Overview
About this location
Borsec (Harghita) has had Fontana Spa & Balneo since December 2022, a roughly 3,000 sqm centre run by the town hall: pools, saunas, the Sacral Bath and a balneo wing with ten treatment rooms, with no accommodation of its own.
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Details
General Information
Water temperature
The mineral springs are cold and carbonated, not thermal; at Fontana Spa & Balneo the pool water is heated artificially (the indoor pools are open all year, while the plain-water outdoor pools run only in summer)
Water type
More than 15 naturally carbonated mineral springs, chemically similar to one another and stable over time; the best known are Boldizsár, László, Lázár, Kossuth, Petőfi and Pierre Curie. The water is used both as a drinking cure and for therapeutic baths, and the resort also has a mofette
Entry price
Rates displayed by Fontana Spa & Balneo on 1 August 2026: adults 75 lei/3 hours, 120 lei/6 hours, 150 lei unlimited; children 35/60/75 lei; seniors 55 lei/3 hours and 85 lei/6 hours, Monday to Thursday; Sacral Bath, adults only, 25 lei
Accessibility
Open all year; Fontana's indoor pools run permanently and the unheated outdoor pools only in summer, with capacity of around 1,000 people a day in summer and 700 in the cold season; the balneo wing works Monday to Friday only, and Fontana has no accommodation of its own
Wellness
Therapeutic indications
At Fontana Spa & Balneo the pathway starts with a consultation by a specialist in rehabilitation, physical medicine and balneology; the declared procedures (hydrotherapy, electrotherapy, kinesiotherapy and paraffin wraps) are presented as useful for degenerative or chronic rheumatic joint conditions, post-traumatic and skin conditions
About Borsec
A spa resort at 850–930 m altitude in the Borsec basin, where the Giurgeu, Bistrița and Călimani mountains meet, in the north-east of Harghita County. It is called the Queen of Mineral Waters, a title attributed to Emperor Franz Joseph. Worth clearing up: the bottled mineral water sold under the Borsec brand is a separate business from the resort.
What changed for visitors: after decades of decline, the resort received a major public investment. Fontana Spa & Balneo, opened in December 2022, covers around 3,000 sqm and is run by Borsec Town Hall and Local Council. Construction had started in 2011 with 13.5 million lei from the Ministry of Regional Development; work stalled for a year and a half when budget funding was cut, and in 2016 the local authorities took a 13 million lei bank loan, topped up with money from the Ministry of Tourism, Harghita County Council and the local budget. Total value: around 9 million euro.
Region & access
- Harghita County. Road access on DN15, the road linking Transylvania to Moldavia.
- The nearest railway line is at Toplița, 27 km away.
- Airports: Târgu Mureș 141 km, Bacău 190 km, Cluj-Napoca 191 km, Iași 200 km. Fontana is at 101A Carpați Street.
Water & minerals
- More than 15 naturally carbonated mineral springs, chemically similar to one another, stable over time, with varying flow rates.
- The best known: Boldizsár, László, Lázár, Kossuth, Petőfi and Pierre Curie. The water is used both as a drinking cure and for therapeutic baths.
- These are cold springs, not thermal water: at Fontana the pool water is heated artificially. The resort also has a mofette.
Plan it separately
- Fontana Spa & Balneo has no accommodation of its own and tells visitors on its official site to contact the guesthouses and hotels in the resort.
- Capacity is around 1,000 people a day in summer and around 700 in the cold season.
- Children over 6 must be accompanied by at least one adult. The Sacral Bath is adults only, with a maximum of 30 people at a time.
What the water is like
- Indoor pools for adults and children, fresh water, open all year.
- Outdoor pools: one heated pool of 48 sqm and 1.1–1.3 m deep, a 28 sqm diving pool 3.2 m deep, a 140 sqm main pool and a 42 sqm children's pool. The unheated outdoor pools run in summer only.
- The O-Saros Bath, rebuilt to 19th-century architecture, has both warm and cold mineral-water basins. The Sacral Bath has 2 fresh-water and 2 mineral-water basins.
- No water temperature in degrees is published by the operator.
The Fairy Glade
The Fairy Glade holds the Traditional Baths: open-air basins fed by mineral springs, with a changing room, a gazebo, sun loungers and foot baths, built in 2009 by the Ars Topia Foundation through volunteer work. Access is free, with no opening hours and no fee.
The balneo wing in 2026
- The balneo wing at Fontana has ten treatment rooms and is run by Borsec Town Hall and Local Council.
- The pathway starts with the medical consultation, carried out by a specialist in rehabilitation, physical medicine and balneology: clinical, biological and functional assessment, based on the general and local clinical examination and on the paraclinical investigations the patient brings along.
- Procedures declared by the operator: hydrotherapy (toning, sedative-relaxing and vasomotor effects), electrotherapy (analgesic, ionising, excitomotor, vasodilator, nutritive, anti-oedema and resorptive effects), kinesiotherapy and paraffin wraps.
- A resort with a profile in: degenerative or chronic rheumatic joint conditions, post-traumatic conditions and skin conditions, as declared by Fontana Spa & Balneo.
- The Harghita County tourism portal adds 10 mud-therapy cabins, hydrotherapy cabins, sub-aquatic showers, individual and group kinesiotherapy and hydrokinesiotherapy, saline and oxygen therapy, tangentor baths, galvanotherapy, weight baths, a physiotherapy and rehabilitation room and a consultation room.
- The spa side has, separately, indoor and outdoor pools, a Finnish sauna, an infrared sauna, a steam bath, a gym, a salt room, the Sacral Bath and the O-Saros Bath.
- Procedures are carried out under specialist supervision, after a medical consultation. The balneo catalogue published on the official site is the 2025 edition.
Two different timetables
- Pools and spa: Monday to Friday 12:00–20:00, Saturday and Sunday 10:00–21:00, per the official Fontana page on the Harghita County Council tourism portal.
- Balneo, per the official site: medical consultation Monday to Friday 08:00–15:00, treatments Monday to Friday 08:00–16:00. The treatment wing is closed at weekends, exactly when the pools keep their longest hours.
- Fontana warns that its timetable may change in special cases and that updated hours are announced on its Facebook page, so check before you set out.
- The Fairy Glade and its traditional baths have no opening hours and no fee.
Displayed on 1 August 2026
- Pool access, every day: adults 75 lei for 3 hours, 120 lei for 6 hours, 150 lei unlimited. Children 35, 60 and 75 lei.
- Extensions: adults 20 lei for 1 hour, 40 lei for 2 hours, 50 lei for 3 hours; children 10, 25 and 30 lei.
- Seniors, Monday to Thursday: 55 lei for 3 hours, 85 lei for 6 hours. Groups of at least 10 adults get 5, 10 or 15 lei off per entry, but not on extensions and not on the Sacral Bath.
- Sacral Bath, adults only: 25 lei, with access to the fresh-water and mineral-water basins, the saunas and the relaxation beds. Towel hire 10 lei, bathrobe 15 lei; if not returned, 80 lei and 150 lei.
- Balneo and spa treatments are charged separately. Per the press, July 2026: massages 100–250 lei, facial treatments 120–250 lei, body treatments 110–210 lei, therapeutic baths from 110 lei, spa rituals 190–330 lei per person and up to 610 lei for couple packages.
Good to know
- Book accommodation separately: Fontana has none of its own and points guests to the units in the resort.
- If you come for treatment, come on a weekday. If you come for the pools, the weekend has the longest hours.
- The unheated outdoor pools run in summer only; the indoor ones are open all year.
- Children over 6 need at least one adult with them, and the Sacral Bath is adults only, with 30 people at a time.
- The description of Fontana as the largest spa and balneo centre in Romania is the operator's claim, repeated by the county portal. The centre also won Best DAY SPA, Spa and Wellness for the whole family, at the 2023 SPA Awards Romania.
- Around the resort: the Therapeutic Alley, the mineral springs, the Ice Cave, the Bears Grotto, the Scaunul Rotund nature reserve, the Owls Fortress, a summer bobsleigh track of almost 1.5 km and the Speranța ski complex with three slopes.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How much is the entrance fee at Borsec?
Rates displayed by Fontana Spa & Balneo on 1 August 2026: adults 75 lei/3 hours, 120 lei/6 hours, 150 lei unlimited; children 35/60/75 lei; seniors 55 lei/3 hours and 85 lei/6 hours, Monday to Thursday; Sacral Bath, adults only, 25 lei. Prices can change, so check the official information before visiting.
What are the opening hours at Borsec?
Monday-Friday 12:00-20:00, Saturday-Sunday 10:00-21:00.
What is the water temperature at Borsec?
The mineral springs are cold and carbonated, not thermal; at Fontana Spa & Balneo the pool water is heated artificially (the indoor pools are open all year, while the plain-water outdoor pools run only in summer).
Is Borsec open in winter?
Open all year; Fontana's indoor pools run permanently and the unheated outdoor pools only in summer, with capacity of around 1,000 people a day in summer and 700 in the cold season; the balneo wing works Monday to Friday only, and Fontana has no accommodation of its own.