Pühajärve SPA Hotell — Hotel in Otepää vald

We stayed at Pühajärve Spa & Holiday Resort in May, enticed by the promise of lake views and relaxation—and in many ways, the setting did not disappoint. Nestled beside the tranquil Lake Pühajärv and surrounded by lush greenery, the resort’s location is nothing short of stunning. The building itself has historical charm, though some areas are beginning to show their age.||Check-in involved a short wait due to the staff adjusting to a new booking system—understandable, if slightly inconvenient. Inside, the décor leans more toward "faded grandeur" than modern comfort. Our room, booked for three, initially had just two beds; the third arrived later, but we had to set it up and make it ourselves. The room was compact with a balcony offering a beautiful lake view, but sorely lacked power outlets. This was a challenge since one of us needed a CPAP machine—and the only plug was nowhere near the regular beds. My own sleep was also restless, thanks to a stiff, oversized pillow (though that's admittedly down to personal preference).||That said, the "Puhas Puhkus" package delivered on its promise of pampering. I chose a tea tree oil paraffin foot treatment and a salt chamber session, both of which left me feeling refreshed and breathing easier. We also added a relaxing massage. The wellness staff—particularly the kind lady who took care of us—were friendly and attentive, making the experience feel personal and warm.||The food was consistently good, with a tasty lunch buffet on arrival and a dinner that honestly blew me away—flavorful, well-prepared, and deeply satisfying. Breakfast offered a solid variety as well.||Between meals and treatments, we found time for a dip in the pool and a steam sauna session. Everything was clean, quiet, and uncrowded — likely a result of traveling in the off-season. In fact, much of the resort felt almost deserted, which gave the whole experience a strange but peaceful “private retreat” vibe. The in-house bowling alley was a fun surprise and a great way to round off the day. Unfortunately, some seasonal services like boat rentals weren’t available yet, which was a bit...

It was my second time staying there. The swimming pool looks very good and I enjoyed the sunset while swimming. In the sauna I could also enjoy the sunset. I am glad there was even steam sauna. The room I stayed was nice. Somewhat annoying were neighbours because they make different sounds and they either don't know this is easily audible (don't hear?) or don't care about others who want to go to sleep, like walking full foot on the floor dam-dam-dam, talking on the phone after midnight, computer or phone sounds, children. I wish there was better sound isolation. The old photos with historical information and paintings and other photos in the corridors are very nice. I had dinners in the pub. The vegan food was very good! I am not a vegan but the vegan menu was much more interesting to try than the other main dishes so I did that in both evenings. The overall prices seemed high but the food was good. And of course the surrounding area of the building complex: the beach of the lake. I happened to be there when there had been colder temperatures recently so the lake was covered by ice and snow and I could walk and visit the two nearest islands in the lake -- what an unexpected experience that was, amazing! Then the nearby forest which is between the Otepää central part and Pühajärve part: I happened to walk there when the sun came out to the end of the day and that was like paradise! It was my first visit to that forest with different hills and ski slopes so it was especially enjoyable. One can't get lost because there are roads around within a reasonable distance. Thankfully somebody had made paths to walk on with a machine so that made the trip possible at all with such snow. It is also possible to walk on pedestrians' path towards Kääriku (~10 km) which is very nice, that walk starts from the beach close to the complex, but I didn't do it this time. There is a higher level park behind the beach where the beach building is and one can see the lake from a higher place which is nicely different than just walking...

Quite disappointing experience to be honest., especially or the price they're charging. The hotel is well located between Otepää and the ski resort of Kuutsemäe, right next by a lake, with plenty of area to discover and hike around. However, everything else is not as good, in my opinion. The service was ok, not everyone at the lobby was speaking English, but we managed. The person at the SPA reception however, struggled much more to understand and explain us the services provided. Speaking of which, calling this hotel a SPA hotel would be exaggerated. I've seen and been to better SPA hotels in Estonia. The main area contains only a swimming pool, a small jacuzzi (for 6 people and obviously pretty much always full) and 2 small pools for kids. The rest of the SPA services are the massages and other beauty services. There is also one small sauna in the changing rooms (not mixed, one for men and women). Such things as salty chambers, infrared sauna, solariums are extras and need to be booked in advance. Rooms and the overall state of the hotel are definitely the critical point, it could definitely use some renovation, feels like it's all dating back to the 90' or beginning of 2000. Good point is that all rooms seems to have a private balcony, but our was not cleaned and 2 used coffee cups were laying on the floor when we arrived... Quite disappointing. The bathroom and shower is also old and is a simple shower curtain to separate it from the toilet. Bed was ok. The breakfast was also good, with quite large choice of food and drinks. However we had a surprise to be notified upon arrival that we have to choose a time where we can take breakfast, by 30min timespan. All the slots were taken and we were basically forced to take the last spot, limiting our food choice from the buffet. I do understand the reasons (CoVid) and respect them, would just be better if we were notified about it upon booking and offered to pick a time at the same moment. Overall, quite mediocre experience, but also one of the only available...