How would you pamper yourself if money was no object? Would you slather your skin in red wine perhaps? Scrub your face with 24 karat gold? Or maybe even soak your tired limbs in a bath of fragrant milk and honey? Whatever your wildest wellness fantasties, or beauty treatments of your dreams may be, you can bet that, somewhere in the world, there’s a spa that’ll make them a reality.
From cutting-edge holistic healing that’ll balance your chakras and center your spirit, to indulgent beauty rituals to leave you firmed, cleansed and practically sparkling, we’ve rounded up the world’s most luxuriously outlandish spa and wellness treatments with price tags to match.
1. Get frozen by liquid nitrogen in London, UK
As much as being frozen from the neck down in a cryogenic chamber sounds like some form of waking nightmare, London’s SaiSei studio swear by it for unmatched, holistic rejuvenation.
After clambering into the cryosauna, your body is blasted with liquid nitrogen vapor at an eyeball-popping -160°C for two to three minutes. As well as giving the phrase ‘chill out’ a whole new meaning, the treatment stimulates blood flow, reawakens the mind and induces a shot of tingling endorphins. Note: climbing into the freezer at your local supermarket will not have the same effect.
Price tag: £89 per treatment
More info: saiseicryo.co.uk
2. Be massaged by eight hands at once in Mauritius
The healing hands of four skilled experts moving in precise, synchronized movements make up this decadent, invigorating treatment, which takes place in an overwater villa to reach peak luxury.
Offered by Mauritius’ Four Seasons resort, the turbo-charged massage – better known as the (slightly daunting) ‘Let it Go: Eight Handed Ritual’ – offers stimulation of blood-flow, energy balancing and extreme stress relief, drawing from ancient Ayurvedic philosophy. After all, why settle for just one massage therapist when you can have four?
Price tag: 26,000 Mauritian Rupees (£534) for 60 minutes
More info: fourseasons.com/mauritius
3. Get pampered like a queen in Alexandria, Egypt
Cleopatra was said to have relished slipping into a warming bath of milk and honey to soothe away the stresses of ruling the ancient Egyptian empire, and guests of the Alexandria at San Stefano Hotel can now follow suit with an indulgent, royally inspired treatment.
Beginning with a soak in – what else? – a vat of aromatic milk and honey, and culminating in a full body massage, this regal experience is every bit as decadent, elaborate and rejuvenating as the queen herself would have demanded.
Price tag: 1684 Egyptian Pounds (£84) for 80 minutes
More info: fourseasons.com/alexandria
4. Sculpt your body with green coffee in Oman
Forget your restorative morning cup o’ joe, this pioneering treatment offered at Oman’s Zighy Bay Six Senses resort pushes the healing powers of coffee to new levels.
Promising to reduce puffiness, improve circulation and firm up those glutes, a sculpting massage uses oil infused with green coffee and chili to target the thighs, stomach and derriere, following a session of thoroughly bracing skin-brushing. Those wanting that little extra glow can complete the treatment with a resculpting body gel. And perhaps a nice cuppa.
Price tag: 65 Omani Rial (£130) for 60 minutes
More info: sixsenses.com
5. Clear your chakras from head to toe in the Indian Himalayas
With former guests including Oprah Winfrey and Uma Thurman, the Andana in the Himalayas is a spa boasting some serious celeb credentials, and a list of treatments to match.
Among the most extravagant is the Ayurvedic Panchakarma, a 21-night program of purification and cleansing that includes specialized digestive stimulants and medicated ghee, Ayurdevic massage, nasal toxin clearing treatments and, for the full flushing experience, a traditional basti enema – what fun!
Price tag: 65,105 Indian Rupees (£707) per night
More info: anandaspa.com
6. Revive your skin with snow roses in Tibet
Beginning with an exhilarating ice scrub to smooth the skin and stimulate blood flow, this traditional wellness ritual offered by St. Regis Lhasa Resort benefits from its deeply spiritual setting in the winding alleys of Tibet’s largest city Lhasa, and draws inspiration from the surrounding landscape.
The treatment continues with a snow rose-scented facial and glacier water wrap, all designed to naturally repair and protect damaged skin cells, leaving you gleaming and glistening like a hilltop Tibetan monastery in the morning sun.
Price tag: $870 (£672) for 150 minutes
More info: marriott.co.uk
7. Have a gold-infused hammam in London, UK
If you’re going to go lavish with your next spa treatment, you might as well go for gold, quite literally.
The Hotel Cafe Royal in the English capital offers well-heeled spa-hoppers a treatment that combines a 23 karat gold infused hammam with a massage using golden shea butter. With its use of ‘hydrating’ golden minerals, the luxurious practice is designed to invigorate the skin and soothe the soul in equal measure. It’ll leave your wallet a little lighter too.
Price tag: £245 for 120 minutes
More info: hotelcaferoyal.com/spaandtreatments
8. Have your toes read in Punta de Mita, Mexico
You can tell a lot about a person by their… toes? Well, according to the Four Seasons Resort in Punta de Mita, Mexico’s resident toe-reader, you can.
Similar in theory to a palm-reading session, this treatment promises a detailed assessment of your spiritual wellbeing and ‘life path’, derived from each of your toes’ length, size, straightness and relationship to other toes. The findings of this digit-decoding are then translated into a short life-coaching session, followed by an indulgent pedicure to help you put your (expertly certified) best foot forward.
Price tag: Around 6100 Mexican Pesos (£250) per session
More info: fourseasons.com/puntamita
9. Get wrapped up in red wine in California, USA
If freezing in a cryosauna could be considered a nightmare, this treatment may well sound like the ultimate dream…
Nestled among the rolling countryside of northern San Diego, the Cal-A-Vie spa resort offers guests a truly pampering experience, with a (perhaps mildly intimidating) staff to guest ratio of 5:1. The spa’s star attraction is its range of vinotherapy treatments, including the hallowed Grape Skin Wrap, which uses oceanic clay enriched with Cabernet extract to slather your skin in wine-scented wonder.
Price tag: $275 (£212) for 90 minutes
More info: cal-a-vie.com
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