Kalev Spa Hotel & Waterpark

Old Town in walking distance

Spa is not exactly the first word that sprung to mind, when we first entered Kalev Spa Hotel. It is probably due to the fact, that we'd never been at a spa hotel before. We were hoping for soft white tranquillity, but instead it is brown busy concrete. But as hotel rates go this was a fair deal.
The water park in connection with the hotel is the local swimming bath, so if you want to use the jacuzzi and other facilities in there, be prepared to share with noisy families. As in any swimming bath, a shower is required before entering. However the shower room is not divided into seperate cubicles, so if you are very self-conscious, this is not the place to be.
We'd booked flight and hotel as a package, so all meals and a certain amount of spa-treatments were included.
The hotel offers a vast variety of treatments, sadly only a very few were available during our stay. So make sure to book the ones you want in advance.
The dining room was glum and the only view was the swimming bath. The meals were all buffets and the food was very plain and I suspect rather fattening. Not quite what one expects from a spa hotel kitchen. Not that it matters much, we like to explore different local restaurants, when we travel, so we would probably not have eaten there much anyway.
On the positive side the hotel and the room were nice, modern and clean. Wireless Internet connection is available. Only trouble was that the power sockets only allow two legged plugs and our power cable has three. But without any hassle the staff in reception sent for a usable cable.
The receptionists speak English and they were all very friendly and as established above extremely helpful. The treatments we were able to book after all seemed professional; only don't expect any chitchat with the staff performing the treatments.
There's a supermarket very close, so you can stock bottled water in the room fridge. Quite handy since tap water in Tallinn is not recommended for drinking.

Unique Quality: Kalev Spa Hotel offers a treatment called cryo-therapy - cold treatment. Basically it's a reversed sauna. You enter and get exposed to minus 150 degrees Celsious for 3 - 4 minutes and hey presto - painrelief, they promise - and we experienced
The human body can stand this extreme cold because it's provided by nitrogen and therefore dry. You do have to protect hands, feet, nose and ears from 'frostbite', but you'll be fully equiped by the staff. There are how ever medical conditions that are contradictory to this treatment. So make sure to inform of any illness you might suffer from.
This treatment has been around for ages and is both wellness and therapy in one. Wellness from cold will be instantly understood by those, who cherish the Scandinavian hobby of bathing in the sea at Winter. As a pain-reliever we've only been able to find a small amount of scientific documentation, but both me and me husband experienced quite a difference in mobility and less aching/sore joints and muscles.