Atera bathhouse and spa opens beneath Oswald Street in Glasgow city centre

Glasgow city centre has a new place to slow down. Atera, a holistic bathhouse and spa at 89 Oswald Street, has opened below the city streets, a few steps from Glasgow Central Station, and is now welcoming guests seven days a week.

The name comes from the Latin terra, meaning land or earth, and the whole space is rooted in Mediterranean wellness customs. Guests step in through an ordinary street-level doorway and follow the glow down to a subterranean suite of thermal spaces and treatment rooms, with scents, soundscapes and lighting inspired by the Mediterranean sun.

The centrepiece is a 12 metre vitality pool, which Atera says is the largest of its kind in Scotland. Kept at 37 degrees, it uses powerful hydrotherapy jets designed to replicate the effects of a massage, with ambient lighting that follows the sun's daily journey.

Around it sits a full thermal circuit. A ceremonial sauna holds up to 20 guests at 80 to 95 degrees, while a more intimate Finnish sauna runs at 70 to 80 degrees for quiet reflection. There is a steam room infused with botanicals and herbs, a hammam ritual with a mineral-rich salt scrub and Rhassoul clay, and a cold plunge pool at 8 to 10 degrees for anyone brave enough to finish with a bracing dip.

Seven specialist treatment rooms offer facials, massages, body treatments and bathing journeys using products from Elemis and Comfort Zone. Beyond the water, there is a gym kitted out with Technogym equipment and diagnostic technology, plus fitness classes and a reformer Pilates studio.

Atera Café completes the picture with a plant-forward menu that blends Mediterranean cooking with seasonal Scottish ingredients. Expect salads, sharing plates of Scottish cheeses and antipasti, yoghurt bowls, light bakes such as pistachio and orange cake, Italian coffee and a short list of wines.

The project is managed by the international spa consultancy BBSpa, which provided design and management services. Kirsty MacCormick, senior vice president of global operations at BBSpa Group, said: "Located in the beating heart of Glasgow, Atera offers a space to pause, reset and invest in wellbeing in a way that feels both purposeful and sustainable."

Alongside individual visits and treatments, Atera offers two memberships. Element gives seven-day access to the fitness studio, hydropool, sauna and steam room, while Celeste adds contrast therapy and monthly hammam or sauna and plunge experiences. Atera is open from 7am to 9pm on weekdays and 8am to 8pm at weekends, so a winter warm-up is never far from the station.