Soaking it up at some of the world’s best spas

Spas have become a favorite stress-buster today and people are flocking to them in increasing numbers for pampering and wellness treatments. Below is a worldwide selection of spas that featured in the list of  55 of the world’s best spas for 2006 according to concierge.com.

Peninsula Beverly Hills Spa

Beverly Hills, California

Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, especially in Beverly Hills—but what do they add to a massage? Following a $5 million renovation, the spa at the Peninsula Beverly Hills has introduced Shiffa Precious Gem Treatments ($275–$385) that propose to create serenity through the healing powers of ruby-, emerald-, sapphire-, and diamond-saturated oils. However, it’s the treatments’ smooth hot stones, not the bling, that relax and restore. The updated decor makes use of unexpected marine tones, while stainless steel surfaces exude a clean-cut look. Two signs of the times: a couples’ room and a range of products designed specifically for men, such as the agents and actors who live in the 90210 area.  Doors open at 5 a.m. to meet the exacting demands of L.A.’s early risers, but the ubiquitous cell phone is banned throughout the six-room facility. Pre-treatment treats include a eucalyptus steam room and a soundproofed relaxation room, but ladies and gentlemen who prefer to lunch head straight for the Roof Garden, where the menus note the calorie, salt, and fat content of the tasty salads and smoothies (massages, $135–$160).

Address: 9882 S. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills, California

Tel: 310 551 2888; peninsula.com

Amenities: Urban hotel spa, Couples’ rooms, Outdoor treatments, Spa dining

Dogmersfield Park

Hampshire, England

The stately Dogmersfield Park home (a.k.a. the Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire) and its eighteenth-century stable block cum spa are in the eye-candy county of Hampshire, with sweetly unpretentious massages employing chamomile and sage grown in the garden. This classic spa spans 27,000 square feet and has lots of privacy—surely a draw for celebrity guests. Water walls make soothing backdrops, the steam room is decorated with amethysts, and shower settings include rainstorm and arctic mist. The signature Four Seasons Escape ($260) is two hours of body brushing and exfoliation, followed by a massage, a mud wrap, a head massage, and moisturizing, all with ESPA products. Atmospherically, it’s worlds away from London—yet only an hour’s drive (massages, $122).

Address: Dogmersfield Park, Hampshire

Tel: 44 1252 853 000

fourseasons.com/hampshire

Amenities: Resort spa, Water feature, Couples’ rooms, Regularly scheduled exercise, Spa dining

L’Institut de Guerlain

Paris, France

Upon entering L’Institut de Guerlain, you’re charmed by a chic glass bead–curtained floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the Champs-Élysées. The building, a registered national landmark, was the Guerlain family residence until 1939, when it became the Beauty Institute. Last year, after a renovation by Andrée Putman, it reopened as a 3,200-square-foot spa with ten treatment rooms. The mostly Parisian clientele choose from more than 35 treatments: massage, hydrotherapy, and of course facials, including the One-Hour Express Facial ($108), which consists of exfoliation, vaporizing, and pore-cleansing followed by a facial massage and a mask. As you leave, you’re tempted to buy Guerlain’s new Orchidée Impériale Crème, displayed next to enormous vases of five-foot green reeds and white orchids (massages, $108–$162).

Address: 68 Avenue des Champs-Elysées, Paris

Tel: 33 1 45 62 11 21

guerlain.com

Amenities: Day-spa, Water feature, Couples’ rooms, Spa dining

Six Senses Spa

Barcelona, Spain

Set in the Hotel Arts, a 44-story glass-and-steel behemoth that stands sentinel over Barcelona’s urban shoreline, the new Six Senses Spa is a welcome relief for travelers burned out on modernist architecture and centuries-old cathedrals. It takes three elevators to get there, but once inside you’ll appreciate the jaw-dropping Mediterranean views, eight spacious treatment rooms, and sun-soaked corner sauna, steam room, vitality bath, and ice fountain. All around is highly lacquered luxury—softly lit chandeliers, glossy wood floors, fresh-cut bamboo, and soothing waterfalls—plus a friendly but unobtrusive staff. Massage is the specialty of the house, and the Jet Lag Relief ($160)—an 80-minute massage and acupressure combination—is pure muscle-pounding, limb-stretching bliss. Afterward, head to one of the two outdoor terraces or the windowed relaxation room to rest on fat, downy beds and drink in the seascape. One quibble: The omnipresent music has a tendency to break the reverie—a case in point being an instrumental version of “Kung Fu Fighting” (massages, $108–$163).

Address: 19-21 Carre de la Marina, Barcelona

Tel: 34 93 224 7067; ritzcarlton.com

Amenities: Urban hotel spa, Water feature, Outdoor treatments, Regularly scheduled exercise, Spa dining

Sensory Spa

Sydney, Australia

Compact functionality is the name of the game at the Sensory Spa, nestled on the ground floor of Sydney’s new Hilton hotel. The decor combines modernist streaks of steel and glass with Asian overtones, but the lasting impression of these five rooms is their luxurious practicality. Space is at a premium (there’s one couples’ room and no wet rooms), but the spa turns scale to its favor, providing a tiny oasis in the madding city crush. Inventive treatments, which use Pevonia products, include the hot stone massage ($107). Volcanic rocks placed everywhere from fingers to toes gradually focus sensation until you perceive nothing but heat and the masseuse’s dexterous strokes (massages, $65–$68).

Addresses: 488 George St., Sydney

Tel: 61 2 9273 8800

livingwell.com.au

Amenities: Urban hotel spa, Couples’ rooms

Baan Thai Wellness Retreat

Bangkok, Thailand

The Baan Thai Wellness Retreat is a collection of traditional teak Thai houses creatively recast as a spa. Just off Sukhumvit, one of Bangkok’s busiest thoroughfares, it is an unexpected contrast to the gritty surroundings. Both overnight and day visitors are welcome to cool off in the meandering pool or join one of the five daily yoga and Pilates classes. All treatments begin with a personal consultation, but those who already know their dosha, or Ayurvedic body type, can skip the litany of intimate questions. The signature Asian Blend massage borrows from regional tradition but adds shiatsu, Indonesian, and Swedish techniques. Purists can opt for the Thai massage ($35), administered by a strong masseuse who speaks not a word of English. Spa dishes successfully minimize the fats and oils of Asian cooking without sacrificing taste (massages, $31–$36).

Address: 7 Soi Sukhumvit, 32 Sukhumvit Rd., Bangkok

Tel: 66 2258 5403

thebaanthai.com

Amenities: Day-spa, Water feature, Couples’ rooms, regularly scheduled exercise, Spa dining

Jiva Grande Club & Spa

Mumbai, India

Jiva, the spa brand of Taj hotels, references its Indian heritage (candles, jasmine flowers) without tired ethnic stereotypes—no piped-in sitar music or jeweled statuettes. Here at the Taj Wellington Mews, an Ayurvedic doctor performs traditional holistic treatments, but there’s also a menu of aromatherapy facials and massages with all-natural masks and potions using essential oils from neroli, lemongrass, and jasmine; herbs such as neem and ginger; and natural exfoliators like sandalwood and rice. Skip the longish signature treatments and opt for a 90-minute Rasa facial. Best of all is the Vishuddi Detox massage ($145), in which herbal oils ensure deep sleep and silky skin for days. Attentive staffers end each treatment by touching a piece of sandalwood to your forehead (massages, $68).

Address: 33 Nathalal Perekh Marg, Mumbai

Tel: 91 22 5657 4401

tajhotels.com

Amenities: Urban hotel spa, Water feature, Outdoor treatments, Regularly scheduled exercise, Spa dining

Waters of Royal Malewane Bush Spa

Royal Malewane Private Game Reserve, South Africa

Outside the camp, there’s the blazing heat of Kruger National Park; inside, this cluster of suites hides a cool and sophisticated spa. Water is used to great effect, from the courtyard’s half-Olympic-sized pool to hydrotherapy treatments drawing on a mineral-rich underground stream flowing through the game reserve. Positioned around the spa’s central courtyard are several treatment rooms, a gym (from the stair climber, observe buffalo at a watering hole), a steam room, hot and cold African baths, and shaded casitas. Save the Dermalogica facial for when you’re back in the city and opt instead for a three-hour ritual that takes advantage of the skin-saving benefits of indigenous ingredients such as marula tree extracts rich in vitamin C and antioxidants. The Royal Treatment ($203) starts with a foot scrub, then progresses to a soak in the hydro tub, followed by full-body exfoliation and an African-style wrap (deliciously messy mud applied and washed off outdoors), and finally a full-body massage that includes a heavenly scalp rub (massages, $71–$87).

Address: Royal Malewane Private Game Reserve

Tel: 27 15 793 0150

royalmalewane.com

Amenities: Resort spa, Water feature, Couples’ rooms, Outdoor, Regularly scheduled exercise, Spa dining

Amara

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Spa addicts have no shortage of choices in Dubai, the hedonism capital of the Persian Gulf. What the Amara day-spa at the new Park Hyatt has going for it—aside from the hour-long Shiffa Rose Bliss massage ($123) using a balm made from a thousand Damascus roses—is ambience and a convenient urban-oasis location. After a late-morning tour of the gold souk, hire a traditional abra water taxi, cruise for 20 minutes past the dhow port, and disembark at the Park Hyatt marina. The spa menu augments the usual massages and facials with a rhassoul ceremony, which is based on traditional harem rituals and uses three organic muds to detoxify, heal, and exfoliate. Eight large, sleek treatment rooms have private walled gardens with rain showers and padded benches. They’re perfect places for lying naked or sipping mint tea by candlelight in the humid desert-meets-seaside air. The back of the spa opens onto Dubai’s loveliest outdoor swimming pool and a white-curtained lounge where fresh juices and salads are served (massages, $95–$123).

Address: Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, Dubai

Tel: 971 4 602 1660

dubai.park.hyatt.com

Amenities: Resort spa, Water feature, Couples’ rooms, Outdoor treatments, Spa dining

Qi Urban Spa

Mexico City, Mexico

The Centro Qi, in a sleek concrete-and-glass building in Mexico City’s Condesa neighborhood, has long been one of the capital’s poshest fitness centers. Now the Centro has unveiled its new Qi Urban Spa, located on the third floor. The waiting area is comfortably removed from the traffic below, overlooking the treetops of the Parque México. Seven treatment rooms are set in the rear, the most elegant of them with a walnut wall lined with candleholders. While flotation chambers may worry claustrophobics, there are few places in the world where the idea of escaping into the dark warmth of a salt bath is more appealing than in the often chaotic Mexican capital. In addition to 90-minute sessions in the flotario ($26), the Urban Spa also offers sea salt, algae, and milk and honey wraps as well as numerous massages (massages, $36).

Address: Ámerstdam 317, Mexico City

Tel: 52 55 5574 5095

qi.com.mx

Amenities: Day-spa

Guanahani Spa

St. Barths, Caribbean

The Hôtel Guanahani & Spa, long a favorite jet-set getaway, has added a spa with five treatment rooms in a series of thatch-roofed bungalows. The hotel’s barefoot-chic style continues here: Muted tropical hues cover the walls, and a pool beckons next to a huge daybed awash in pillows and draped with billowing white cotton curtains. Massages employ global techniques, but facials skew French with leading Parisian brand Clarins products. The hydrating facial ($128) deploys extracts of seaweed and cactus and is an excellent antidote to the hazards of sunbathing. Staff are knowledgeable—particularly Jessie, whose magic fingers defy anyone to stay awake during their treatment (massages, $145).

Address: Grand Cul de Sac, St. Barths

Tel: 590 590 52 90 36

leguanahani.com

Amenities: Resort spa, Outdoor treatments

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Courtesy of  concierge.com