25 Best spa hotels & resorts – with a difference

Of all the thermal spa resorts in Tuscany, the Adler is arguably the best. It’s spa facilities – which include a spectacular indoor-outdoor thermal pool complex – are superb, the design aesthetic stylish and the setting is fabulous.

Excellent food and wine come as part of the package; wine tastings in the Travertine wine cellar is a must, with simpler meals on offer in the cosy osteria.

When not wallowing in the thermal water (heated to a natural 37°), having a massage or sweating it out in one of eight Turkish baths and saunas, guests can use the Adler as a base for exploring the glorious, UNESCO-endorsed Val d’Orcia and its lovely hill towns, Montepulciano, Pienza and San Quirico d’Orcia.

The wine-growing area of Montalcino (famous for its gutsy red Brunello wines) is not far, and Siena is a 45-minute drive.

One of Tokyo’s plushest addresses, the Aman is modern, spacious and meticulously stylish throughout – from opulent spa and restaurants to the 84 rooms and suites that draw on traditional Japanese sensibilities with touches like deep-soaking ofuro baths.

Located on the top six floors of a skyscraper in the Otemachi business district, the Aman comes with superb city views – as does the spa, which spreads over two floors, and is the largest in the city. A truly zen sanctuary, the spa showcases traditional Japanese wellness traditions, including traditional kampo therapies derived from traditional Chinese medicine, that rebalance using the power of natural herbs.

Handily placed for all the main sites – the Imperial Palace, Ginza and Nihonbashi districts, and Tokyo Station are all nearby – staying at the Aman also gives access to experiences including a private dinner and entertainment at one of the capital’s most exclusive geisha houses.

Wilderness really doesn’t get wilder, remoter or more pristine than this daring resort in Swedish Lapland. Or gloriously glamorous. The ingenious design of its striking spa complex, clad in tree branches, means in summer, it floats on the Lule River, while in winter it is held captive, frozen in the mesmerising stillness of the ice.

Authenticity is central to the resort’s ethos, so the indigenous Sámi culture is celebrated through unforgettable food (more reindeer anyone?) and cherry-cheeked activities such as dog-sledding, ice-fishing and moose whispering in ghostly birch forests.

The wellness taps into the Swedish concept of lagom, a life lived in balance and moderation. Mindfulness means listening intently to a reindeer herder sing Sami songs in a tent, or treatments that feature traditional herbs with aromatic scents.

The absence of light pollution ensures the aurora borealis viewing, from August to March, is nothing short of fantastic.

One of Italy’s great luxury boutique retreats, Borgo Santo Pietro occupies an elegant villa and surrounding stone hamlet in a little-visited corner of Tuscany, 45-minutes’ drive from Siena.

The Danish owners have painstakingly restored the buildings and expanded the estate, which now includes a working farm supplying much of the produce for the resort’s two excellent restaurants, plus the superb line of herbal ‘Seed to Skin’ spa products.

The cocooning interiors are done out in elegant style, featuring crystal chandeliers, antiques and paintings, with crackling open fires for cool weather. Paths wind through the extensive gardens which include small, formal parterres and wildflower-filled fields; daybeds for whiling away hot afternoons are dotted throughout.

The exceptional spa has recently launched new seed-to-skin Tuscan in-room spa treatments, bookable in the five pool houses and selected suites only. These mini spa havens combine facials, body treatment, massages, and holistic healing. Interestingly, each house/suite has it’s own dedicated signature treatment exclusive and bookable in that particular room only.

There’s an immense amount of space for just 22 rooms, making this an ideal choice for a couple looking for a romantic stay. There are no major sights nearby – the ‘get away from it all’ location is one of the attractions. It’s a haven of seclusion, dedicated to the ultimate well-being.

Carved into a cliff-face between the Sierra Madre mountains and the Pacific Ocean, and blanketed by a tropical rainforest, this chic hideaway is so romantic that if you aren’t madly in love when you arrive, you will be by the time you leave. It’s about pure unashamed decadence.

Each suite exudes a sense of place, with a classic ochre colour palette and classy Mexican art. All have acres of space, including a wide terrace with a discreetly positioned plunge pool for guaranteed privacy. A can-do butler will arrange candlelit dinners in your room or picnics on the private white-sand beach.

The spa takes inspiration from ancient Aztec wellness traditions; treatment rooms are scented with the healing toronjil flower and lotions feature cacao, coffee, aloe and cactus.

A local artist has decorated the hotel’s beach cruiser bikes and curated a flora and fauna tour of a nearby nature reserve. Guests can also help at his art classes for local children. The hotel also offers a Mexican-food cooking lesson – with a trip to the local market first for ingredients – yoga, golf, scuba diving, deep-sea fishing, sailing and surfing.

Thoughtfully fashioned from an abandoned 19th-century hacienda, this jungle-clad resort is set in 750 acres of rainforest dotted with crumbling arches and atmospheric outbuildings, adding gravitas to the modern Mexican groove.

The focus is wellness, but it takes many forms, from the elegant spa, with morning and evening yoga and meditation, and open-sided treatment rooms which makes the jungle feel part of the massage, to a round on the serenely-beautiful golf course and culinary classes in the hotel kitchen.

Chable’s eco-conscious ethos makes it ideal for nature-loving romantics looking for soft adventure; jungle hikes paired with pampering therapies, tequila tastings and star-lit dinners set against the lush tropical backdrop.

It’s also one of the few hotels to have its own cenote – a natural, semi-subterranean limestone pool that makes for a surreal swimming experience.

Once a sheep farm, this lavish getaway is lost in the wilds of the Troll Peninsula. You’re really out in the sticks here: the nearest town is Akureyri, a rugged 45-minute drive that requires a 4×4.

With its sleek surfaces, rustic materials and minimalist design, it’s a model of Scandi chic – but it somehow manages to feel cosy too, with sheepskin rugs, textiles and leather armchairs giving it the feel of a traditional Icelandic lodge (the building has a grass roof, a nod to the tradition of turf houses).

There’s a luxurious spa, a geothermally-heated pool and all meals are included – but it’s the views that really sell this place: a wall of glass offers uninterrupted views over the wild valley.

Even better, many adventures are included in your stay – from trekking to horse riding. There are thirteen rooms, or if you have the cash, the whole place can be booked out as the ultimate Icelandic retreat.

In the shadow of the abandoned 13th-century town of Mystras, Greece’s answer to Pompeii, this ‘wellbeing destination spa hotel’ has been built around a centuries-old, honey-stoned mansion, which houses the resort’s top suites, the 4th-floor carved spa, the GAIA restaurant, a library and chill-out lounges. Atmospheric alleyways and landscaped courtyards link this hub to two new accommodation blocks, alongside a refectory-style restaurant and sun-trap terrace.

There are memorable (and strenuous) mountain hikes and day trips to ancient sites such as Olympia and Monemvasia but most guests never stray far from the striking contemporary spa complex, carved 25 metres into a private pine forest. Its four floors are home to a state-of-the-art gym, medical consultation rooms for full-body health checks and spa treatment rooms that offer a cathedral-like calm.

The stunning outdoor infinity pool looks across the wide open plain of Sparta, to mountain peaks far beyond. Take morning yoga on the deck, overlooking this UNESCO heritage landscape.

Filmmakers Baz Luhrmann and his Academy Award-winning designer wife Catherine Martin were creative consultants for this fabulously OTT hotel. They took inspiration from their film collaboration, The Great Gatsby, to create interiors that are a shimmering symphony of red, gold and tiger print.

An extraordinary collection of contemporary art is sprinkled through the hotel, including a Damien Hirst sculpture of a woolly mammoth skeleton, dipped in 24-carat gold. Standing poolside, it adds a unique edge to views of the sky-blue Atlantic, bone-white beach and swishing palm trees.

The Tierra Santa Healing House spa is an equally theatrical affair, commanding 22,000sq ft of the third floor. This ensures plenty of room for one of the east coast’s largest hammams, spectacularly clad with slabs of twinkling Amazonite, a precious gemstone with healing properties.

Treatments take their cues from South America as well as Asia, so the team includes intuitive shamans who employ the magical powers of Nepalese singing bowls, handmade from seven different metals to ensure a perfect fine tune. This is not the place for shrinking violets.

Sashaying down a tropical hillside on sleepy Jimbaran Bay, the intimate ambience of this resort comes courtesy of a design inspired by local villages – albeit a very luxe version of them. Woven sensitively into the landscape, the communal pools are built around trees, with rushing waterfalls, while the sturdy volcanic stone villas are tucked away along twisting paths and set within their own courtyards for elevated privacy. Their thatched pavilions and sea-view infinity pools rubber-stamp a relaxing outdoor living vibe.

Bali is an incredibly spiritual place and home to many excellent luxury spas but none captures the essence of Balinese culture better than the Healing Village Spa, a two-storey palace suspended over water. It honours Bali’s traditions and translates them into beautifully curated treatments and rituals. This spa has some of the island’s best therapists and healers but it’s not shy of modern technology, and is constantly innovating to ensure there is always something to intrigue.

Maldivian islands tend to be so tiny they can feel claustrophobic, or so large they have a busy, summer-camp vibe. This sophisticated resort hits the sweet spot in-between; large enough to need bikes to buzz around but retaining a sense of intimacy and splendid isolation.

Better still, its beach extends into a coveted sand spit for romantic sunset walks out into the ocean where you’ll feel like you’re walking on water. It has an excellent marine research centre, so underwater adventures are particularly rewarding (there’s a manta-on-call service to ensure you see these extraordinary creatures), but it places as much emphasis on drilling down into wellness as diving into the water.

The spa focus is on Asia’s ancient medical health system. It has a team of ayurvedic doctors who can diagnose your prakruti, your constitution, and doshic energy, current state of health, to give impressive lifestyle and diet recommendations. There’s plenty of indulgence here too though, with overwater or jungle rooms for pampering treatments.

Rustling palms, sapphire seas and an all-encompassing sense of escape – this low-impact resort, spread along the edge of Bora Bora’s sapphire-blue lagoon and looking across to the majestic Mount Otemanu, is one of the most breathtakingly beautiful places to stay on the planet.

Robinson Crusoe fantasies play out against a backdrop of thatched luxury villas, barefoot-chic beach restaurants and the Deep Ocean Spa. Set on the neighbouring island of Motu Piti Aau island, and only reachable by boat, it’s the only spa in French Polynesia to focus on thalassotherapy, using seawater as a therapeutic cure. The over-water rooms have glass-bottomed floors, making it possible to watch the fishes glide past during treatments.

All the other trappings of a luxury resort are here – watersports, sunset cocktails, private dinners – but there’s a strong focus on the environment and French Polynesian traditions, making this far more than just a tropical fly and flop.

This is edge-of-the-world wilderness and the accommodation is suitably wood-cabin rustic. What makes it a winner is the endearingly heartfelt sincerity of the Kamarainen family who own, run, live and breathe this hotel. It is important to them that they are always on site to meet and greet guests, and ensure personal service.

It’s easy to see why they’re so proud of their home; the location is sublime, a mirror-calm lake, hauntingly-beautiful birch forests and guaranteed pin-drop peace and quiet. There’s a coherent integrity to every aspect of a stay so the cuisine is regional, with a fabulous wild food restaurant where berries and mushrooms foraged from the forest, compliment game and fish. Their dress is traditional and the wellness is homegrown too.

Finland is the spiritual home of the sauna and the family keep it simple: get very hot in one of its saunas, and then jump in the lake to cool down. In fact, they strip everything back to basics – as they like to say moonlight is the only street light needed.

This is the city’s grandest grande dame and the fashionistas’ favourite Parisian bolthole. Nowhere is chicer or more effortlessly and glamorously gallic, right down to having a hotel cat, a white Burmese called Fa-Raon, who strolls its marbled halls like a red carpet.  

Its grand salons are as fabulously lavish as those in Versailles. There’s also a flower-filled, lattice-laced internal courtyard and a three Michelin-starred restaurant. The spa maintains those impeccable standards. Light-filled and with its own al fresco garden, its therapists are used to dealing with the most demanding of Parisian high society and are at the very top of their game.  

It’s all discreet, high net worth pampering from liquid gold body massages to white caviar facials.

And taking indulgence to the next level, its swimming pool is on the sixth floor and designed to look like a vintage wooden yacht. As you do laps, it feels as though you are floating over the city’s rooftops. You can’t help but feel on top of the world.

This hotel is an oenophile’s dream – the perfect place to unwind in Bordeaux’s wine country.

Just 20 minutes from the city, it consists of wooden buildings in an enchanting garden setting. Rustic French barn meets zen minimalism here.

You sleep in rustic chic rooms, suites and cottages, and laze between the hydrotherapy pools, steam room, loungers and an outdoor hot tub, created – naturally – from a giant barrel.

Two gastronomic restaurants, including the two Michelin-starred La Grand’Vigne, add yet another layer of lacquer.

The superb concierge service can arrange anything you want to do or visit around Bordeaux, though you will need a car to get around the wine region.

Londolozi has been a safari camp for eight decades, passed on through generations of the Varty family. Situated in 14,000 private hectares of the 56,000-hectare Sabi Sand Game Reserve, bordering the Kruger National Park, it’s known for its Big Five sightings, especially leopard.

There are five top-notch but differing camps aligned on the banks of the Sand River, offering a range of options from the uber-luxurious (and expensive) Private Granite Suites to the more family-oriented Varty Camp and Founders Camp.

Interiors are among the chicest in Africa: all monochrome, with beautiful tribal pieces offsetting modern linen sofas and elegant, understated four-posters.

There’s a strong spirit of conservation and community involvement, driven by passionate family owners, and food, service and style are all five star.

This striking contemporary lodge is surrounded by a 2,500-acre protected reserve that straddles Ecuador’s Choco rainforest and cloud forest, making it one of the world’s richest areas in terms of biodiversity. Get to grips with the terrain on its mile-long Dragonfly Gondola – an open-air cable car that glides above the lush canopy – and then immerse yourself in a broader perspective of wellness that goes way beyond the forest bathing concept.

Wildlife patrols offer the chance to spot rare birds, tree frogs, endless monkeys and, if you’re lucky, a puma. The lodge pays more than lip service to ecotourism; it was built on the only piece of flat land in the reserve and not one single tree was chopped down during construction.

There is a special energy present throughout the reserve, and that sense of inherent vibrancy is amplified in the spa. Simple treatment rooms have glass walls to deepen the connection to nature and lotions are made from local herbs, healing plants, fruit extracts and even chocolate oil.

Set on the northern shores of the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth, this gargantuan luxury resort takes the form of a traditional Arab village, with bougainvillea-draped gardens breaking up the traditional cuba-style houses and villas. The stone exterior blends in with the local architecture, and the rooms – there are ten different types – are comfortable, spacious and well equipped.

A stay at this colossal property is all about the Dead Sea. Guests spend their time caking themselves in mud and floating on the surface, or simply sunbathing on the shore and soaking up the views. Once they’ve had their fill of floating, guests work on their tans by the hotel’s many swimming pools.

When the heat gets too much, you can opt to relax in one of the Middle East’s most advanced spa complexes, the Zara Spa, stretching across one and a half acres. The spa’s soothing freshwater al fresco hydrotherapy pools are vast and overlook the Dead Sea’s healing salts in which you’ve just been soaking. There’s a choice of 70 treatments, a health-focused terrace restaurant and even a hairdressing salon to ensure an inner and outer glow.

In spite of its spa focus, this is a great resort for families, with an excellent kids’ club and nine restaurants and bars, offering everything from Arabic pastries to pizza, as well as more upscale dining.

This dazzling 18th-century fort palace in Rajasthan’s soft-focus Aravalli hills is every romantic’s dream of India. The hotel skilfully fuses old-world grace with contemporary minimalism; fairytale turrets, twinkling walls encrusted with gemstones and secret passageways to candlelit courtyards. Add warm jasmine-scented air and it feels more like a movie set than a boutique hotel.

That authenticity informs its approach to wellbeing, embracing the country’s ancient ayurvedic health system with subtle modern touches. Curated treatments can be taken in hidden nooks of the palace as well as pretty spa rooms. You can release the pressure valve, breathing in Himalayan salt in its hand carved chamber, try immersive exercise such as sunrise yoga on the rooftop and opt for delicious personalised meal plans or order G&Ts.

This is me-tox, not detox, so expect plenty of decadent touches such as the vast pool and spectacular al fresco hot tub that links you to this uniquely uplifting landscape.

If a dip in the fabled Blue Lagoon isn’t enough of a spoil, then for the ultimate indulgence, book a night at this swanky spa hotel, located just a few steps from the lagoon’s western edge. Rooms are beautifully decorated, with expansive glass windows offering views over the Reykjanes lava fields of the lagoon.

There are three upscale restaurants to choose from – the Michelin-rated Moss, Lava or the Spa Restaurant.

Everything here is designed to indulge your every whim, from morning yoga sessions to spa treatments and massages. A section of the lagoon is reserved solely for guests’ use.

One of the first riads to open in the medina, and still one of the best, the Farnatchi oozes pared-down elegance, paring classic Moroccan touches – zelig tiling and smooth tadelakt walls, with a contemporary, Manhattan-does-Marrakech vibe.

The ten suites are spread over seven houses, all linked, in a quiet corner of the medina. The small number of bedrooms means the communal spaces – including the roof terrace, main patio with its shimmering, 7metre pool and the bhou (traditional outdoor seating area) never feel crowded.

Most locals wouldn’t be seen dead in a hotel spa, but this chic retreat is the exception. Airy and light-filled relaxation lounges segue into areas with striking vintage photography that covers entire walls. It offers a bespoke mix of Moroccan, Ayurvedic and Chinese wellness that’s a 100% winning formula.

It may be a cliché, but Farnatchi really does feel like an oasis among the freneticism of the medina.

The Standard Miami Beach sizzles like a sexy beach party. The resort’s mid-century design is sprinkled with endearing kitsch touches and a winning focus on the al fresco, including the city’s hippest open-air hydrotherapy playground. It comes with a vast waterfront infinity pool, an icy arctic plunge, high-pressure hoses and bayside soaking tubs, where the local body-beautifuls spend their downtime.

The mood sashays from whimsical – there’s a labyrinthine zen garden with a solar circle for meditation – to risque – those using the outdoor mud lounge tend to discard clothing to smear its healing red, ochre and green clays all over. It’s daring, but also deadly serious about wellness.

Top-notch instructors guide guests through an inventive fitness programme from morning yoga on the dock to state-of-the-art Peloton spin classes, while the Lido Bayside Grill serves some of the best stealth-health dishes you’ll ever eat including incredible vegan burgers.

Surrounded by pine-clad ridges and bathed in sunshine 365 days of the year, Calistoga is famous for its natural hot springs and therapeutic volcanic muds.

This resort’s design echoes the area’s colonial revivalist architecture, with clean-lined clapboard cottages radiating out from a reception and dining hub. Each room is bordered by neatly trimmed hedges, with bikes parked outside rubber-stamping its appealing small-town sportiness.

Against the lush natural backdrop, Spa Solage takes centre stage. Its chic outdoor pool is surrounded by loungers and swaying palm trees, the treatment area shimmers with pure-white glossiness. The piece de resistance, though, is the huge bathhouse with five geothermal pools, ranging from icy cold to temptingly toasty; bob between them, the eucalyptus steam room and infrared saunas.

The wealthy couples who come here want stealth health – this is the Napa Valley after all. Solage keeps the mood quietly indulgent, embracing both detox and retox, with diverse activities from cycling to vineyard tastings and health-focused fine dining.

In the late 1980s, long before today’s wellness trend hit its stride, Costa Rican architect Jaime Mikowski recognised the healing powers of the Tabacón Thermal River and the Arenal Volcano and set about developing this 900-acre rainforest resort.

Channelling the country’s largest network of natural thermal springs, he constructed waterfalls and pools, planted lush gardens featuring more than 200 native plants and built sleek, fuss-free rooms with walls of glass to bring the outdoors indoors and offer a confidently pared-back refuge from the 21st century.

This is a spa for water babies: the action centres around the mineral-rich pools, which range from 25°C to 50°C, all heated by the now-dormant volcano. One has a swim-up bar and thermal waterslide, others are dotted through the gardens. To intensify that connection with nature, treatments are taken in open-sided thatched cabins and use lotions made from local plants, blending Costa Rican customs with ancient practices from around the world.

The Atacama Desert is the driest place in the world; an otherworldly landscape that looks more like the moon than earth. Tierra Atacama provides a place to stay that matches that majesty. Sustainable, authentic and suitably dramatic, its contemporary buildings feel sculpted by nature rather than constructed by man.

Its elemental ambiance, pure air and profound silences encourage meaningful wellness experiences and Uma Spa’s vast lengths of window, pink-toned stone walls and bamboo canopy provide the necessary nurturing cocoon. In the heart of the desert, this spa celebrates water.

Soak in the spectacular outdoor infinity pool or the al fresco hot tub, contemplating the Licancabur Volcano. Take yoga classes on an outdoor platform overlooking the endless desert or simply snooze in a wicker hammock strung between ancient desert trees. Active options include horseback rides through ethereal valleys and heart-thumping hikes for a salty float in high-altitude lagoons.