Rise and fall of Cuba's luxury spa

By Bunmi Adigun @Bunmi_Adigun

A SPA that was once the premiere destination for Cuba’s rich and powerful is now a shell of its former self after being left abandoned for several decades

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The spa was built in 1930 after and boasted 44 rooms

Located in the Cuban town of San Miguel de los Baños, Matanzas, the spa also attracted wealthy people from the United States and Europe due to the healing properties of the water in the area.

During the late 19th century it was found that the water in San Miguel de los Baños was rich in minerals like iron, magnesium, calcium and sulphur.

It was discovered in the 19th century that the town's water had healing properties

The discovery of the beneficial properties of the local water prompted the development and eventual construction of the spa in 1930.

Photographer Ioanna Sakellaraki visited the now dilapidated structure in 2016 during a tour of Cuba, the Caribbean’s biggest island.

People from Cuba and abroad flocked to the spa to experience its rejuvenating effects

She said: “The architecture of the building is stunning and its importance for the historical character of the city is very prominent.

“The spa is quite large with different balconies and floors as well as the garden with springs extended all around the complex,” she added.

At its height the spa complex boasted 44 rooms, a restaurant as well as a sports area for guests.

Photographer Ioanna Sakellaraki visited the town in June 2016

Due to the popularity and appeal of the spa the town’s landscape quickly transformed as more and more lavish villas began to be built.

The 1930’s and early part of the 40s are considered the boom period for the town, as people from all over Cuba and abroad flocked to it.

By the end of the 1940s the spa's popularity had begun to fade away

However by the end of the 1940s the fortunes of the town and spa dramatically came to an abrupt end.

Ioanna said: “A few years before the Cuban Revolution, pollution from a local sugar mill infiltrated the water supply causing the resort to quickly fade from prominence.”

Pollution from a nearby sugar mill had contaminated the water in the spa

Within a few short years most of the local shops and hotels went out of business as the town decreased in popularity.

This was further exacerbated during and after the revolution in the country as many of its elite class were either jailed or fled to the United States never to return.

During the Cuban Revolution the spa was all but abandoned and left to fall apart

San Miguel de los Baños today acts almost like a time capsule for pre revolution Cuba when it was seen as a paradise and holiday destination for the rich.

The town of now acts as a time capsule as many of the villas are still standing

Today the walls and floors of the spa which were once decorated with marble and fine woods are now bare and chipped away after years plundering and looting.