Hagymatikum Spa — Local services in Makói járás

Review for January 2023: This is my 3rd time here in the last 7 years, now for a 4 days streak: -it's a great spa, nice atmosphere and mood inside. There are things to improve. -you have options either for a full day ticket (entrance in the morning) or afternoon ticket (entrance after 16:00). It closes at 20:00. Some days they offer a night entrance up to 22:00 but used it the past, preCovid pandemic. The bad is that you get one entrance only, so you either stay in all-day or you pay up. -there is a food court inside, rather a fast food. It didn't click with my style, I wouldn't let kids eat that. -parking spaces nearby are limited, but managed to always find a spot either in the morning or in the afternoon. -payment accepted by card, which is a nice thing. There is also an ATM machine inside the spa. -everything is displayed in 3 languages: Hungarian, Romanian and Serbian. Basic English is understood by most of staff, but they are hardly able to reply in English. -cleanliness is at a high standard (pools, inside locker area). In the evening changing / locker area appears not as shiny as it's seen in the morning at the opening. Bathrooms / showers are always spotless. inside pools are not deeper than 1.5m, are mainly used for spa/relax and not swimming. There are 2 nice spots:

1. "the cave" which create a sort of wet sauna but temperature is roughly less than 40C. Breathing in is no issue even for kids/toddlers
2. "the vortex" - in the center of the complex - where pumps move the water at higher speed and you can swim/float for 10-15 minute batches. Kids do require a floating device and need to be accompanied by an adult. There is also a lifeguard present. -there is also a shop in the lobby which sells basic swimming gear. You are required to enter with flip-flops!

The parts that need to be improved: Lockers have a rather small volume. As a family (adults & kid) you can get only 2 lockers. Almost impossible to fit all winter gear (boots, heavy coats inside). Locker allocation is horrible. From 700± available lockers it seems a random allocation: I've got 1xx and 5xx numbers several times, even in the morning, which is a hassle Changing area (booths) appears a bit rundown. Hairdryers are present but for people with long hair the efficiency of supplied hairdryers is quite low. Tip: bring your own hair dryer and plug it in one of the bathroom sockets. Temperature inside varied quite a lot. Last 2 days, in the afternoon air was cold inside above one pool (air-conditioning was bringing in cold air from outside), water temperature dropped at least 5C.

If you arrived until here with the...

TLDR: we've been going to this place a few times a year, for the past 7 years, so we went again today, probably for the last time. Beautiful place, not so nice people.

2 adults and 2 kids, please! that would be xx,xxx HUF! I see the prices have gone up...:/ yes, but we have remodeled, and we have new slides and shiny new stuff! kids: yay! can we go on the slides? sure, but that's 2000HUF extra per person! ok... are there any restrictions on the slides? let me see the kids... no, they should be good. 10 min later: dad, we went up to the slides but they won't let us use them... really?! why? we're not heavy enough, we need to be at least 60kg, or 90kg for the double sled thingy that doesn'r make sense, who puts a weight limit on a slide? aren't kids your main target? I'll go talk to the front desk. ... excuse me, you said there are no restrictions on the slides, and look what happened (see above) no they should be good, who said that? Janos, (or Yanny) (back and forth with the "manager" Patrick in hungarian): no, they should be good, ... 10 min later: yeah, no dice... ther kids are disappointed, and I'm not happy either sitting here all wet. Can I have a refund of the 2000x2 HUF slide fee? as I explained, no. but you said (see above) let me get the manager ... Patrick: we can't give you a refund, because you have already used the slides. how exactly have I used them? (see above) Patrick: ummm... right... we can't give you a refund because you paid with a foreign card, and we're not sure if the bank refund will go through. ok, then, I'll take cash. .... ok, I spoke to the highest authority (God himself presumably). So, no. ok, I think you're full of s#i+, it's not even about the 4000HUF (~10USD?), it's the way you treat your customers.

We probably...

I think this place is overestimated. It has a lot to improve.

To improve: 1/ Food is really not good. Looks bad. We end up eating french fries and a pizza (which was not fresh made but rather a frozen one) 2/ Cleaning. Many of the pools look dirty on the ground (black areas of dirt). That should be improved for sure. 3/ Massage. I had herbal massage and by partener had Swedish massage. Not great at all. I came with a back pain hoping to relax and the massage was not great. They did not cover me with a towel and I felt cold in one moment. They did not put a towel on the bed, on the head area so I end up with pain on my face. The massage itself was more like a gentle touch, not a professional massage. 4/ Sunbeds. Really old and uncomfortable. They should change them. 5/ We could not register all of our journey and order on the bracelet and pay at the end. We ordered massage and the food for the restaurant and everything we needed our phone with us to pay. It is better to register everything on the bracelet and we will pay in the end (like in Therme Bucharest).

What I liked: 1/ In the sauna area there is a space with a fire and warm beds. It is a good place to relax. 2/ Atlantis world area is very creative but full of kids. It can be better used for experience to the customers. Arranging some beds with red light in that area could really make a great place (like in Therme Bucharest).

This place has a big potential to develop and become a great place. It needs a professional and creative marketing team and some money invested in the cleaning, technology and better use of the huge space...