World’s Most Relaxing Spa Resorts Provide Some Serious Self-Care

Treat yourself to cacao wraps, hot spring baths and salt saunas at the world's best spa resorts.

Daily life can be overwhelming. And while traveling can help by interrupting routine, sometimes you end a vacation feeling like you need a vacation. That’s not the case with a pampering getaway at a luxurious spa resort.

Whether you’re looking to celebrate a special occasion or simply need to renew, rejuvenate and relax, these incredible spa resorts will have you feeling like a whole new person in no time.

Note: We may earn money from affiliate partners if you buy through links on our site.

World’s Most Relaxing Spa Resorts Roundup

Capella Ubud spa resort in Bali, Indonesia

Capella Ubud / Facebook

Krun, Germany: Schloss Elmau

Bali Indonesia: Capella Ubud

Gustavia, Saint Barthélemy: Le Barthélemy Hotel & Spa

San Pedro de Atacama, Chile: Nayara Alto Atacama Desert Lodge & Spa

Wolgan Valley, Australia: Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley

Samodaes, Portugal: Six Senses Douro Valley

Zanzibar, Tanzania: Baraza Resort & Spa

Ojai, California: Ojai Valley Inn

Placencia, Belize: Naia Resort & Spa

Miami, Florida: Carillon Miami Wellness Resort

10. Carillon Miami Wellness Resort

Carillon Carillon Miami Wellness Resort room

Dominic James / Carillon Miami Wellness Resort

Location: Miami, Florida

Not everything in Miami is about partying. The city is also positioning itself as a top wellness destination. If this is what you’re seeking, the Carillon Miami Wellness Resort boasts a 70,000-square-foot spa that claims to be the “largest spa on the Eastern Seaboard.”

Within it, you’ll find a wide variety of treatments that target inner and outer health, including meditation pods, nutrient therapy and salt float baths. You can also choose entire programs targeted at anti-aging and preventative health.

The rooms themselves feel like a spa, with bathrooms designed for relaxation. Take it up a notch by booking an ocean-view room, with floor-to-ceiling windows that will help you immerse in your surroundings.

Book it: Carillon Miami Wellness Resort

9. Naia Resort & Spa

Naia Resort & Spa overwater spa bungalow

Naia Resort & Spa / Facebook

Location: Placencia, Belize

Everyone knows Mexico is a great retreat destination, but if you’d like to go to a less obvious spot, set your eyes on neighboring Belize. Located in the slim Caribbean peninsula of Placencia, Naia Resort & Spa offers facials, wraps and massages that use local traditions and ingredients like cacao, coconut and oranges.

If you’re traveling with your significant other, book the private island suite, where you can get treatments together and share the experience. There are also individual suites right on the water, so you can immerse in the tropical island as you pamper yourself.

In and out of the spa, relish in healthy farm-to-table dishes. Mary Blackmon, the brains behind Farm to Wellness Retreats, considers Naia Resort one of the top five in the world for this wellness experience.

Book it: Naia Resort & Spa

8. Ojai Valley Inn

Guest getting a facial treatment at Spa Ojai

Ojai Valley Inn / Facebook

Location: Ojai, California

One of the best places to get away from the noise of Los Angeles, Ojai has been a retreat destination for over a century. Spa Ojai, set within the renowned Ojai Valley Inn, treats guests to wraps, facials and massages. But it also adds experiences derived from native Chumash healing practices and traditions.

In true California nature, the spa focuses on spiritual wellness with alternative explorations like chakra alignment, meditative sound baths and crystal energy clearing. But if this is too crunchy for you, focus on the classic spa offerings.

Book it: Ojai Valley Inn

7. Baraza Resort & Spa

Sultan's Bath experience at Baraza Resort & Spa

Baraza Resort & Spa Tanzania / Facebook

Location: Zanzibar, Tanzania

Located in Tanzania’s idyllic island, Zanzibar, Baraza Resort & Spa combines Swahili elements with Arabic and Indian design. Its Frangipani spa continues the theme of blending cultural elements by providing a wide array of treatments from Thailand, Indonesia, India and beyond.

We highly recommend swimming in the spa’s lap pool and enjoying its underwater music. Other highlights include specialty massages and facials that use local spiced essential oils. For couples, there is the Sultan’s Bath experience.

Book it: Baraza Resort & Spa

6. Six Senses Douro Valley

John Athimaritis / Six Senses Douro Valley

Location: Samodaes, Portugal

An excellent IHG brand focusing on wellness and breathtaking designs, Six Senses never fails to deliver the perfect spa holiday. Its location in Portugal’s UNESCO-listed Douro wine valley is simply unmatched, with the winding Douro River crossing endless rows of vineyards.

While you’ll want to disconnect from social media and other toxic byproducts of technology, you can use modern advances to get a personalized wellness screening, a skin analysis and even biohacking suggestions. The spa also focuses on hydrotherapy with an immersive pool that offers guests floor-to-ceiling views of the garden and underwater sound therapy.

Book it: Six Senses Douro Valley

5. Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley

Couple relaxing at Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley

Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley / Facebook

Location: Wolgan Valley, Australia

Truly get away from it all at this 7,000-acre property secluded in nature. Your WiFi will be spotty, but you’ll be more connected to yourself than ever. Besides typical offerings like facials and body therapy, Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley has tailored signature experiences that focus on three things: wholeness, purity and radiance.

Make it a romantic getaway by indulging in a day of couples’ spa treatments and personalized experiences.

Book it: Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley

4. Nayara Alto Atacama Desert Lodge & Spa

Nayara Alto Atacama / Facebook

Location: San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

Escape to one of the most extreme environments on Earth with a retreat at Nayara Alto Atacama Desert Lodge & Spa. Chile’s famed desert is a dry landscape that hides incredible beauty and surprising biodiversity. It also provides an introspective setting for those wishing to rejuvenate their body and mind.

Head to Puri Spa for quinoa facials, mineral baths with views of the Catarpe Valley and open-air wraps that purify and refresh. At night, sit outside and gaze at the star-studded night sky.

Book it: Nayara Alto Atacama Desert Lodge & Spa

3. Le Barthélemy Hotel & Spa

Hot tubs at Le Spa in Le Barthélemy Hotel, St. Barts

Michael Gramm / Le Barthélemy Hotel & Spa

Location: Gustavia, Saint Barthélemy

It doesn’t get more luxurious than the French Caribbean paradise of St. Barts. At Le Barthélemy Hotel & Spa, guests can take advantage of holistic treatments, private health coaches and yoga classes. Facilities also include a hammam, Nordic baths and a sauna. Facials use La Mer products made exclusively for the hotel’s Le Spa.

You can continue your wellness experience in Amis St. Barth, the onsite restaurant that provides guests with zero-waste cooking classes.

Book it: Le Barthélemy Hotel & Spa

2. Capella Ubud

Capella Ubud / Facebook

Location: Bali, Indonesia

Capella Ubud is considered one of the world’s most eco-friendly resorts, partly because the 23-tent property was built without cutting a single tree. You’ll also be surrounded by the forest on all sides, which is in itself an effective wellness therapy.

But if you want to take it further, the hotel has three dedicated spa tents where you can book river stone massages, detoxing packages and rituals tied to the phase of the moon. Those seeking spiritual wellness can ask for chakra balancing and prana healing.

And if you don’t feel like leaving your beautiful room, don’t worry. Almost every spa treatment can be done in your own tent.

Book it: Capella Ubud

1. Schloss Elmau

Schloss Elmau / Facebook

Location: Krun, Germany

Set within the storybook-like Bavarian Alps, Schloss Elmau describes itself as a “luxury spa retreat and cultural hideaway.” The hotel is not exaggerating either. Its wellness offerings are generous, with six (yes, six) spas, half for families and half for adults.

One is the enticing Nature Spa, whose sauna looks directly into a brook where you are more than welcome to swim. There are also specialty massages, one of the largest hammams in Europe and traditional Chinese medicine treatments.

Germany is ranked as the second-most, sought-after spa destination in the world, in part thanks to resorts like Schloss Elmau.

Book it: Schloss Elmau