The Tolox spa was opened in 1869, three years after the spring was discovered. Ravaged in 1906 by a great flood, it was rebuilt by D. Manuel del Rio who undertook a tireless task to improve communication and infrastructure to bring the “water users” to the town.
Since time immemorial, a series of water sources and springs known by the name of “bitters” have been recognised in the municipality of Tolox because of their special taste, which were used by the residents of Tolox to cure endless ailments, by ingestion and bathing.
This spa is the only one in Spain specialised exclusively in the respiratory system, as its waters give off a gas that is taken in by inhalation. The spa is located a short distance from the town of Tolox at the foot of the Sierra de las Nieves being, in many ways, unique in the world.
The mountains that surround it form a labyrinthine amphitheatre, facing east, which protects it from the winds and provides a healthy microclimate.
It was D. José García Rey, a native of Tolox and a pharmacist, who focused his attention on these cures and began a scientific study that led to the exact knowledge of this unique spring. He carried out the necessary works for the collection and analysing of the mineral water,cataloguing it with the variegated name of alkaline-brominated, ammonium-sulfurized, crenate-ferromagnesian waters. The spa was inaugurated in 1869. It was razed in 1906 by a floodplain, it was rebuilt by D. Manuel del Rio.
Politicians like Primo de Rivera, Sánchez Román or Julián Permantín; bullfighters like Lagartijo or Sánchez Mejías; or artists such as Luis Mariano or the famous Malaga poet Salvador Rueda, a close friend of the owner’s family, D. Manuel del Rio, have been regular visitors since its construction from the end of the 19th century.
The management of the Tolox Spa, as well as the hotel of the same name built in 1870, has been passed from generation to generation until today. The Tolox Spa was recognised with the seal of Singular Establishment of the Diputación de Málaga for its historical value and its contribution to the heritage of the province.
