An Interview with Ms. Vesela Bogdanova, General Manager of the Five Elements Hotel in Bulgaria  –  Winner of the Special Jury Award at the ESPA Innovation Awards for Innovative Spa Design

Q1 Translating the five elements—earth, water, fire, air, and space—from philosophy into functional spatial design is ambitious. Can you walk us through one element and explain exactly how it manifests physically in the spa?

Water is perhaps the clearest example because it lies at the heart of everything we do. Many spas use water as an amenity. We built an entire wellness philosophy around it. The Five Elements Hotel exists because of the mineral spring beneath it—the hottest in Europe, emerging naturally at 103°C. That resource is not simply incorporated into the spa; it shapes the entire guest experience.

The journey begins with immersion. Guests move through a sequence of thermal environments designed to encourage different physiological and emotional responses. There are moments of vitality, moments of release, moments of stillness, and moments of reflection. The water changes temperature, atmosphere, and purpose throughout the experience, creating a rhythm that encourages the body to slow down and return to its natural balance.

What makes the concept of Water particularly meaningful is that it is both a physical and symbolic element. Physically, it supports circulation, relaxation, recovery, and wellbeing. Symbolically, it represents flow, renewal, and transformation. We wanted guests to feel those qualities rather than simply read about them.

The same principle applies to the other four elements. Earth grounds, Fire energizes, Air expands, and Space creates room for reflection. Together they form a complete wellness journey designed not only to relax guests, but to help them reconnect with themselves and with the natural world around them.

Q2 Using residual thermal energy from spa pools to heat the hotel is elegant closed-loop thinking. How much of the hotel’s heating does that actually cover, and how complex was the engineering?

One of the advantages of building around an exceptional geothermal resource is that sustainability becomes an opportunity rather than a compromise.

The mineral water arrives at temperatures of up to 103°C, carrying an extraordinary amount of natural thermal energy. Rather than using that resource once and discarding the heat, we designed systems that allow us to recover and redistribute energy throughout the property.

What is particularly important to us is the philosophy behind the engineering. We wanted to create a relationship between the natural resource and the built environment that mirrors the principles of nature itself—nothing is wasted, everything serves more than one purpose.

The complexity lies in balancing several priorities simultaneously. We must preserve the mineral composition of the water, maintain ideal guest temperatures across multiple pools and wellness facilities, recover thermal energy efficiently, and ensure reliable year-round operation. Achieving this requires a sophisticated network of heat exchangers, circulation systems, and temperature controls working continuously behind the scenes.

For guests, however, the technology is invisible. What they experience is warmth, comfort, and a sense of harmony. That is perhaps the greatest success of the system: sustainability is not something guests are asked to sacrifice for. It actively enhances their experience while reducing the property’s environmental impact.

As the wellness industry continues to evolve, we believe the future lies in this type of thinking—where luxury and responsible resource management are not competing priorities, but complementary ones.

Q3 Europe’s hottest mineral spring is an extraordinary natural asset. How do you manage that resource responsibly at scale, and how does water at that temperature actually reach guests safely?

The fact that the mineral water emerges from the earth at 103°C is both a privilege and a responsibility.

For us, responsible management begins with respect for the source itself. We see the spring not merely as an attraction, but as a natural resource that has existed long before the hotel and must continue to exist long after us. Every decision we make—from water management to energy recovery—is guided by long-term stewardship.

Of course, water at 103°C cannot be introduced directly into guest experiences. Before reaching any pool or wellness facility, it passes through carefully engineered systems that regulate temperature, recover energy, and maintain optimal conditions for both safety and comfort. This allows guests to experience the therapeutic benefits of the mineral water at temperatures specifically designed for relaxation, recovery, and wellbeing.

What makes this resource truly unique is that it combines rarity with authenticity. In an era when many wellness experiences are increasingly artificial or technology-driven, our greatest asset comes directly from nature. The mineral water arrives exactly as it has for centuries, carrying the geological history of the region with it.

Our role is not to improve upon nature, but to protect it, interpret it, and make it accessible in a meaningful way. Guests come to the Five Elements seeking restoration, and much of that restoration comes from knowing they are experiencing something genuine—something that cannot be manufactured, replicated, or relocated.

That is what makes Europe’s hottest mineral spring so extraordinary. It is not simply a feature of the hotel. It is the foundation of the entire experience.