Texas getaways

Soak up some R&R at these 4 hot springs retreats around Texas

Water-based wellness destinations aren’t new, but they're newly popular again in Texas and beyond.

Mineral springs spas have been in existence for centuries, dating back thousands of years and long lauded for therapeutic benefits like improved circulation, reduced inflammation, and pain relief. Here in the U.S., the late 19th century saw a heyday of hot springs resorts, as bathing in “magic” mineral waters was widely touted as the era’s cure-all. Modern medicine advanced, and trend died off by the mid-20^th century.

But there’s been a recent resurgence in the popularity of mineral springs destinations, driven by a renewed interest in holistic health and a shift toward wellness-centric tourism. Hot springs destinations across the globe are experiencing record numbers, with the industry projected to reach $130 billion by 2030.

While destinations in California, Colorado, and Arizona are among the most popular regions for thermal springs in the US, Texas is quickly jumping onboard. Travel + Leisure just named Mineral Wells as the “Best Small Spa + Wellness Town” in the US, and two brand new mineral springs retreats – one in Gonzales and one in The Colony – are drawing visitors from across the state for their mineral-rich soaks and luxury amenities.

No need to travel across the world or even out of state for a hot springs vacation. Here are four mineral springs destinations to soak in some healthy R&R in Texas.

Ottine Mineral Springs, Gonzales
This 40-acre wellness destination about an hour east of Austin in the Hill Country, revived a historic natural retreat when it opened in June. Ottine Mineral Springs taps into the mineral waters of the massive Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer, which boasts naturally occurring minerals including magnesium, sodium bicarbonate, and salt.

The “Texas magic water” was discovered in 1909 when wildcatters hit the aquifer and found its flowing 107-degree springs. The site operated as the Gonzales Warm Springs Foundation from 1939 to 2002 with a primary focus on polio treatment for children in its early days.

Today under new ownership, the property has transformed into a luxurious wellness retreat with five modern mineral-rich pools at varying temperatures, a frigid plunge pool, steam saunas, a spa with more private pools, and elevated food and beverage service among a sanctuary of shade trees.

Phase two of Ottine Mineral Springs, starting in coming months, will include cabins on the property, expanded pools, grottos, contrast therapy including saunas, steam rooms, and more hot and cold plunges, a mud bath area, a full-service restaurant and bar, fully-built out spa, additional private pools, more restrooms, expanded retail and reception area, hike and bike trails, and an activities yurt for yoga, sound bath therapy, meditation, and more.

Phase three will include more hydrotherapy options, including floating pools, snow caves, and salt rooms, along with a hotel.

Details: Daily soak rates are $65 for weekdays and $75 for weekends. Advance reservations are required and guests under 13 are not permitted. Open 9 am-8 pm Sunday, and Tuesday through Thursday, and 9 am-9 pm Friday and Saturday. 2033 FM 1586, Gonzales; ottinemineralsprings.com.

Crazy Water Bath House & Spa, Mineral Wells
Closer to Fort Worth, Mineral Wells has been known for its “crazy” water for more than 150 years, first discovered when a well driller tapped into a mineral-rich aquifer in 1880. Widely bottled and consumed for its therapeutic properties, Crazy Water is numbered by its strength (1 for the least amount of minerals and 4 for the most), which is based on how deep in the earth it’s sourced.

But what’s not-so-widely known is that Mineral Wells has a spa destination where visitors can soak in the benefits of that healing water – just like visitors did from around the world more than a century ago.

The Crazy Water Bath House & Spa, open since 2013, offers 20-minute mineral baths (that’s all that’s needed for maximum benefits) in microbubble tubs. The treatment comes with a bottle of Crazy Water for extra hydration. Those looking to linger longer can pair the soak with a massage or facial afterward.

Don’t miss the original Crazy Water well located in a century-old building next door, where guests can fill their own containers to go. There’s also a shop that sells Crazy Water soaps, lotions, and oils.

Details: Soaks start at $45 and are available by appointment, 9 am-5 pm Monday-Saturday. 609 NW 1st Ave.
Mineral Wells; drinkcrazywater.com/mineral-bath-spa.

WorldSprings, The Colony
The largest mineral springs destination in the country exists north of Dallas at Grandscape in The Colony. WorldSprings debuted in 2024 on nine acres with 45 soaking pools inspired by the “waters of the world.”

While there is no actual underground mineral spring water in The Colony, WorldSprings’ pools – which range from 55-degree cold plunges to 104-degree steamy soaks – have added minerals inspired by famous hot springs around the globe. Pools are grouped together by regions, including Australia and Bali, Iceland and Italy, Japan and Korea, Guatemala and Mexico, and the Dead Sea.

A helpful feature for guests is that each individual pool has a sign with the pool temperature, specific minerals added (such as magnesium, lithium, and potassium), and potential wellness benefits, including skin health, muscle recovery, and the alleviation of gastrointestinal issues.

WorldSprings is also dotted with multiple Finnish saunas, firepits, and cozy seating areas. There are also spacious, well-equipped locker rooms, food and beverage service from the on-site café directly to each pool, as well as a full-service spa offering massages, facials, and red light therapy.

WorldSprings also recently added group fitness classes, including yoga, mat Pilates, Aqua Fit, and Total Body Sculpt.

Details: Entry fees start at $69 for a three-hour soak; prices vary based on day of the week and arrival time. Soak hours are 10 am-9 pm Sunday-Thursday and 9 am-10 pm Friday-Saturday. Children are permitted in a specific section of WorldSprings, but the majority of the resort is 18-and-up. 3240 Plano Pkwy., The Colony; worldsprings.com.

Camp Hot Wells, San Antonio
In 1892, a well with highly sulfuric water was discovered in San Antonio and soon became a destination for its therapeutic qualities. Named Hot Wells Hotel, the facility capitalized on the trend of healing resorts and boasted baths and foot soaks. The destination survived several ownership changes and fires before being preserved in 2019 as a historical p ark.

The ruins of the original hotel still exist today near Camp Hot Wells’ garden oasis, and hot foot soaks are complimentary and open to the public. A lengthy menu of local craft beer, natural wine, and a build-your-own charcuterie board items is available to guests.

Book your own private soak in either an antique clawfoot tub or cedar tub. Both feature an open-air garden view and can accommodate one to two guests at a time.

Details: Rates start at $75 an hour, with group rates for up to 10 people for two hours starting at $300. Overnight camp sites are also available. Camp Hot Wells is open 6-11 pm Friday and 2-11 pm Saturday-Sunday (closed Monday-Thursday). 5423 Hot Wells Way, San Antonio; camphotwells.com.

drinkcrazywater.com

Mineral Wells offers soaks in its popular "Crazy Water."

mineral springs spas spas texas vacation health

wine guy on the road

Chris Shepherd wines and dines at a city that reminds him of Houston

Photo by Chris Shepherd

Al Ameer won an America's Classic Award from the James Beard Foundation.

Recently, I tagged along with my wife Lindsey to Detroit for a Southern Smoke industry lunch. I don’t work for the foundation, but I love any opportunity as a co-founder to meet with industry folks and share our resources (emergency relief funding and no-cost mental health care for people in the food and beverage industry) with them.

What we found in the Motor City, though, was so much more than we ever imagined. Detroit absolutely blew us away.

From the moment we arrived, we knew this place was special. We checked into the Detroit Foundation Hotel, housed inside the city’s landmark Fire Department headquarters built in 1929. The building served as headquarters until 2013 before being beautifully transformed into a hotel in 2017, and they preserved so much of its history.

Our room had originally been the office of the Fire Commissioner’s secretary with soaring ceilings, dark wood walls, and details that made you feel connected to the building’s past. Downstairs, The Apparatus Room buzzes from morning until night. The original white tile walls remain, the massive windows where fire trucks once rolled out flood the room with light, and the bar pulls you in the second you walk through the door.

The wine list is thoughtful with producers like Matthiasson, Ashes & Diamonds, and Lingua Franca, while the cocktail program is outstanding. More importantly, the bartenders were some of the best I’ve been around in a long time. Knowledgeable, welcoming, and genuinely excited about what they do. That’s something we kept finding everywhere we went.

Dinner that first night was at Ladder 4 wine bar, another beautifully restored firehouse built in 1910. They took their time bringing the building back to life, and we could feel it. The wine program is incredibly well thought out, and the food celebrates the farms surrounding Detroit with dishes that are seasonal, fun, and full of personality.

We ate tomatoes with stone fruit and ricotta salata; chicken Milanese parm with tomato, fior di latte, and pickled chilies; and then a dish that completely stole my heart: drive-thru hash browns topped with caviar and sour cream. We paired it with a bottle of Hubert Lignier Morey-Saint-Denis, and the evening just kept getting better.

The biggest surprise was learning that the person guiding us through the wine list was actually the executive chef. His understanding of how food and wine belong together came through in every recommendation. You could feel the soul of the restaurant inside those old white tile walls and next to the original brass fire pole. Call it a wine bar, call it a restaurant — I just call it awesome.

The next afternoon we headed over to Dearborn, because we absolutely had to visit Al Ameer. Home to one of the largest Muslim communities in America, Dearborn has an incredible food culture, and Al Ameer has been at the center of it since 1989. After earning the James Beard America’s Classic Award in 2016, it has become one of those places everyone should experience.

Fresh pita hit the table nonstop alongside hummus, baba ghanoush, kibbeh, fattoush, and a spread of salads before we dug into mixed grills loaded with chicken and beef shawarma, kabobs, and kofta. We finished everything with fresh juices, sat back in our chairs, and just smiled. What a lunch.

That night friends took us to Alpino, a restaurant inspired by the Alpine regions of France, Switzerland, Germany and Italy. Tell me the last time you started dinner with bubbling cheese fondue, bread, apples, potatoes and pickles alongside a bottle of Austrian Riesling…yeah, I thought so. It’s been too long. We followed that with strangolapreti tossed in spring herb butter, ricotta agnolotti with English peas, Wiener schnitzel with morels, house-made sausages and German Pinot Noir. That’s my kind of dinner.

The following day we gathered at Leña for our Southern Smoke event, sharing a beautiful lunch and talking about taking care of the people who take care of all of us every day. Afterward, we walked over to Lafayette Coney Island, because you can’t come to Detroit without eating one of the city’s iconic hot dogs. Sitting next to its longtime rival American Coney Island, the story of the Keros brothers and their neighboring restaurants is as much a part of Detroit history as the hot dogs themselves. Sometimes you just have to eat a little history.

Our final dinner was at SheWolf Pastificio & Bar. If you love pasta, this place belongs on your list immediately. They mill their own flour, make every pasta fresh daily, and devote an entire room to nothing but pasta production. It’s obsessive in the best possible way.

Photo by Chris Shepherd

Al Ameer won an America's Classic Award from the James Beard Foundation.

We started with an incredible panzanella of local tomatoes, charred focaccia, fermented corn and sheep’s milk ricotta before diving into a beautiful rigatoni amatriciana, sweet corn and ricotta-filled francobolli with pesto Genovese and popcorn, plus an off-menu duck confit pasta finished with Calabrian chile crunch. A bottle of 2017 Cascina Luisin Barbaresco tied everything together and reminded me once again why great food and great wine will always make each other better.

What I’ll remember most isn’t just the food. It’s the people. Detroit is filled with chefs, farmers, sommeliers, bartenders, and restaurateurs who genuinely believe that lifting each other up is better than competing against one another. Their wine lists are deep, the bars are full of incredible spirits and amari, local farms are celebrated everywhere, and everyone seems invested in making the city better together.

Sound familiar? It’s exactly what has made Houston one of the greatest food cities in America. Should Detroit be on your dining bucket list? Hell yes. It’s on mine now, and with a quick two-and-a-half-hour nonstop flight from Houston, I’ll happily be back.

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Want Chris' recommendations for other cities? Ask him by emailing chris@chrisshepherd.is.

Chris Shepherd won a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest in 2014 and an Impact Award in 2026. The Southern Smoke Foundation, a nonprofit he co-founded with his wife Lindsey Brown, has distributed more than $16 million to hospitality workers in crisis through its Emergency Relief Fund.

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