden.