Overview
About this location
Sângeorz-Băi (Bistrița-Năsăud County): athermal carbonated waters, the freely accessible Hebe springs in the resort park, mofettes and the treatment base inside Hotel Hebe. There is no lido, no thermal pools and no open aquapark.
Weather – 3 day forecast
Details
General Information
Water temperature
Athermal (cold) waters: Sângeorz-Băi has no thermal water; the mineral water emerges at ground temperature and is drunk cold straight from the spring, while for the baths in the treatment centre it is heated artificially in tubs
Water type
Carbonated, bicarbonate, sodium-chloride, calcium and magnesium mineral waters, weakly brominated and iodinated, weakly ferruginous, alkaline; pH 6–7, carbon dioxide 1–1.9 g/l, total mineralisation 8–10 g/l. Eight to nine springs branded Hebe, plus mofettes and mineral mud
Accessibility
The springs in the park are freely accessible all year; the treatment base is tied to staying at Hotel Hebe: hotel guests have priority and visitors staying elsewhere are taken only if places remain. The resort park is under refurbishment in 2026
Wellness
Therapeutic indications
Per the Hotel Hebe treatment centre: gastric and duodenal ulcer, chronic gastritis, functional colon disorders, biliary dyskinesia, chronic cholecystitis, gallstones, persistent chronic hepatitis, hepatic steatosis, diabetes, simple obesity and chronic articular rheumatism. Stated contraindications: acute conditions, infectious and venereal diseases, malignant tumours
About Sângeorz-Băi
Sângeorz-Băi, in Bistrița-Năsăud County, has no thermal water. Its waters are carbonated and athermal, meaning cold: they come out at ground temperature and are drunk that way, straight from the spring. There is no lido, no outdoor basin and no working aquapark. What operates here is the treatment base inside Hotel Hebe, plus the public springs in the resort park where people come to fill their bottles.
This is a drinking-cure resort, the Romanian equivalent of a Vichy or Karlovy Vary profile. It sits at 435 m altitude between the Someșul Mare river and the Rodna Mountains, and it is being rebuilt piece by piece: the resort park and one of the main streets are construction sites through 2026.
Location & access
- Bistrița-Năsăud County, 435 m altitude, between the Someșul Mare and the Rodna Mountains.
- About 40 km from Bistrița on DN17D and DN17C; about 120 km from Cluj-Napoca, roughly a two-hour drive. Nearest airport: Cluj-Napoca.
- Railway station on the Salva–Vișeu line, with connections through Salva from the Cluj–Suceava main line; regular road services from Bistrița.
- Hotel Hebe is at str. Trandafirilor nr. 10, 1.45 km from the town centre and about 190 m from the resort park.
Carbonated, not thermal
- Carbonated, bicarbonate, sodium-chloride, calcium and magnesium waters, weakly brominated and iodinated, weakly ferruginous, alkaline.
- pH 6–7, carbon dioxide 1–1.9 g/l, total mineralisation 8–10 g/l.
- Eight to nine springs, all under the Hebe name. All of them cold; for tub baths the water is heated artificially.
Who comes here
- People on a prescribed balneal cure, usually 16 days, with a referral from their family doctor.
- Resort profile, per the Hotel Hebe treatment base: digestive tract, hepato-biliary conditions, metabolic and nutritional disease, plus associated conditions such as rhinitis, sinusitis and chronic articular rheumatism.
- Not for anyone looking to swim or to spend the day in a pool.
The Hebe waters
- The waters have been known since the 1770s. The Hebe name comes from the Greek goddess of youth, daughter of Zeus and Hera, who served the nectar of the gods.
- Between the wars the Hebe water was bottled and exported regionally. It is no longer bottled today.
- Spring 6 is the main one: captured in 1951, with a flow of 65,000 litres a day, it supplied both the treatments and the bottling plant. It passed into the administration of the town hall under a licence obtained on 17 November 2016, while the other springs stayed with the Hebe company.
- In the park, the PRIMUS pavilion has an artesian fountain fed with mineral water recirculated from Spring 6, where you can taste it.
Mofettes, climate, mud
- The mofettes, natural carbon dioxide emanations, are among the most significant in Romania.
- Their reported effect: heavier sweating with chloride loss, lower gastric acidity and higher uric acid elimination; the CO2 also acts as a vasodilator on the skin, with blood pressure dropping after the procedure.
- The third factor is the sub-alpine climate, with strongly negatively ionised air and a mildly sedative effect.
- Balneal cures here also use mineral mud and baths with medicinal plants and Praid salt.
The Hotel Hebe treatment base
- Three departments: hydrotherapy (mineral baths, underwater shower), thermotherapy (paraffin, solux) and a full electrotherapy section (ionogalvanisation, ultrashort waves, ultraviolet, infrared, diadynamic, interferential, Trabert and TENS currents, magnetodiaflux, ultrasound therapy, galvanic baths).
- Plus massage, medical gymnastics, aerosols, mineral-water injections, acupuncture and reflexology.
- The minimum cure runs 16 days and can be repeated twice a year, with a referral from the family doctor.
- House rule: hotel guests have priority, and visitors staying elsewhere are taken only if places remain. Hotel Hebe is the only hotel in the resort with a working treatment base; Hotel Someș is abandoned.
CNPP tickets & the building site
- For 2026, HEBE SA submitted the only bid on lot 23 (Sângeorz-Băi) in the national pension house tender for subsidised treatment stays. The estimated contract budget over seven months is 3.1 to 3.6 million lei without VAT, roughly 870 to 1,030 pensioners.
- Treat that as a bid submitted, not as a signed contract confirmed by a primary source. Check with the county pension house before counting on a ticket here.
- The town is under construction: the 14.5 million lei urban regeneration project covers the resort park (7,108,191.67 lei) and the restructuring of str. Republicii (3,750,132.70 lei).
- As of 27 June 2026, work in the park had passed 37% and on str. Republicii 52%. The park is getting permeable paving, a rebuilt gazebo, lighting, street furniture, an open-air amphitheatre and play and sports areas.
Hours, prices, contact
- The springs in the resort park are free and accessible all year, no ticket.
- Treatment base and accommodation: 2026 tariffs unconfirmed. The operator, HEBE SA, has no identifiable website of its own.
- There is no official link for the resort either: the town hall site sangeorzbai.ro returned an account suspended notice on 1 August 2026.
- Treatment base hours are not published. Contact by phone, 0263 370 521 or 0263 370 228, str. Trandafirilor nr. 10.
- The hotel season reported online, roughly mid-May to mid-September, has no primary source behind it, so do not plan around it. Confirm by phone.
- For scale: in 2026 a CNPP balneal treatment ticket for a 2-star hotel is worth 3,480 lei in full, against 3,156 lei in 2025. That is the network-wide reference, not a Hebe tariff.
Expectations & health
- You do not come here to bathe. An aqua-park appears in the development plans with an estimated completion in autumn 2026, but the June 2026 progress report on the works describes only the park and str. Republicii. Do not travel expecting an open aquapark.
- The treatment base has been overbooked for years. If you want procedures, book a room at Hebe.
- Building conditions are uneven. Specialist press described the hotel as dusty, with accommodation capacity reduced during refurbishment, and Hotel Someș as abandoned. Come for the waters and for the treatment staff, not for four-star comfort.
- The park is a building site in 2026. Paths, lighting and the gazebo are being redone, so expect detours and closed areas.
- Contraindications stated by the treatment base: all acute conditions, chronic conditions during flare-ups, all infectious diseases, all venereal diseases, malignant tumours.
- Mineral water is drunk in the doses recommended by a doctor, not at will.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is the water temperature at Sângeorz-Băi?
Athermal (cold) waters: Sângeorz-Băi has no thermal water; the mineral water emerges at ground temperature and is drunk cold straight from the spring, while for the baths in the treatment centre it is heated artificially in tubs.
Is Sângeorz-Băi open in winter?
The springs in the park are freely accessible all year; the treatment base is tied to staying at Hotel Hebe: hotel guests have priority and visitors staying elsewhere are taken only if places remain. The resort park is under refurbishment in 2026.
What is the therapeutic profile of Sângeorz-Băi?
Sângeorz-Băi is a balneary resort with a profile covering: Per the Hotel Hebe treatment centre: gastric and duodenal ulcer, chronic gastritis, functional colon disorders, biliary dyskinesia, chronic cholecystitis, gallstones, persistent chronic hepatitis, hepatic steatosis, diabetes, simple obesity and chronic articular rheumatism. Stated contraindications: acute conditions, infectious and venereal diseases, malignant tumours. Whether a balneary cure is appropriate is a decision to make together with a physician.