Kurhotel Skodsborg review – a luxury spa hotel in Copenhagen

Light, Air, Water. These are the perfect ingredients for relaxation and recuperation on holiday. In our busy lives, we need moments to stop, rest, just gaze at the horizon. Holiday time provides the longed for opportunity to refocus on our health and wellbeing. We found all of these moments and more at Kurhotel Skodsborg Copenhagen, one of the top luxury spa hotels in Copenhagen.

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Kurhotel Skodsborg’s history and ethos

The hotel started life as a sanitorium, founded in 1898 by Dr. Carl Ottosen, who had studied health and physiotherapy in the USA. In those days, before doctors could rely on antibiotics, recovery from illness was often about letting the body do its own healing through rest and a healthy diet.

Dr. Ottosen’s principles of light, air, water, nutrition, exercise and rest are very much part of the hotel’s ethos today, where outstanding spa and fitness facilities are combined with a professional health centre. While I was there with my daughter in the early summer, we were able to reflect on how Dr. Ottosen’s principles are still the key to a healthy and relaxing holiday.

Relax in the spa for healthy holiday

Water surrounds you, bathes you, washes away your cares. Water is playful, as children we splash and squeal in the pleasure of it. We found the spa at Kurhotel Skodsborg was a truly beautiful space to relax in water. There are pools, relaxation rooms, many different saunas and a four season water experience that left us giggling at the tweeting of spring birds and the thunderclaps of autumn.

There’s even a snow dispenser so you can recreate that authentic Scandinavian experience of running out of the sauna to roll on the fresh snow! We loved the delicate ornamentation by artist Marlene Bach with washed out stencilled patterns on the walls, inspired by the geometric tile patterns of a Moroccan hammam, and the coloured glass panels of red, green and blue, set into the glazed roof.

When you have finished your sauna, put on your toweling robe and walk across to the private jetty where you can jump into the water and cool off with a yelp of pleasure at your own daring! In winter, the tradition of hot spa followed by cold dip from the jetty continues and once the water is warm enough in summer they set up swimming lanes so that you can take your swimming exercise in the sea. After our exercise class, I jumped in fully clothed while the Danish ladies around me stripped off to enjoy a frisson of chill water on bare skin.

Relax by the sea for healthy holiday

I especially love to be beside the sea because of the soft light, the play of reflections on the water and the wide skies as you watch the horizon. The sea is hypnotic and therapeutic with a different aspect to enjoy in every season. I love the summers of Scandinavia with warm days spent amidst nature.

It’s no surprise that the area of North Sealand just north of Copenhagen is a favourite for Copenhageners to spend their summers by the sea.

Healthy food options at Kurhotel Skodsborg

At Kurhotel Skodsborg, they like to make the healthy choice the easy choice, with healthy but delicious menu options. Each day, a different Dr. Ottosen’s juice drink is available, made from fruit and vegetables pressed by a slow juicing method to maximise the vitamins and minerals in each glass. Perhaps you’ll get the performance-boosting combination of cucumber, celery, pear and apple or the anti-inflammatory beetroot, apple, watercress, lemon and ginger.

These were created by top Copenhagen cocktail maker Gromit Eduardson to be fresh and delicious as well as healthy.

Tea with Georg – healthy afternoon tea

This luxurious spa hotel in Copenhagen even has its own healthy but delicious take on afternoon tea, served on elegant Georg Jensen china. No scones coated with clotted cream and jam here! Instead you get thick slices of smoked salmon, served with paleo bread made from nuts and seeds and a small pat of soft whipped butter.

There are cakes but they are less sweet, flavoured with dark chocolate or fruit and a distinctly nutty texture. I loved the round of shortbread which crumbled in my fingers, sandwiched with raspberry jam like a sophisticated jammy dodger. We washed it down with a fennel tea in homage to the liquorice-loving Danes. Tea with Georg is served in The Lounge where you sit in comfort on squashy velvet sofas.

A good night’s sleep at Kurhotel Skodsborg

“Man has more endurance when work is interchanged with rest” wrote Dr. Carl Ottosen and isn’t the chance to relax and catch up on your sleep is one of the joys of being on holiday? Studies have shown that health and wellbeing are closely linked to the amount of sleep you get, which makes perfect sense to me.

There is a virtuous circle, in which the better we sleep, the more energy we have to exercise which then gives us the benefit of greater health and vitality. By the time I’d spent a day or so at Kurhotel Skodsborg I found the atmosphere so restful that I didn’t want to leave, even though there is plenty to see in the area.

My room with understated soft green décor reflected the royal forest of Dyrehaven behind the hotel and from the balcony I could watch a perfect white sail drift across the horizon. The white squashy sofas on the sunny roof terrace transported me to lazy days in some trendy Greek beach bar and I even discovered another terrace above the spa that was perfect for sunbathing.

Wherever you are heading on holiday this summer, I hope you take the opportunity to relax, unwind and enjoy your healthy holiday.

Book your spa break at Kurhotel Skodsborg

Kurhotel Skodsborg is a contemporary Nordic spa hotel situated just north of Copenhagen in the North Sealand region. You’ll find it on the coast road, beside the ocean, yet only a 30-minute train ride to the centre of the city. There are 80 rooms and suites as well as meeting rooms and conference facilities.

If you’re looking for a relaxing weekend destination, you’ll enjoy the extensive spa and fitness facilities, the private jetty for ocean swimming, the rooftop terrace with sundeck and restaurant and lobby bar serving healthy Nordic cuisine and cocktails. Book your stay at Kurhotel Skodsborg

For more information about things to do in and around Copenhagen and North Sealand, check out the Visit Copenhagen website and the North Sealand website as well as the Visit Denmark website for other parts of Denmark.

Getting to Copenhagen and around

We flew with Scandinavian Airlines from London Heathrow to Copenhagen. SAS fly several times a day to and from London to Copenhagen giving you a choice of times to make the most of your time in Copenhagen. On arrival, take the train direct to Skodsborg station or to the centre of Copenhagen. 

We used the Copenhagen Card which covers free transport on the trains from Copenhagen to North Sealand as well as free or reduced price entry to many of the attractions in and around Copenhagen.

More things to do around Copenhagen

Bike + Train = adventure in Copenhagen
Out of Africa and other Danish Stories – at the Karen Blixen Museum near Copenhagen
10 Summertime cool things we did in Copenhagen (and you could too)

Thanks to Kurhotel Skodsborg who hosted Heather for their stay at the hotel, Wonderful Copenhagen for their support on this trip and SAS who provided Heather’s flight.

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This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com.

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