We look after this as if it were our home.
Because it is. We have spent fifteen years opening every morning at Calle Almanzor 18, in the Jewish Quarter. Over the same 1st-century Roman remains.
It is not a business. It is a project.
In 2011 we opened the doors of the Arab Baths of Córdoba at Calle Almanzor 18, in the heart of the Jewish Quarter. Beneath the site, buried by the construction of the current building, lie the remains of the 1st-century Roman thermae and of the public baths the Henestrosa family built in the 15th century. They are not on view — but they are there.
We did not choose this place by chance. The water chose this place long before we did. What we do is care for it: the water at the right temperature, the candles lit at the right hour, the calm of each session.
When you come, you are not greeted by a protocol. You are greeted by someone who knows the place.
That you come to disconnect
A small team can look after what matters. That the water is at the right temperature when you enter. That the towels are clean and dry. That the light is soft, the candles lit and the tea freshly made when you leave.
That the masseur who attends you knows their craft and, if that morning you ask for silence, respects it. That the session starts at the time you booked and ends when it should.
That is what we offer: two hours in which you have to think about nothing.
More than a decade
15+
years in the Jewish Quarter
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The people behind the water
Those who greet you at reception have been here for years. They know the names of the regulars. They know which pool to recommend for a tired body and which for a tense one. They know when a guest wants conversation and when they prefer silence.
The masseurs are trained in traditional hammam techniques: hot stones, exfoliation with the kessa glove, deep pressure. They have been here a while. They do not improvise.
The maintenance team measures the temperature of each pool several times a day. They change the water, control the chlorine, replace the candles, check that the steam comes out at the right pressure. It is work you do not see, but you notice it.
An iron vessel and some old coins
Around 1930, Don José Araujo, a resident of this town, discovered alongside one of his brothers an iron vessel full of old coins while carrying out their daily work. Their father was a muleteer, a trade that tied the family to the Guadalquivir and the city’s tasks.
With the sale of those coins, the Araujo family acquired several properties in Córdoba — among them, this house at Calle Almanzor 18 that today houses the Arab Baths and our guesthouse.
The roots of the building go much further back. During the construction of garages in an adjoining dwelling, hydraulic structures appeared that, according to archaeologists, may have belonged to Roman thermae extending to this site. And during the very restoration of the baths and the guesthouse, the excavations confirmed the existence of the 15th-century public baths linked to the Henestrosa family.
Over the centuries, this space also functioned as an inn. Today we have recovered that tradition — combining hospitality with the baths experience — since we opened in 2011.
Get to know us slowly.
The best of this place is understood from within. Book your two hours and discover it.
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