Venus Resort

Venus resort is part of the municipality of Mangalia, together with Saturn, Cap Aurora, Jupiter, Neptun and Olimp, forming a continuous stretch along Romania's southern Black Sea coast. It is situated approximately 5.5 km north of Mangalia and 42 km south of Constanța. Built between 1969 and 1971 and opened to tourists in 1972, it was conceived as an elegant destination featuring hotels and villas surrounded by extensive green spaces. The original architecture of the hotels — many bearing feminine names such as Rodica, Sanda, Silvia and Afrodita — set it apart from the other resorts along the coast. Within the resort lies Lake Venus, a freshwater lake where various water-based recreational activities can be enjoyed. In the southern part of the resort there is a dedicated pavilion for sapropelic mud wraps and sulfurous baths, treatments used for gynaecological conditions and disorders of the locomotor system. Nearby is also an important thoroughbred horse stud — Herghelia Mangalia — one of the largest in south-eastern Europe, home to over 350 horses, where horse races are organised during the summer. The resort's beach, with its fine sand and gently sloping entry into the water, forms an uninterrupted strip with the beach of Saturn resort to the south. Following a decline in the 1990s, a revival began after 2010 through private investment that transformed many of the older facilities into four- and five-star complexes. The resort caters primarily to families with children and to tourists seeking a peaceful atmosphere.