Banja Koviljača

Information about the applicant:

Company name: Specialized rehabilitation hospital Banja Koviljača, Serbia
Website: www.banjakoviljaca.rs
Contact: info@banjakoviljaca.rs

VIDEO

Evaluation category:

Category 3: Spa Center (sub-category: Medical spa center (having priority in curing, physiotherapy, paraffin, mud, autogenous training, music treatment programs, etc.)

1. Location

Park 4, 15316 Banja Koviljača, Serbia
Located at the point where the river Drina and Gučevo mountain meet, Koviljača Spa is a widely known natural spa and one of the most beautiful spas in Serbia. The natural factor of Banja Koviljača – thermal mineral water and sulphurous mud (peloid) are proven to support natural recovery and have a beneficial effect on the overall state of health. Combining the strengths of traditional treatment methods and modern achievements in the field of physical medicine, the Banja Koviljača Special Hospital successfully treats rheumatological and bone-joint diseases as well as post-operative conditions after injuries and neurological diseases.

2. Square meters

12.800 m2 of land, 25.200 m2 total

3. Interior and facilities/equipment

Specialized Rehabilitation Hospital Banja Koviljaca offers luxurious accommodations with 416 beds in studio apartments, single and double rooms, all meeting “B” category hotel standards. Each unit features its own bathroom, local and cable TV, AC, Wi-Fi, telephone, and direct line. The hospital’s facilities are interconnected by warm corridors.

The main accommodation facility, Novi Objekat, houses reception, administrative departments, outpatient clinic, diagnostics and therapy wards, rooms, studios, and a restaurant. Villa Hercegovina, a traditional children’s ward, was recently renovated to accommodate both adults and children for therapeutic procedures. Villa Dalmatia offers bright, comfortable rooms and luxurious studio apartments, representing the finest accommodation. Facility Standard, at the park’s northern entrance, boasts a restaurant and hosts some therapeutic procedures.

Kovilje Wellness Center, situated in the Bath of King Petar I, spans over 1500 m² with indoor and outdoor pools, saunas, a fitness center, and a pool bar. It guarantees a top-quality experience with expert therapists specializing in massages and various treatments. A medical specialist team is available for consultation, ensuring the treatments’ effectiveness.

The center helps guests unwind, discover themselves, and set goals. It offers various individual services, anti-aging treatments, and wellness programs to nurture both body and soul, providing unforgettable moments and rejuvenation.

The hospital includes a children’s department in Villa Hercegovina, which has been rehabilitating children since 1989 and was renovated in 2016. The department has treated over 74,000 children and plans further improvements.

The famous Kur-salon, built in 1932 for King Aleksandar Karađorđević, offers entertainment, prestige, glamour, and various artistic and entertainment facilities, symbolizing the Podrinje region.

4. Content of spa menu

Medical rehabilitation, treatment and prevention programs are conducted in Specialized Rehabilitation Hospital Banja Koviljaca, using the following therapeutic procedure:

Bathing in sulphuric thermo-mineral water
Vaginal spraying using sulphuric thermo-mineral water
Peloido-therapy in the form of mud wraps
High and low frequency electromagnetic therapy
Laser therapy
All kinds of electro therapies
Vacuum therapy
Horizontal therapy
Sono therapy
Paraffin therapy
Different kinds of photo therapy
Hydro therapy
Hydro kinesis therapy
Kinesis therapy
Physical therapy Occupational therapy

Wellness center Kovilje offers numerous individual contents, small packages, Soul and Body Care anti-age treatments and Art of Health and Beauty wellness programs.

WELLNESS PASS
DAY PASS
MASSAGES
ANTI-CELLULITE
RELAXATION
ROYAL
ANTI-STRESS
SPORTS
FOOT REFLEXOLOGY
FACE & HEAD REFLEXOLOGY
SMILJE
KOVILJE
SOUND
MINI PACKAGES
INDIVIDUAL TREATMENTS
BODY WRAP
BODY SCRUB
BATH IN KING’S OR QUEEN’S BATHTUB
AQUA DETOX
KOVILJE-CHI
AI-CHI by Jun Konno
WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM

wellness PROGRAMS
ANTI-CELLULITE
ROYAL DAY
ROYAL DREAM
ROYAL TREATMENT
KINGDOM OF JOY
ANTI-AGE
QUEEN’S POWER
ORIENTAL SENSATION
TOUCH OF PARIS
AYURVEDA
TIME JUST FOR ME
CHOCO SWEET
RADIO-WAVE LIFTING
SILKY COMPLEXION
CAVITATION
CAVITATION LUX
ROYAL FACIAL RENEWAL
MANUAL LYMPHATIC DRAINAGE
SHI-THAI
CANDLE MASSAGE
ALL INCLUSIVE PROGRAMS

5. Presence of Unique spa programs and treatments

Banja Koviljaca is one of Serbia’s oldest and most visited natural health resorts. In addition to all forms of physical therapy, there are also two natural healing factors: healing water and peloid (mud). Thermo-mineral water and peloid of Banja Koviljaca are proof that forces of nature are the best healers.

Balneotherapy can produce changes to the entire metabolism, it can speed up regeneration processes, and the latest findings suggest that sulphuric water have an anti-oxidative effect and that they can slow down the ageing process, as well as to reduce the production of free radicals.

The quality of the thermo-mineral water and peloid has been confirmed by Prof. dr Zeki Karagulle, M.D., President of the International Society of Medical Hydrology and Climatology (ISMH) himself.

6. Having priority in curing, physiotherapy, paraffin, mud, autogenous training, music treatment programs, etc.)

Thermo-mineral water which is used in therapeutic procedures at the Specialized Rehabilitation Hospital Banja Koviljaca, is taken from the depth of 67 m, at a temperature of 29.1 C.

Based on the terrain examination and complete physical and chemical analysis, it belongs to the group of Sodium-Calcium-Hydro Carbonated Sulphide-rich hypotherms. The most important therapeutic effects are ascribed to the high concentration of Sulphur. It is widely known that all healing waters are efficient in treating rheumatic diseases, but Sulphur-rich waters are considered a “golden standard” since Sulphur participates in the cartilage structure. Thermo-mineral water is applied in the form of baths (partial or general) and spraying.

Peloid found in Banja Koviljaca is of mineral origin and it is classified as a low-alkaline and reductive peloid.

It is prepared in special partitioned outdoor mud pools, which are filled with clay taken from the surrounding area. The clay is ground and mixed with sulphuric thermo-mineral water. Ripening of the mud is done in anaerobic conditions which are maintained by a constant flow of sulphuric water over the clay.

It takes three years and occasional mixing for the peloid ripening process to complete. During that period, the optimal concentration of the dissolvable substances is achieved. Fine granulation of the peloid contributes to its good plasticity, skin-adhering and water-binding capabilities – traits which are very important for therapeutic application.

Peloids have enormous thermal capacity, and little thermal conductivity and can be classified as favorable thermal-therapeutic materials. This allows for gentle and uniform transition of peloid heat into a patient’s body. In Specialized Rehabilitation Hospital Banja Koviljaca, peloid is used for therapeutic purposes in the form of mud wraps.

Thermo-mineral healing mud and water of Banja Koviljaca combined produce extraordinary therapeutic effects. They have a favorable effect since your skin becomes smooth, soft, elastic, and the warmth of the peloid causes the skin to swell and the pores to open, which enables the healing ingredients of this mud wrap to penetrate the skin.

7. Level of Qualification of the staff

Staff

In order for our guests to be healthy and in good spirits, our team of specialists takes care of them. These include: specialist and subspecialist doctors, defectologists, psychotherapists, physical and operational therapists, medical nurses and technicians, dietitian – nutritionist, and various other accompanying services. Faces of our staff emanate a certain energy that conquers pain and takes the worries away. Joy and tranquility that prevail here are created by a remarkable, almost spiritual lightness with which our staff takes constant care of our patients.

Staff of Specialized Rehabilitation Hospital Banja Koviljaca is synchronized like a sundial, since only acting as such mechanism, success is possible. To attest to that, this elite European institution was awarded the most prestigious healthcare award in Serbia – the SUNDIAL.
Staff of Specialized Rehabilitation Hospital Banja Koviljaca is guided by the adage:

The power of the waterfall lies in the multitude of its drops working together.

8. Level of Spa etiquette

EXTRACT FROM THE BOOK OF REGULATIONS ON RULES OF CONDUCT
Specialized rehabilitation hospital “Banja Koviljaca”
During the stay at the Specialized rehabilitation hospital “Banja Koviljaca” (hereinafter Medical center), users of the services (hereinafter Users), other persons and hospital staff are obliged to abide by the rules of behavior set forth in the Book of regulations of this Medical center.
• During the stay at the Medical center, Users and other persons are obliged to treat hospital staff fairly and with respect.
• User is required to send back home with the accompanying person any objects of value, personal firearms and large sums of money. If this is not possible, User should give the objects for safe-keeping to the Medical center’s cash desk or bank.
Medical center is not responsible for any possible damage or other consequences
• Users are not allowed to enter working areas of the Medical center (doctor`s offices, dispensaries, offices and stalls) without phoning in advance.
• The following is strictly forbidden: Disruptive behavior (shouting, singing, music playing, loud use of radio and TV sets etc on the premises of the Medical center; disposing of waste and spilling liquids in areas occupied by patients; using windows and balconies for drying laundry; damaging property of the Medical center (breaking it, drawing and writing on it, etc.); importing and drinking alcoholic beverages and using other narcotic substances; importing and keeping animals; playing cards or any other betting and gambling games; using hospital resources; smoking in patient rooms and other rooms in the Medical center that are not intended for such use; driving, stopping and parking vehicles on pathways and lawns; using hot electric plates and other heating appliances in the rooms; leaving the Medical center without the permission of the supervising employee.
• Users and other persons are required to protect the property of the Medical center that they use during their stay at the Medical center and they are materially liable for any damage or destruction of the property.
• Any damage caused by User or other person staying at the Medical center must be reimbursed to the Medical center by User.
• In patient rooms, the lights go out at 23:00 h, unless prescribed differently.
• User can bring their own radio or TV set with them and use it in their own room with the prior approval of the supervising employee.
• Users on inpatient care will be discharged from the Medical center: when the treatment is completed; when it is determined that the patient needs to be sent for treatment to another Medical center, when the treatment is cancelled due to justifiable reasons, at User’s request or at the personal request of a parent or guardian of the under-aged or mentally ill User; when User breaks the rules of conduct set forth in the Book of regulations.
• On discharge, User must return all objects that he/she received when admitted to the inpatient care. On check-out, the objects User deposited with the Medical center shall be given back.
• User must vacate the room he/she was in until 11:00 h at the latest.
• Visiting hours for Users on inpatient care are every day from 14:00 to 16:00 h.
• Persons suffering from infectious diseases, persons under the influence of alcohol and other narcotic substances, or persons unable to act reasonably for some other reason, are not allowed into the Medical center to visit Users on inpatient care.

RULES OF CONDUCT FOR GUESTS OF THE “KOVILJE” WELLNESS CENTER
Every user should be familiar with
rules of the institution to make the stay as pleasant as possible.

Working hours
Every day from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m
Breaks from 10:00 – 10:30 and 16:00 – 16:30
Reservations
The use of the services of the “Kovilje Wellness Center” is only possible with a prior reservation, which must be made at least 24 hours before the treatment by phone, email or in person at the Wellness reception.
Contact with the doctor
It is not mandatory, but it is preferred, if the guest has any health problem and it is included in the price of the treatment.
Payment
Wellness services are paid for at the institution’s reception desk or at the reception desk of the Wellness Center.
Service procedure
Register at the wellness reception at least 15 minutes before each scheduled treatment, in order to respect the scheduled treatment time. The guest receives a bathrobe, towel and slippers for use, and keeps his belongings in a locker under lock and key. Showering is mandatory before using the service.
Cancellation of appointments
Cancellation or change of appointment must be done at least 8 hours before the scheduled time.
Children in Wellness

Children under the age of 10 do not have the right to use wellness services

Jewelry
Wearing jewelry in wellness is not recommended, because it can change color due to the effect of sulfurous fumes.
The staff of the establishment and wellness are not responsible for valuables if the rules are not followed.
Passes
Membership and pass cards, as well as payments, are valid only for the user in whose name they are registered.
The following is prohibited in the Wellness Center:

smoking; arriving in an alcoholic state or under the influence of narcotics, disturbing order and peace, disturbing other users and employees (yelling, making noise, jumping into the pool…).

9. Evaluation of the guests

The trust of guests is rewarded. This is primarily done within our institution by the introduction of off-season
discounts, prize games that bring free content, various benefits and loyalty programs. A pleasure
of patients is analyzed and according to the latest indicators, it is increasing and amounts to 4.8-4.9 on a scale of up to 5.

According to the analysis of user satisfaction in 2021, Specialized hospital Banja Koviljača was rated with a maximum score of 5.0, and according to the official survey of satisfaction of users of health care in the state health institutions of the Republic of Serbia for the year 2019, the Specialized hospital for rehabilitation Banja Koviljača is the rehabilitation center ranking first place in the country. Google also gives high ratings, awarding Specialized hospital with a rating of 4.5 out of 5, the Kovilje wellness center with a rating of 4.7 out of 5, and Kur-salon with a rating of 4.8 out of 5.

10. Spa Management and advertising

Special Rehabilitation Hospital Banja Koviljača, led by Prim. Dr. Aleksandar Jokić, played a vital role during the SarsCoV-19 pandemic. It temporarily shifted its focus to serve as a COVID hospital, receiving recognition from the President of Serbia. This challenging period led to financial instability but ultimately resulted in a record business performance.

A significant milestone was reached through a historic collaboration with the Pension Insurance Institute of the Republic of Austria (PVA). After rigorous checks and a three-year project, the hospital met all requirements set by the Austrian commission for equipment, staff expertise, service quality, and treatment effectiveness. This led to an agreement signed in 2021, making Banja Koviljača Special Hospital the exclusive rehabilitation center for Austrian pensioners with musculoskeletal issues.

The hospital’s commitment to excellence was acknowledged with national awards. It was named “Champion of Excellence,” and Dr. Aleksandar Jokić received the title of “Leader of Business Excellence.”

Effective marketing begins from within, emphasizing the importance of every staff member in maintaining the hospital’s reputation. The marketing department, composed of dedicated individuals, handles various tasks independently, from photography and video production to event organization and web design. The hospital’s visual identity and logo, representing the therapeutic elements of Banja Koviljača, play a crucial role in branding.

The hospital actively participates in tourism fairs and conferences to promote its services. Personalized advertising materials are distributed during the holidays, enhancing brand recognition and loyalty.

In the Special Hospital, marketing is more than just promotion; it reflects the truth that patients find healing through nature and smiles, leaving as friends. The marketing department’s mission is simple: spread the word about Koviljača’s 165th spa season, offering 165 new reasons for health.

11. Presence of mineral water