Swiss spa development makes a splash

51° Spa Residences is in the historic village of Leukerbad – on an ancient trade route – known since Roman-Helvetic times for its health-giving calcium and sulphate mineral waters (but without the smelly sulphur component). Over the centuries it has attracted any number of notable visitors that include Jules Verne, Mark Twain and James Baldwin, with the latter two having spent time there as unofficial writers in residence.

Leukerbad – 2.5 hours from Geneva in the canton of Valais – is a small enclave tucked away in a high valley well off the beaten track. It is also however Switzerland’s largest thermal resort by volume of water, with 3.9 million litres a day flowing at a constant 51° from only eight of its 65 natural springs, and is a Swiss Olympic training base and rehabilitation Centre.

Leukerbad’s fortunes nose-dived in the early 1990s following a Swiss financial downturn that impacted on the medical insurance industry. While medical rehabilitation cover was little affected, there was a dramatic cut back on accommodation cover. As a result, visitor numbers to Leukerbad dropped. Nowadays however, due to a surprisingly simple application of the resort’s spa water, the village is once again in the ascendency. 51° Spa Residences – a Geneva-based Swiss Development Group (SDG) project – is Leukerbad’s first international five-star development, which SDG hopes will put Leukerbad firmly back on the map.

Phase one of 51° Spa Residences features 10 massive one to four bedroom apartments with balconies and wrap-around terraces that sport one spa pool on the terrace and another in the master suite. Energy efficient and high tech, the development’s liberal use of reclaimed stone and timber pays homage to traditional Swiss chalet architecture.

Source: Telegraph.co.uk