Why do we do this? Why are we creating a nature spa hotel, and why in Alutagusemaa?
A new kind of rest in a world that never stands still
The creation of Kurro began with the recognition that today’s person needs a new type of rest. One that is not filled with rushing, reservations, and packed daily schedules. We have often forgotten how to simply be. Fred Jüssi has aptly said: “There is a great need in the world for doing nothing – for loafing. People no longer know how to be idle, because they have been taught to work and work.”
We see every day how the constant flow of information, achievement stress, and work pace often do not disappear even during holidays. We must get everywhere, see everything, experience everything. And be good and successful while doing it. We tend to fill our holiday days just as densely as our workdays. The result is fatigue that doesn’t go away, and a feeling that even a holiday doesn’t restore. Because we don’t think to pause. To stand still. To listen. To feel. To breathe deeply and simply allow ourselves to be.
It was precisely from this need that the idea matured to create a nature spa hotel where rest is not a performance, but a state of being. Where the spa visit is redefined and, supported by the restorative power of nature, a spa visit becomes genuine rest.
Nature and mental health – a scientifically proven connection
More and more people live in cities. According to international data, over 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, and this share is growing. Urbanisation often brings with it an estrangement from nature – the environment in which humans have evolved. The silence of the forest, natural scents and sounds, uneven ground underfoot, and a slow rhythm should not be a luxury. These are a natural biological need of the human being.
Studies consistently show that:
- spending time in nature reduces levels of stress hormones,
- improves mood and ability to concentrate,
- supports the recovery and maintenance of mental health.
Even a short time in a forest or natural landscape can have a noticeable impact on a person’s wellbeing. Nature is not merely a backdrop – it is an active healer.
That is precisely why our spa experience has been carefully designed in the heart of nature. We in Estonia can be very fortunate about our opportunities to hike in deep forests, enjoy bogs and marshlands, and swim or skate in winter on so many bodies of water. We do not have too many people – quite the opposite; due to declining birth rates, the problem is rather the reverse. And incidentally, Alutaguse is one of the most sparsely populated regions in Estonia. By people, not wildlife.
An environmentally conscious spa: we do not change nature, we adapt to it
Our nature spa hotel has been designed on the principle: the smallest possible footprint, but the greatest possible respect for the place and nature.
- We use modern and innovative solutions that reduce environmental impact – the technology being introduced into the building could fill several articles on its own!
- We do not redesign the surroundings, but integrate the buildings into the existing landscape – locals may remember the recreational base that was previously located here – the main part of our buildings has been positioned on the site of the old construction.
- We do not bring in exotic ornamental plants or mown lawns, but value what grows naturally in this environment. Rhododendrons, rose bushes, and lilacs belong in cultivated gardens. We have lingonberries! And a thousand other beautiful plants that have been growing here for centuries and millennia.
- You will not find large colourful advertisements or information boards that flash in the darkness. The absence of light pollution is natural in nature. We preserve this – so that animals and birds can live in their natural rhythm, and so that you too can enjoy the starry sky and, on cold nights, the dance of the northern lights.
The landscape here continues to bear its natural forms: mosses and lichens, pines and junipers, ferns, bilberries, marsh Labrador tea, lingonberries, and mushrooms. This is a living ecosystem that is incomparably rich and naturally beautiful.
Why Alutagusemaa specifically?
This spa simply had to come here. This is not a random place, and the people creating this spa are not random people. It all simply had to unfold this way. And right now. Despite the economic climate, despite geopolitical anxiety.
Alutagusemaa is a region whose natural value is extraordinary, yet has often been overshadowed by Ida-Virumaa’s reputation as an industrial region. Alutaguse National Park is Estonia’s youngest, yet one of its richest, if one may say so: here lies Estonia’s largest bog complex at Puhatu, Estonia’s only continental dunes known as kriivad, Estonia’s landscape with the highest density of lakes, and also Estonia’s longest sandy beach. Alongside all of this, the region faces challenges that we wish to help address.
- We want life to not only flow away from here into the cities,
- for young people to have more reasons to stay or return,
- for those who have had no connection with this place to be able to experience and appreciate the natural richness of this region,
- and for our spa hotel to help invigorate the local business environment, helping people continue to live right here, where their homes are.
This is not simply a spa hotel. It is an invitation to slow down, to listen, and to care – both for yourself and for the place you are in, and for the people who live and work in this region.
We are creating this spa with dedication and in the hope that we have the opportunity to make the world a little better, piece by piece. One person and one experience at a time. Because just as bad has a habit of multiplying, so does good – it spreads from person to person!
We do not offer a fully planned daily schedule, but a perfect rest together with activities suited to nature and relaxation. Space to breathe. An environment for slowing down.
Because in today’s world, time is the rarest luxury. It must be taken. And Alutagusemaa deserves to be taken exactly this way, and exactly here.