A Spa session is now a must have when we go on holiday, if not the only reason for the holiday. Therefore, Hoteliers world wide are now aware of this need and are designing Spas that offers the best in holistic treatments. For you our readers we have done a world wide search for some of the latest and best Spa breaks your mind and body will thank you for. These can be found in Italy, UK, Sicily, St. Lucia, Tasmania, Vietnam and UAE
Es Saadi Palace Spa, Morocco
Located in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh, the Es Saadi Palace Spa specialist treatments include the five Es Saadi signature messages, aimed at promoting detoxification stimulating energy, sculpting the body and rebalancing the body and mind. A yoga class followed by one of those treatments in the spa’s vast open-air terrace overlooking the Atlas Mountain surely beat any DIY treatment.
According to the hotel ‘the spa is built around a 100-year-old eucalyptus tree which watches over the place, symbolising renewal and transformation and that the whole concept of the spa is about total wellness and the revitalisation of self.
If that all sound a little too Zen for your liking, the spa also houses the first Dior Institute outside of Paris, for more traditional beauty treatment fans. With 24 treatment rooms over three floors, the spa is open to non-resident from nine in the morning to nine at night daily.
Rainforest Spa, The Jalousie Plantation, St. Lucia
Nestled between the island’s majestic Piton Mountains, it’s hard to imagine a more perfect pampering location than the Rainforest Spa, The Jalousie Plantation. It built by local crafts men to mirror the Arawak Indians who were the original inhabitants, some 900 years ago. It consists of seven tree houses, an earthen steam room (a Temascal) and a wet treatment room accessed via a candlelit wooden walkway. There’s also a beauty room for facial treatments and hairdressing salon. Most of the plantation-style villas are hidden up in the lush, virgin rainforest with the beach not far away.
Rainforest Spa, offers an extensive list of treatment, you could spend months trying the different wraps, scrubs and massages – from relaxing to nourishing and detoxing. Anti-aging facial treatments, using Environ products and CACI (Computer Aided Cosmetology Instrument), are also on the menu. The products used in the spa are made from locally sourced ingredients and are chemical-free.
Verdura Golf and Spa Resort, Sicily
Situated on 230 hectares of land with 1.8km stretch of private beach, the verdure Golf and Spa Resort gives you the chance to regain some inner peace. Main attractions include its two-tiered infinity pool with stunning view of the cost; inside the spa are multiple hydrotherapy pools to treat neglected bodies with its rich mineral waters.
The treatments are locally source ingredients and minerals from the volcanic lava stones form Mount Etna which promises to reactivate cell metabolism and alleviate wrinkles. A recommendation is the purifying body treatment with a detoxifying scrub – it uses locally sourced grape seeds and olive leaves to buff you and really push the benefits of the healthy waters deeper into your skin.
Lefay Spa, Lake Garda, Italy
Lefay Spa is tucked away high up on a hillside overlooking Italy's Lake Garda, this picturesque, eco-sustainable resort is the perfect place to recharge in peace. The place offers a modern look and feel with spacious rooms with huge balconies or garden patios. For the best view, visit the outdoor infinity pool – also perfect for burning off those extra calories you might have acquired at the mozzarella and Parma ham buffet.
Lefay Spa treatment menu offers everything your stressed out self could ask for: from balancing programmes to acupuncture, pampering massages, flotation therapies and facials. Plus a wide variety of pools hat tubs, grottos and saunas to sweat out those remaining toxins.
Herb House Spa, Lime Wood Hotel, UK
Located in the New Forest of New England, the hotel is surrounded by the forest complete with wild pigs, deer and cows, which you will meet when you go out for a walk. Previous a mini-spa, it has been upgraded to offer luxurious wood panelled rooms decorated with pinecones and candles. Onsite is the spa’s own restaurant, Raw and Cured offering delicious salads, cured fish and meat from the smoke house.
The sauna and hydrotherapy pool are designed around the forest, much like a lot of New England architecture. Huge windows mean you can gaze at the changing light and colours cast by the trees as you relax. The spa uses Bamford organic products and the treatments. For to be mothers the ante-natal massage is on the menu. While not having your treatment you can take part in one of the Pilates and yoga classes in the herb garden, hurtle around the gym, hire bikes or simply have a go on the big swing overlooking the lake outside.
Waldheim Alpine Spa, Cradle Mountain Lodge, Tasmania
Cradle Mountain Lodge is located near the Cradle Mountain-lake of St Clair National Park an ancient rainforest on Tasmania’s northern tip. The Scottish highland retreat comes complete with tartan decor, log fires and robust cabins. You can work off the delicious dinners with four-hour hikes or DIY trails through the forest. Look out for the 40-foot King Billy pine trees, a dramatic yellow-tinged waterfall (tannin, apparently) and wallabies.
The lakeside Waldheim Alpine Spa offers suitably warming treatments, all using Elemis products. There are exotic wraps using ginger, frangipani or milk, a wide range of facials and massages and private bath rituals – couples welcome.
The spa’s Sanctuary has a hot tub that opens on to the Pencil Pine River. You can sprawl in bubbling warm water gazing at the snow and then, once you are fully waterlogged, head back to the lodge for one of Tasmania’s superb wines, in a bar that closes when the last reveller leaves.
Six Senses Con Dao, Vietnam
Con Dao Spa is one of the many Six Senses hotel group, set on the quiet island of Con Son, as 45 minutes flights south of Ho Chi Minh City. Con Dao is the epitome of a luxury hideaway destination, each of the private villas comes with its own pool and personal butler and looks directly out on to the ocean. The main hotel restaurant serves up a fabulous French/Asian-fusion cuisine, with some of the best fish and seafood dishes. Its second restaurant, Vietnamese by the Market, offers local specialities such as delicious vegetable spring rolls a spicy beef pho noodle soups.
Con Dao specialises in traditional Vietnamese therapies. For the most comprehensive experience, try the Detoxifier Journey. Whiling away a whole days by the pool is a pleasure take very seriously here, but active pursuits like ocean kayaking are also available.
Banyan Tree Al Wadi, UAE
The Banyan Tree is for remove from the skyscrapers of Dubai, the creators have kept the five-star quality associated with the region and move it to Al Wadi in Ras Al Khaimah (just 45-minutes drive from Dubai). With the Banyan Tree have gone back to their Emirati roots with this splendid desert-resort outpost. The deluxe tented villas come with soft silk furnishings, dark polished woods, palatial bathrooms and royal-blue mini-infinity pools.
Banyan Tree offers an endless treatment menu, from Swedish to Hawaiian massages; rituals, such as The Banyan Indulgences, which mix up footbaths, showers, aromatic scrubs, milk baths, cleansing wraps and massages; and general pampering treats. There are ten treatment pavilions, runs by specialists of the Banyan Tree Spa academy. The lavish hydrotherapy unit, including countless steam rooms, a rainforest circuit, igloo and vitality pools.
A major selling point is the resort’s nature reserve, the Wadi Khadeja and the special guides who offers a spectrum of activities, from walks to historical tours.