Words by Shari Mycek with Becca Hensley, Deanne Kaczerski, Kathryn Romeyn, Brandon Perlman, and Jake Emen. Each hotel is being equally honored in no particular order.
Fifteen seconds into any spa treatment, and it’s evident. The experience — be it massage, facial, body wrap, scrub, energy work, sound healing, or other — is going to be amazing. Or not.
That’s the consensus our discerning, wellness-minded editorial team reached after sampling hundreds of spa treatments this past year. Despite the trying-to-be-fancy offerings found on some spa menus and the obvious following-the-crowd trends on others, we stayed the course — revealing and endorsing only those found to be truly healing and transformative. Every time, the differentiating factor — the single standout feature that elevated one treatment above another — was the talent of and connection to the therapist.
Following are the Very Best spa treatments (and therapists) we unearthed this past year.
Kagi Maldives Resort & Spa
The spa that took us by surprise (see also, Very Best Wellness Resorts), had one of our editors so enamored, she spent more time on the massage table, yoga and sound-healing mats, than snorkeling the cerulean waters (which is saying a lot in the Maldives). The Baani spa at Kagi Maldives — which means “ocean swell” in the local Dhivehi language — is shaped, literally, like a rolling wave. Our editor’s first treatment was a lymphatic drainage massage with Maria, a Balinese therapist, who guided her through all of her spa treatments over the course of her stay. The standout came in the 90-minute Balinese massage, which began with the selection of oil (moisturizing pure coconut) and incorporated long, gentle strokes (with Maria using both hands and seashells), light pressure point work, and skin rolling.
Guerlain Wellness Spa, Waldorf Astoria NYC
Queen Elizabeth is in the house. The new Guerlain Wellness Spa at Waldorf Astoria New York was open only days when we fell into the capable hands of Elizabeth (“Queen Elizabeth” as we now address her). Flawlessly delivering one of the spa’s signature treatments, the 90-minute “Spirit of Achievement,” Elizabeth spent 45 minutes just on the back and shoulders, working to elongate the upper torso and stretch the body taller, before switching to do her magic — using a specific creme (this is a French spa after all) — on the décolletage and customizing further to work the TMJ line and ears. We will be back.
Spa Pendry Natirar, Peapack, New Jersey
Our inhouse editorial team was especially thrilled to find this top spa just an hour from Manhattan (and open to locals Mon-Thurs). Reserve a 90-minute customized massage with Yuka, originally from Japan, who studied there before honing her career in New York City and ultimately New Jersey. Her Asian spa influence is apparent in the way she gently twists and contorts, stretches, and presses every knot and kink.
Veligandu Maldives Resort Island
There are many authentic treatment options (Maldivian, Balinese, Thai) on the menu at Veligandu Maldives’ Himeyn Spa, which means “calmness” in the Dhivehi language. But the two-hour Maldives Journey with Yuna is an immersion in the archipelago nation’s coconut bounty. The ritual begins with a foot bath on the outside deck overlooking the sea (where our editor watched, mesmerized, a solo shark gliding through the sea-to-bottom waters), and is followed by a full-body massage combining deep strokes and stretching, so intense it has Yuna crawling right onto the massage table. A coconut body scrub and a most exotic hair cream bath — both using pure 100-percent coconut — complete the treatment. Relax in the outdoor hale with a cup of freshly made ginger and lemongrass tea.
Sensei Porcupine Creek, Rancho Mirage, California
When we watched therapist, Christine, don a full-body work apron at Sensei Porcupine Creek, we knew this was no ordinary facial. Christine’s 90-minute Gua Sha Uplifting Facial features Seed to Skin, a clean product line from Tuscany that is stored in jars with stainless steel lids, and so pure it has a shelf life of only six months. A jade, silver, or rose (personalized to each spa goer) gua sha — a smooth-edged tool used for centuries in Asia — works alongside Christine’s deft hands to masterfully stroke and lift the skin, stimulating lymphatic drainage and unblocking stagnant energy. Startling-cold cryotherapy globes complete the treatment, working to reduce puffiness and increase cell circulation. The result: a dewy masterpiece.
Salamander Washington DC
The newly unveiled Gharieni Wave Table treatment at Salamander Spa introduces one of Washington, D.C.’s most innovative wellness experiences — an immersive, first-in-market sound-therapy ritual that uses precisely calibrated acoustic waves and binaural sound to induce deep relaxation and energetic balance. Offered within the hotel’s brand-new, dual-level spa, the Wave Table can be paired with premium facials from elite skincare lines (Codage, Ignae, Omorovicza, and Linné) for a fully multi-sensory transformation. The spa’s indoor pool, movement studio, and relaxation tea lounge overlooking the Potomac further elevate the experience.
El Encanto, Santa Barbara, California
Not just anyone can book a facial with LA-based celebrity esthetician Linda Ross. Even top musicians, actors, and Olympians must have a VIP referral for the chance to allow the skin expert and epidermis superstar to reset their complexion. But tuck yourself away in the spa at El Encanto to experience the results-driven El Encanto Signature Facial performed by therapists who Ross has trained herself using her signature products and techniques — or book with Linda Ross at El Encanto during one of her frequent residencies at the resort’s spa. This red carpet-coveted treatment works synergistically with the skin to improve tone, hydrate, minimize fine lines, and tighten. Expect soothing ingredients free from harsh chemicals, including propolis and royal jelly, a blend said to have been Cleopatra’s beauty secret.
Borgo Santo Pietro, Tuscany, Italy
You’ll fall fast in love with this five-star Tuscan retreat, which encompasses some 300 acres of gardens, orchards, vineyards, and wild nature. A working farm, it yields products for the hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurant and healing herbs for its housemade skincare line, Seed to Skin. You can walk among the blooms, try the uber-clean products in the spa — or simply submerge into the Borgo’s largesse in a deep soaking tub, backlit with candles. A decadent repose experienced in your own suite, the breathtaking Bath Therapy treatment draws from the garden to stir in a blend of Borgo-distilled botanical essences and blended oils and eight (or more) therapeutic (and glorious to behold) flowers. Crowned with more blooms, the healing soaking potion detoxes with a dose of marine algae and Sicilian sea salt.
Aman Nai Lert Bangkok, Thailand
Imagine getting hammered, tapped, and kneaded with hand-carved teakwood tools up and down your spine — and absolutely loving it. The strong yet lullaby-level soothing Nud Tok Sen Oil Massage treatment at the divine Aman Spa & Wellness is one of a smattering of completely unique, deeply Thai signature offerings that relate to culture, history, and are unmissable. Guests of the 52-suite hotel can also embark on a three-hour spa journey that involves hot tub bathing and a heated rice compress Thai massage. Book the Banya Spa House with a spouse for half- or full-day sessions of steamy Eastern European traditions, and decompress with the de rigueur collection of Aman signatures grouped into Grounding, Purifying, and Nourishing rituals.
Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan, Indonesia
When overnighting in the plush, riverside escape of Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan, one must book a few extra days to disappear into the Sacred River Spa, where the abundance of intriguing therapies, rituals, and journeys is almost too much to process. The renovated spa debuted in October 2024 with specialty rooms tailor-made to particular Balinese treatments — like one inspired by the island’s sacred water temples with a waterbed table — and they took the thoughtful menu to the next level, too. The two-hour Restu Bumi involves sound healing vibrations with native instrumentation and deep massage using hot and icy Indonesian moss agate stones etched with sacred geometry. There are Synthesis Organics facials, others using TDA high-pressure oxygen, and one that includes intraoral massage of the cheeks to miraculously visibly lift the jawline. A chakra ceremony is another must, and then there’s the riverside night spa under the stars, an impeccable way to wrap it all up.
Patina Osaka, Japan
With its mesmerizing indoor lap pool facing the iconic Osaka Castle — plush towels matching the jade patina of its copper shingle roof — the full-floor spa at Patina Osaka also has treatment rooms with flawless views, making the opening foot bath even more blissful. The ethos is a beautiful marriage of time-honored traditions and holistic healing with cutting-edge health tech, and the wellness packages best illustrate this. There’s Pain Relief, pairing a far infrared sauna session with a 90-minute deep tissue massage; Sleep and Jetlag Support, comprising hyperbaric oxygen therapy with the 90-minute Patina Wellness Signature Body Treatment; and Beauty Anti-Aging, which involves a full-body LED treatment with the 90-minute Cryo Rejuvenating and Sculpting Facial.
Lefay Resort & Spa, Lago di Garda, Gargnano, Italy
If any wellness retreat’s offerings were encyclopedic, it would be Lefay Resort & Spa Lago di Garda, where the menu is practically an entire book — not booklet. And it all manages to be exceptional. The spa, which stretches several levels, is where guests who pad around treatment ready (even to breakfast) in fluffy bathrobes and slippers can have an Anticellulite, Four Hands, or Emotional massage. Or a contouring aromatic mud wrap, a Triple Action Lifting Face Ritual, and a Rebirth for Hands and Feet, which draws its intoxicating fragrances from the products characteristic of Lake Garda, in particular lavender and lemon. And that doesn’t even get into medical, non-invasive medical, and a la carte spa treatments, which stretch from Gua Sha Legs to Shiro-dara with Shenhana, and Watsu (aka water shiatsu) in the atmospheric salt-water lake beneath a giant faux moon.
Six Senses Con Dao, Vietnam
When the 15-year-old Six Senses Con Dao debuted its completely reimagined and expanded four-acre, 100,000-square-foot spa and wellness center earlier this year, it was a signal that the resort (and its owners) were prioritizing wellbeing in a big way. Walking over the large pond and into a lobby gilded with lotus pendants and bamboo creatures is an immediate mood booster, but the treatments offered within are even more so. The Biohack Recovery Lounge, with all sorts of tools, is a great place to loosen up and chill out. The same goes for sound healing or yoga in the overwater shala. Try Vietnamese Touch Therapy, which involves cupping with meridian clearing and percussion. There’s also the 90-minute Hot Bamboo Muscle Melt, which does exactly as it promises, using warm canes of the ubiquitous plant. A wellness screening can also produce a bespoke prescription of dosha-specific Ayurvedic therapies or treatments featuring things like crystal, pearl, and conch shells to soothe and beautify.
The Global Ambassador, Phoenix, Arizona
When restaurateur Sam Fox opened The Global Ambassador in Phoenix, its myriad restaurants and bars were justifiably in the spotlight. But the hotel’s spa has emerged as perhaps its signature offering, thanks to a blend of nurturing hospitality, high-tech treatments, and what it refers to as its Locker Room experience. The Spa at The Global Ambassador utilizes products such as Biologique Recherche, Six Modality Oxylight Sapphire, and Augustinus Bader’s TFC8, while offering standout services such as cryotherapy and infrared sauna. Try the 90-minute Global Traveler massage, incorporating a detoxifying full-body dry brush and cooling hydrogel eye masks, along with a restorative body and scalp massage. As for those incredible locker rooms, picture spacious, comfortable lounges with every personal amenity and toiletry required, a full suite of complimentary snacks and beverages ranging from kombucha and beer on tap to single-serving ice cream, and of course, a sauna, steam room, hot tub, and cold plunge.
The Belmond Royal Scotsman, Scotland
The Dior Spa aboard the Belmond Royal Scotsman is one of those experiences that sounds ridiculous until you’re in it — a full treatment on a moving train, and in this case, a facial. And yet, it works. The treatment rooms were so lovely, charming, and calm in a way that shouldn’t be possible on rails. The therapist was so skilled, our editor actually fell asleep mid-treatment, and the results were unreal: bright, even skin that made makeup feel unnecessary that night. It was everything you’d expect (and more) from a Dior spa — expertly skilled therapists, exceptional skincare, and a setting that makes the entire experience unforgettable.
The Dolder Grand, Zurich, Switzerland
Set high above Zurich, The Dolder Grand’s spa is already a destination in its own right. The Couples Bamboo Shiatsu Massage takes it to another level, blending ancient Japanese bodywork with Swiss precision. Performed in a private, purpose-designed suite, the treatment restores energy flow, relieves deep-seated tension, and creates a sense of shared balance. It is both profoundly intimate and deeply therapeutic, the rare experience that lingers long after you leave the table.
W Costa Navarino, Greece
The spa at W Costa Navarino surprised us in the best possible way. It’s simple, beautifully designed, and doesn’t try too hard — which is probably why the massage was so good. The therapist actually listened, adjusted, and worked with intention instead of defaulting to the usual routine. No gimmicks, no overly mystical language, just a genuinely skilled treatment that left our editor feeling noticeably better for the rest of the day. And beyond. It’s the kind of massage that reminds you what competent, thoughtful bodywork is supposed to feel like.
Feature image, courtesy of Kagi Maldives
