The world’s best spas from Italy to Iceland
Forget deprivation. From Iceland to Greece, the world’s leading wellness retreats offer pioneering therapies, breathtaking settings and serene digs.
1 Palazzo Fiuggi, Italy
On a hilltop almost an hour from Rome sits Palazzo Fiuggi, the recently opened and distinctly elegant wellness retreat in the Art Nouveau former Grand Hotel Palazzo della Fonte. Known as a haven for healing since the 14th century – Michelangelo was a reputed fan – the town of Fiuggi is still famous for its spring waters. At the Palazzo, an expansive spa houses a balneotherapy experience modelled on traditional Roman baths. Ancient remedies are combined with cutting-edge diagnostic and medical services, modern treatments and holistic therapies for immune strengthening, cellular rejuvenation and weight loss. There are also hikes to the region’s Five Castles, the opportunity to play on one of Italy’s oldest golf courses and tennis on a court that overlooks the old town.
Top Tip Take a cooking class with three-Michelin-starred chef Heinz Beck,
who has devised Fiuggi’s anti-inflammatory, anti-ageing and antioxidant fare.
2 NihiOka, Sumba
The Indonesian island of Sumba is where you’ll find the world’s sexiest spa. An early-morning stroll from the idyllic Nihi Sumba resort – through paddy fields, past grazing water buffalo and charming villages – deposits guests at NihiOka. Here, palm fronds swish and streams tinkle as a freshly picked coconut is macheted to quench your thirst. The spa menu is chalked on a board from which you can choose unlimited treatments during your stay. Fresh fish and vegetables are barbecued in the nook of a tree for lunch, afternoon naps are taken beside a waterfall pool hidden in rocks and, in the evening, high on a bluff above the pristine beach is the spa’s one and only stay – a secluded villa with a canopy bed and private plunge pool. Or book one of the suites at the resort. Sumba is a 50-minute flight from Bali.
Top Tip NihiOka is off-grid. Sun, sea and no scrolling!
3 Sangha, China
Known as the Venice of the East, the city of Suzhou is two hours from Shanghai. There, on a 20-hectare peninsula is Sangha, a super-luxe lakeside retreat with 68 sumptuously designed suites, a penthouse suite and eight sprawling villas with an acute attention to detail, such as quartz-crystal mandalas positioned beneath every mattress to promote tranquil sleep. An impressive clinic fuses Eastern and Western approaches, while a spectacular subterranean spa features a herbal steam room, dry-heat laconium, balneotherapy treatments that use thermal mineral waters and an immune-boosting Himalayan salt cave. In a unique twist, devised by tycoon founder Frederick Chavalit Tsao, Sangha offers a “quantum leadership” mindfulness program designed to inspire captains of industry.
Top Tip Join the group Wim Hof breath-work sessions in the golden-domed meditation chamber for an out-of-body experience.
4 Chenot Palace Weggis, Switzerland
Crystal-clear water gently laps at the banks of Lake Lucerne at the foot of a turreted fairytale castle (formerly the Park Hotel), which has been transformed into the new Chenot Palace flagship. The program that Henri Chenot created in the 1970s has been honed and updated. It’s a reset for mind, body and soul using Chinese and Western medicine and a (scrumptious) reduced-calorie Mediterranean diet, while providing post-retreat tools to maintain a virtuous glow. Chenot was one of the original wellness visionaries, who highlighted how poor lifestyle choices can lead to degenerative disease. His advice is paired with the latest technology, including acoustically engineered “sleep” rooms, NASA-designed anti-gravity treadmills, laser acupuncture and whole-body photobiomodulation (claimed to boost metabolism, blood flow and collagen production). And, of course, swims in the magnificent lake.
Top Tip Book a room beneath the turrets for exquisite views of the lake said to have inspired the naming of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.
5 Sha Wellness Clinic, Spain
Since opening in the hills of Alicante in 2008, Sha continues to shine. Perhaps particularly pertinent is the wellness clinic’s newly developed post-Covid program. It prescribes a series of remedies purported to alleviate the long-term effects of the virus, including oxygen therapies, electromagnetic acupuncture, and transcranial direct current stimulation. The painless treatment, which uses electrical currents to stimulate specific parts of the brain, is also believed to mitigate depression. Alongside medical innovations are holistic therapies and a surprisingly delicious low-calorie, anti-inflammatory menu. Sha fans will be pleased to learn of the opening of an outpost in Mexico next year.
Top Tip Request a corner suite for fantastic 270-degree views of the Mediterranean and Sierra Helada mountain range. And be sure to order the hot Apple Kuzu nightcap – it helps you sleep like a lamb.
6 Forestis, Italy
For post-pandemic healing, there’s no greater place than new spa hotel Forestis in the spectacular Dolomite mountain range in the northern Italian Alps. In 1912 a tuberculosis sanatorium was built here, the site chosen for its spring water, temperate climate, clean mountain air and curative sunshine. Out in that mountain air, the offerings include hiking and Wyda yoga (founded by Celtic druids). Back at the retreat, guests can choose from six different saunas, steam baths and an impressive indoor-outdoor pool with hands-free sliding doors, as well as the spa hotel’s unique face and body treatments such as massages based on the healing properties of four native woods – apparently to help you tune in to nature. The sensational food is local, organic and often foraged. Don’t miss sunset around the firepit, when the Dolomite mountains are a mindblowing shade of pink that turns to violet, known as the Enrosadira.
Top Tip If you’re new to nude saunas, head to the often-empty log cabin sauna in the woods for a chance to disrobe in solitude.
7 Yeotown, England
If twice-daily yoga, hikes along England’s North Devon Coast and life-changing massage sound up your street, then Yeotown is for you. While this place is about detoxing (no alcohol, caffeine, dairy or refined sugar), it’s the polar opposite of an impersonal medispa. That’s because Yeotown is set in owners Simon and Mercedes Sieff’s own home in North Devon. A decade ago they decided to share their healthy way of life with others in need of a reboot. The proof is in the (sugar-free) pudding: they’ve become well-being gurus. Yeotown takes just 12 guests in rooms that vary from cosy cottages to swanky cabins with a freestanding tub and swing seat. It’s an intimate, thoughtful and inspiring place to change your ways.
Top Tip Let go. There’s no schedule; you’re just told where to meet for the next session. It’s ingenious – there’s no alternative but to trust the Yeotown process.
8 Sensei Retreat, Hawaii
On his private island of Lanai, Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison has revamped a former hotel for Sensei – a wellness retreat, run by Four Seasons, that bucks the trend of a feasting, fasting, speedy overhaul. Sensei’s ethos is about achieving balance via programs developed by Dr David Agus (author of A Short Guide to a Long Life) that focus on movement, nourishment and rest. As well as TRX, yoga, golf and tennis, the movement element incorporates hikes to the stunning Koloiki Ridge or navigating the ropes and ziplines in the adventure park. Rest is about meditation and massage treatments using thermal body-mapping to pinpoint inflammation. The retreat’s cabins are set in a lush, contemporary art-filled garden. Closet gourmands will appreciate dining at the world-first Nobu wellness restaurant.
Top Tip Request coaching sessions with Marcus, who previously worked in psychology and PTSD for US special forces.
9 Euphoria, Greece
Set in the Peloponnese, Euphoria is built around an ancient manor house that overlooks shimmery olive groves, the umber tiles of Mystras village and the splendid Parnonas mountains in the distance. Being in the heart of Sparta, its adrenaline-packed programs are inspired by the region’s warrior ancestors, where guests conquer peaks and scale rocky façades under the tutelage of a local Greek hunk. But for those needing an emotional reset, Euphoria also focuses on mindfulness, yoga and a program that responds to the chaos of the pandemic. The star of the show is the otherworldly spa. It’s found up a swirling spiral staircase that surrounds a wishing well at the bottom and a light well at the top and is equipped with an indoor-outdoor pool. Dive down to the bottom and listen to the sounds of whales and dolphins, before floating to the surface, ready for a new beginning.
Top Tip Don’t miss walking the ancient path to a 15th-century chapel tucked in a cave for a spiritual experience.
10 Deplar Farm, Iceland
The wellness program at Deplar Farm is a work of genius. Guests at this converted sheep farm in the remote Troll Peninsula in northern Iceland are the kind of high achievers who don’t fare well when told they “Just need to relax”. Accordingly, the program is about personal “aggregated gains”. It’s about making small science-backed lifestyle adjustments (often delivered as challenges – know your audience!) that trigger a boost in overall health and well-being. Daily activities in the purest of fresh air include snow-shoeing, cross-country skiing, river swimming, kayaking and whale watching. Then it’s back to the spectacular spa for shamanistic massage, a Viking sauna, icy plunge, isopod floatation tank and a swim in the geothermal pool where, if you’re lucky, the northern lights do their magical dance in the inky sky.
Top Tip Jump on a ski-doo and whizz past dormant volcanoes to a romantic cabin for a night in the middle of snowy nowhere.
LOCAL HAVENS
In search of a wellness sanctuary closer to home? Australia’s dreamiest destination spas are calling with a polished blend of holistic treatments and hedonistic trimmings.
At Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley in New South Wales, guests join in morning yoga classes and Pilates sessions designed by Sydney-based studio Fluidform before repairing to the spa for age-defying facials, skin-boosting massages and immersion in Japanese-style soaking tubs. The exquisite Greater Blue Mountains setting, not to mention its luxurious accommodations, are tonics for reducing tension.
For a Great Barrier Reef-inspired reset, venture to Qualia on Hamilton Island. At this super-luxe resort, signature experiences include the “Whitsunday escape” with three hours of pampering including a marine mineral facial. The resort can customise full-day packages and couples sessions, too.
Meanwhile, a high-tech oasis awaits at Crown Sydney. Experiences begin with a visit to the Aqua Retreat equipped with vitality pools, Swiss showers and steam rooms. Crown’s advanced menu includes pearl-infused masks, sleep-support treatments, and hot-sand therapy – a muscle-relaxing massage atop a mineral quartz bed. It’s an ancient Greek remedy for alleviating modern-day stress.