33 of the best spas in Europe
You don’t have to fly more than a couple of hours from the UK to reach some of the world’s top spas. Ancient Indian rituals can be found 90-minutes south of Vienna, traditional Chinese medicine in the foothills of the Italy’s Dolomites and top-notch yoga classes in the soul-soothing surroundings of southern Spain.
Our list of 33 spas has something for every type of spa goer too, whether you’re looking for a serious detox guided by a doctor, professional-level sports facilities or simply fancy the idea of pickling in a steam room at leisure.
Italy
1. Palace Merano, Bolzano
ALESSANDRO MOGGIThe Revital Method offered at this luxurious wedding cake of a grande dame hotel is a holistic wellbeing approach to longevity, developed by the team behind Palace Merano that combines detox, functional medicine, allopathic care (mainstream or conventional medicine, which treats diseases and symptoms with drugs, surgery or other therapies) and traditional Chinese medicine, delivered from its luxurious surrounds in a large private park in Merano in the foothills of the Dolomites. Guests oscillate between the grandeur of the main hotel, the minimalist state-of-the-art spa and the Riviera-style glamour of the outdoor pool and thermal area, while focusing on improving their “vitality index” through one of three programmes — Detox; Sport and Recovery; or Mind and Body. Each programme is supported by a low-calorie fine-dining detox menu of three small but satisfying meals a day. If optimum mental wellness is your goal you can add a module of MindExercise too.
Spa treatments from £135 | Accessible
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Details Healing Holidays has five nights’ full board from £3,599pp, including a Revital & Spa programme and transfers (020 7135 2436; healingholidays.com/sundaytimes). Fly to Bolzano
2. Borgo Santo Pietro, Tuscany
Best romantic spa
In the heart of rural Tuscany, a 90-minute drive south of Florence and close to the Abbey of San Galgano, Borgo Santo Pietro was once a restorative waypoint for pilgrims who came to treat ailments with local botanicals. Today its Danish owners, Jeanette and Claus Thottrup, have converted the wild 300-acre estate near Siena into a 22-room hotel. It was intended to be their home, but a fertility struggle in the early 2000s was the driving force behind the former fashion designer and developer opening up the spa to guests. The result is a simple philosophy that harnesses Tuscan ingredients into a skincare line that fuels the hotel’s spa. This is a place for couples to rest, reconnect and reap the benefits of homegrown elixirs via a considered list of treatments and activities.
Spa treatments from £182 | Family friendly
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Details Borgo Santo Pietro (borgosantopietro.com) and Scott Dunn have three nights’ B&B from £3,375pp, including flights and transfers (scottdunn.com)
3. Engel Ayurpura, Dolomites
It’s all about the location at Engel Ayurpura, with gorgeous views across the valleys and to the snow-topped Dolomites, dotted with pines and firs, everywhere you look — whether you’re relaxing on the balcony of your room or making use of the pool, sauna or treatment rooms. This is the kind of place that you picture a tech billionaire will have earmarked as a getaway for an apocalypse, but conveniently it’s also found just on the edge of the village of Nova Levante in northern Italy for when you want to wander into civilisation. The ancient Indian practice of ayurveda is central to the spa’s offering — from tailored meal plans to the massages and supplements. There are also complimentary yoga classes daily, with, yes, more of those far-reaching vistas.
Spa treatments from £83 | Accessible
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Details Healing Holidays has three nights’ full board from £1,299pp, including an Approaching Ayurveda programme and transfers (020 7135 2436; healingholidays.com/sundaytimes). Fly to Bolzano
4. Forte Village Resort, Sardinia
This relaxed beachfront resort was set up by the hotelier Charles Forte in 1970 (he of Rocco Forte Hotels) and immediately attracted Europe’s chattering classes. Today it’s a galaxy, sprawling over 50 hectares in Santa Margherita di Pula, southern Sardinia, and capturing within its orbit eight hotels, the Acquaforte spa with thermal saltwater baths, sports zones, enough restaurants to feed you for a month, a nature park and even a Sims-like town square. It’s one of Europe’s best family-friendly resorts, with a giant kids’ club and holiday camps with leading sportspeople. Everything you need for a family fly and flop (or in this case a jet and sweat) is within its shiny paths and richly planted lawns. There’s a reason 60 per cent of its guests are repeat visitors — probably because they didn’t get round to doing it all the first time.
Spa treatments from £155 | Family friendly | Accessible
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Details Healing Holidays has three nights’ half-board from £2,699pp, including a Cardio Fitness programme and transfers (020 7135 2436; healingholidays.com/sundaytimes). Fly to Cagliari
5. Lefay Resort & Spa Lago di Garda, Lombardy
Lefay’s location alone is enough to give stress the instant heave-ho. In the forested hills above the village of Gargnano, 90 minutes’ drive from Verona airport, it has cinematic views that unfurl over Lake Garda in every room. That’s all before you get to the three-storey, 4,300 sq m purpose-built spa with its infinity pool. The treatment menu — a 78-page book — is comprehensive, from contouring with aromatic mud and facials with extra virgin olive oil to acupuncture. It reflects the spa’s philosophy: a grounding in Chinese thinking that focuses on rebalancing your energy with treatments using (in most cases) Lefay’s own-brand products. If this sounds a bit out there, it’s all explained during an initial consultation at which your programme will be adjusted by a medical doctor. For sporty types there are endless hiking and cycling opportunities that start from the front door but with two restaurants and 27 acres of grounds there’s no pressing need to leave the resort. Whether you’re here to lose weight on a structured programme or just want magnificent food and facials, flopping out at this chic lakeside paradise is simply joyful.
Spa treatments from £79 | Family friendly | Accessible
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Details Healing Holidays has three nights’ full board from £1,499pp, including a Healing in Harmony programme and transfers (020 7135 2436; healingholidays.com/sundaytimes). Fly to Verona
6. Palazzo Fiuggi, near Rome
Fiuggi is a quaint medieval town an hour’s drive from Rome that has been famous since Michelangelo claimed its mineral springs cured his kidney stones. Its pulling power was further enhanced in 1913 by the arrival of this art nouveau masterpiece, which was quickly adopted by Italian royalty as somewhere to entertain Hollywood stars. Scoot forward a century and one £25 million renovation and the palazzo is back in the limelight with wellbeing cuisine by Heinz Beck, who runs Rome’s three-Michelin-starred La Pergola, a glamorous spa, a cutting-edge medical centre and forested hills to hike, all of which puts plenty of dolce into this vita.
Spa treatments from £105
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Details Healing Holidays has three nights’ full board from £2,599pp, including a Wellness Break programme and transfers (020 7135 2436; healingholidays.com/sundaytimes). Fly to Rome
Austria
7. Lanserhof Lans, Tyrol
Lanserhof is one of Europe’s best-respected wellness operators, with two outposts in Germany popular with Succession-style CEOs — but its Austrian mothership in the Tyrolean Alps outside Innsbruck still commands the most loyalty. Opened in 1984 and extensively renovated in 2017, it has a futuristic wood-and-glass design that blends into its forest setting beautifully and consequently it is ageing as well as its many regular, well-heeled guests. This is a challenging physical and mental detox — no phones, lots (and lots) of chewing of tiny portioned meals and no-nonsense therapeutic rubs and scrubs. Guests leave bright-eyed, with flatter stomachs and a penchant for the omnipresent neutral-coloured athleisure wear and complimentary Birkenstocks.
Spa treatments from £175 | Accessible
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Details Healing Holidays has seven nights’ full board from £4,799pp, including a Cure Classic programme and transfers (020 7135 2436; healingholidays.com/sundaytimes). Fly to Innsbruck
8. Ayurveda Resort Mandira, Styria
Blending the practice of ayurveda, an ancient Indian system of holistic medicine, with the contemporary requirements of a luxury hotel is not an easy brief. But in Bad Waltersdorf — 90 minutes’ drive south from Vienna or 50 minutes east from Graz in an area known for its rolling Styrian hills and thermal waters — Ayurveda Resort Mandira strikes the right balance. This hotel opened in 2021 and is the sibling of the family-run Sonnhof in western Austria, with both now considered alternatives for Europeans who don’t want to go long-haul to India. Whether you’re seeking a serious lifestyle upheaval or a weekend to relax, there are programmes and treatments for everyone, from bespoke detox meal plans to head-to-toe ayurvedic oil massages. Buildings are modern including a blond wood clad spa, while warm, comforting decor in the lounge areas and laid-back staff keep things homely rather than clinical, a factor that keeps many guests coming back several times a year. Expect a mix of age groups, usually travelling solo or in couples.
Spa treatments from £54
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Details Healing Holidays has five nights’ full board from £1,299pp on a Royal Ayurveda programme, including transfers (020 7135 2436; healingholidays.com/sundaytimes). Fly to Vienna or Graz
9. Mount Med Resort, Tyrol
Michael Huber PhotographyIf you want a wellness break that feels like a “normal” holiday then this transformed ancient Austrian guesthouse expertly bridges the divide between holistic and hedonistic. In the cute Alpine backwater of Oberau, about an hour from Innsbruck, the spa opened in December 2024 with interiors that are soothingly chic and home to a world of razor-sharp doctors, therapists and trainers who have the latest technology on hand to tackle your concerns. Meanwhile, the executive chef Phillip Schnabel, who has worked in Michelin-starred restaurants, serves up three gourmet meals every day, devised to ensure better health and weight loss. Exactly the kind of souvenir that we want to bring back home.
Spa treatments from £140 | Accessible
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Details Healing Holidays has seven nights’ full board from £5,799pp, including a Detox & Weight Management programme and transfers (020 7135 2436; healingholidays.com/sundaytimes). Fly to Innsbruck
10. Park Igls, Tyrol
Park Igls Medical Spa ResortJust 15 minutes from Innsbruck, Park Igls Medical Spa delivers serious health gains in a setting that’s more old-fashioned sanatorium than pampering spa. Most guests sign up for the renowned Mayr Cure, a rigorous but refined doctor-led regime of gut cleansing with a prescribed diet and diagnostics overseen by an in-house team of doctors and therapists. Expect to wake to a mug of Epsom salt water, daily belly massages and mindful meals, which are taken in silence. The clinical foundations of Park Igls are softened by understated Alpine luxury: elegant rooms, crisp service and surrounding forest trails all contribute to a genuine sense of renewal.
Spa treatments included | Accessible
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Details Healing Holidays has four nights’ full board from £1,799pp, including the Detox Short Break programme and transfers (020 7135 2436; healingholidays.com/sundaytimes). Fly to Innsbruck
France
11. Prés d’Eugénie, France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
The spa at Prés d’Eugénie, housed in a timber-clad farmhouse with a pretty rose garden, looks like something pulled straight from the pages of a fairytale. Treatments have plenty of magic about them too. Guests can float weightlessly in silky clay mud baths and be invigorated with treatments that use mineral-rich thermal water tapped from ancient springs that flow beneath the village of Eugénie-les-Bains. Those coming to this lovely corner of southwest France near Biarritz for a detox can eat healthily without compromising on the fun factor at three-Michelin-starred Michel Guérard, which impresses with inventive tasting menus that still manage to be low in calories.
Spa treatments from £79
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Details Prés d’Eugénie has B&B doubles from £308 (lespresdeugenie.com). Fly to Biarritz
12. Hôtel Royal, evianSPA, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
You’ll quickly discover there’s a theme at this ludicrously decadent belle époque hotel in the hills above Évian-les-Bains, in France. Water features everywhere, from the stress-busting views over Lake Geneva to the 1,700 sq m, gleaming-white evianSPA, added in 2024 after a year-long renovation of the existing wellness facilities. Inventive treatments here, including massages for children and facial scrubs made using Evian mineral water, are inspired by the natural cycle of water, from sky to spring (a ten-minute walk away), and focused on traditional holistic wellbeing and relaxation. The service is impeccable — as you’d expect from a hotel that’s hosted everyone from Queen Elizabeth II to Greta Garbo — and the 150 blue and gold-accented rooms feel fittingly regal. The picture is completed by two excellent lakeside restaurants: the all-day La Véranda and the Michelin-starred Les Fresques, where the high, frescoed ceiling is just as exquisite as the food.
Spa treatments from £135 | Family friendly | Accessible
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Details Hôtel Royal (hotel-royal.evianresort.com) and Kirker Holidays have three nights’ B&B from £1,598pp, including return flights and transfers (kirkerholidays.com)
13. Lily of the Valley, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur
French insouciance is the secret sauce at this Riviera spa. It starts with the contrariness of its location, close to St Tropez, a place where stamina more usually refers to the ability to party until dawn. It continues with a decadent design by the architect and interiors guru Philippe Starck, who clearly didn’t get the memo that spas should look like hospitals. The spa centres around results-driven wellness programmes that nevertheless allow a glass or two of pouilly-fuissé. Its approach of suggesting subtle lifestyle shifts rather than imposing killjoy strictness is as classically Gallic and wonderfully seductive as Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose. You’ll leave thinner, fitter and definitely in the pink.
Spa treatments from £155 | Family friendly | Accessible
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Details Lily of the Valley (lilyofthevalley.com) and Elegant Resorts have seven nights’ B&B from £2,655pp, including flights, private transfers and UK lounge access (elegantresorts.co.uk)
14. Maison Ila, Occitanie
No uniformed staff, no prescriptive “journey” you have to buy into. Maison Ila’s many fans — several of whom are Hollywood stars — usually want to keep quiet about this retreat because it’s so small and special. In 2020 Denise Leicester, founder of the cult organic skincare firm Ila, added a beautifully scented laboratory-style spa to this B&B. Treatments are honed and adjusted to the needs of each guest in an 18th-century mansion situated in a village at the foothills of the Pyrenees, 32 miles from Carcassonne. Alongside her skincare company, Leicester is also quietly responsible for treatments at some world-famous spas, and her expertise, along with that of her team, is evident here too.
Spa treatments from £87 | Family friendly
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Details Maison Ila has room-only doubles from £262; spa programmes from £961pp, including all treatments and meals (maisonila.com). Fly to Carcassonne
Germany
15. Schloss Elmau, Bavaria
Built as a cultural hideaway in 1916 and 90 minutes’ drive from Munich, this is the Quality Street of destination spas with two hotels a short walk apart, six spas, ten restaurants and a world-class concert hall. However, even these dazzling facilities are outshone by its stellar setting: surrounded by the imperious forest-clad Bavarian Alps that are dotted with Heidi-cute huts and glassy lakes for (very) cold-water swimming. Come for the excellent traditional Chinese medicine treatments but make full use of the bewildering array of dining options from a two Michelin-starred pan-Asian to classic cheese fondues. No wonder the G7 leaders have twice chosen this place for summits.
Spa treatments from £131 | Family friendly | Accessible
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Details Healing Holidays has three nights’ B&B from £1,099pp, including spa access, transfers and complimentary activities (020 7135 2436; healingholidays.com/sundaytimes). Fly to Munich
16. Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa, Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Baden is one of only 11 Unesco Great Spa Towns of Europe, thanks to its 2,000-year history of thermal bathing. For the past decade the destination has been on the wellness radar primarily because of this spa, which is within one of Germany’s grandest grandes dames, Brenners Park-Hotel. It comprises a chic medical clinic that specialises in innovative longevity treatments and a pampering palace with treatments by Augustinus Bader, a brand beloved by Hollywood stars. It also has the Black Forest on its doorstep for five-star hiking and dining options that range from super-strict detox diets to loosen-your-belt gastronomy.
Spa treatments from £165 | Family friendly | Accessible
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Details Healing Holidays has seven nights’ full board from £7,199pp, including a Detox and Weight Loss programme and transfers (020 7135 2436; healingholidays.com/sundaytimes). Fly to Baden-Baden
17. Buchinger Wilhelmi, Baden-Württemberg
Dr Otto Buchinger first started using therapeutic fasting to treat a variety of ailments in the 1930s, after he noticed how it had cured his arthritis. Today the clinic that he founded on the shores of Lake Constance in southern Germany is run by two of his great-grandchildren — Dr Verena Buchinger and Leo Wilhelmi. It has been championing therapeutic fasting for 70-odd years and has some impressive research to show how autophagy (literally eating yourself) boosts health and immunity as it kick-starts the body’s own recycling system. Fasting is claimed to help in the prevention of chronic conditions such as diabetes, arthritis and high blood pressure. The ten-day medically supervised fasting programme involves six days on a liquid-only diet. It sounds brutal but is so popular that an astonishing 70 per cent of the clinic’s guests are repeat customers.
Spa treatments from £130 | Accessible
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Details Buchinger Wilhelmi has ten nights’ full board from £3,530pp, including a fasting programme (buchinger-wilhelmi.com). Fly to Zurich
Spain
18. Camiral, a Quinta do Lago Resort, Costa Brava
When the Romans discovered hot springs at the Catalonian village of Caldes de Malavella, so began a two-millennia-long tradition of wellness therapy outside Girona. Camiral — which is on the edge of the village and is owned by the Irish billionaire businessman Denis O’Brien — is carrying the baton admirably with an outdoors-focused wellness offering that isn’t about grimacing through your pain barrier. Days are spent mixing a round of golf on the championship course (consistently voted the best in Spain) with a tasting menu at Origin restaurant. A padel game with a cryotherapy session and a Pilates class with a massage in the hammam. Nights are spent on green-striped loungers that fringe the pool, sipping a grenache from the hotel’s vineyard. You’ll end up feeling, well, well.
Spa treatments from £110 | Family friendly | Accessible
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Details Camiral, a Quinta do Lago Resort (camiral.com) and Inspiring Travel have four nights’ full board from £2,679pp, including flights, five-day programme and transfers (inspiringtravel.co.uk)
19. Grand Hotel Son Net, Mallorca
In one word: tasteful. Son Net is a luxurious, generously refined retreat for the smart set who want to be pampered inside and out — and for those looking for a long weekend getaway rather than a seven-night wellness boot camp. Above the village of Puigpunyent, a 20-minute drive northwest from Palma in the Tramuntana mountains and surrounded by terraced grounds and centuries-old olive trees, the restored 17th-century mansion is sumptuously upholstered, while the spa is soothingly pared back and traditional. Fine dining is taken seriously — there are more vermouths on the cocktail menu than there are massage options and the poolside menu includes a wagyu beef burger.
Spa treatments from £170 | Family friendly
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Details Grand Hotel Son Net (sonnet.es) and Scott Dunn have three nights’ B&B from £1,725pp, including flights and transfers (scottdunn.com)
20. Marbella Club, Andalusia
The Marbella Club has royal roots. Spain’s party-loving Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe-Langenburg transformed what was an old farm between Marbella and Puerto Banus and opened it as the Marbella Club Hotel in 1954. Hollywood and royalty came — everyone from Audrey Hepburn to Princess Diana — and it remains a celebrity favourite. Its gorgeous gardens and seaside position invite outdoor exercise as it sits in a verdant biozone between La Concha mountain and the sea. And while the emphasis is on achieving wholeness, an alignment of body, mind and soul, as well as wellness, there remains a let-your-hair-down vibe — this is Marbs after all.
Spa treatments from £180 | Family friendly
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Details Marbella Club has B&B doubles from £650 (marbellaclub.com). Fly to Malaga
21. SHA Spain, Costa Blanca
This is not a holiday, this is about learning to change your ways for ever. SHA is in the foothills of the Sierra Helada mountains, overlooking the beach town of Albir, near Alicante. It sticks out, a white building with Lego spaceship vibes that’s big on tropical plants and glass. However, you are not here for the views. SHA’s focus is on fixing your body and mind. Pick a programme, take a medical assessment and doctors — together with an army of nutritionists, chefs, PTs, yoga teachers, ayurvedic and Chinese medicine practitioners and therapists — will put together a tailored holistic agenda for you.
Spa treatments included | Accessible
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Details Healing Holidays has four nights’ full board from £3,199pp, including a Rebalance & Energise programme and transfers (020 7135 2436; healingholidays.com/sundaytimes). Fly to Alicante
22. Six Senses Ibiza
On the party island’s peaceful northern side, near the seaside town of Portinatx, you’ll find the five-star Six Senses Ibiza with its seriously sexy infinity pool, which overlooks a pretty bay, and a standout wellness offering complete with spa, yoga, sound baths, massages and more. Bamboo-style wooden roofs blend the building into the hillside and birds flit between the mature olive trees and hardy Mediterranean plants dotted around. Giant shimmering crystals on display near the spa play into the hippy appeal of the island, as do some of the treatments, but practitioners are as hot on the science as the spiritual. The thermal suite has an infrared sauna and a palatial marble steam room, and there’s a daily programme of activities such as aerial yoga and boxing. Guests are just as likely to enjoy a bottle of Krug in the pool as head out on an 8am hike. Service is always friendly.
Spa treatments from £210 | Family friendly | Accessible
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Details Six Senses Ibiza (sixsenses.com) and Carrier have three nights’ B&B from £3,250pp, including flights and transfers (carrier.co.uk)
23. MasQi, the Energy House, Valencia
The contrast with the boisterous flight into Alicante — dominated by groups on their way to Benidorm — couldn’t be starker. An hour’s drive from the airport, MasQi, the Energy House, is a wellness retreat in a converted 19th-century farmhouse in the remote hills of the Serra de Mariola nature reserve. The focus here is on yoga and meditation rather than shots and karaoke. Packages last anywhere between 2 and 21 days, with highlights often at the quirkier end of the wellness spectrum (the voice baths and blindfold dinners are especially memorable). Another draw is the food — all organic, largely plant-based and (nearly) as colourful as the nightlife in Beni.
Spa treatments from £96
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Details MasQi, The Energy House, has full-board doubles from £243, minimum two-night stay (masqi.es). Fly to Alicante
Switzerland
24. Chenot Palace Weggis, Lucerne
This grand resort in a fairytale castle in the sleepy town of Weggis on Lake Lucerne pulls off a tricky sleight of hand — it’s a temple to detoxification yet manages to feel decadent too. Its spa heritage is second to none, as its founder is the late, great Henri Chenot, known as the father of detox. The three-step toxin-eliminating method that he developed more than 50 years ago is now augmented with cutting-edge scientific advances yet remains loyal to his “prevention is better than cure” ethos. Central to its success is the calorie-restricted yet delicious diet. By the end of a week, like countless supermodel and CEO fans, you will emerge like a butterfly from a chrysalis, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and several pounds lighter.
Spa treatments from £158 | Accessible
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Details Chenot Palace Weggis has seven nights’ full board from £5,135pp, including tests, consultations, treatments and the Chenot Diet (chenot.com). Fly to Zurich
25. Clinique La Prairie, Vaud
Marlene Dietrich, Charles de Gaulle and Truman Capote are but a few who have recharged their batteries at this Swiss sanctuary near the jazz festival town of Montreux. It’s less spa than high-tech holistic health farm, where programmes target everything from weight loss to maximising brain potential by combining a medical approach with elegant, nutritional meals, and zen-boosting breathwork, cryotherapy and sound therapy. Massages and facials are supplemented with the latest biometric testing, stem cell treatments and epigenetic DNA analysis, which make for a minutely detailed, bespoke full-body check-up with tangible results. Children are welcome (but rare).
Spa treatments from £84 | Family friendly | Accessible
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Details Clinique La Prairie (cliniquelaprairie.com) and Healing Holidays have six nights’ full board from £17,899pp, including a Master Detox programme and transfers (020 7135 2436; healingholidays.com/sundaytimes). Fly to Geneva
Greece
26. Euphoria Retreat, Peloponnese
Three and a half hours’ drive from Athens, this pink-hued contemporary spa is carved into a mountainous pine forest, guarded by the medieval ruins of Mystras, the centre of Byzantine power in 13th-century Greece, and surrounded by the misty Taygetus foothills. This Peloponnese landscape is a shot of relaxation before you’ve even met the excellent wellness team. Caring therapists blend the ancient wisdom of Hippocrates with traditional Chinese medicine for soothing treatments, bolstered by the latest scientific and nutritional advice by one of Greece’s leading longevity doctors. Your fitness classes might take place in an ancient amphitheatre or olive grove. It’s a 360-degree immersion in healthy living.
Spa treatments from £131 | Accessible
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Details Healing Holidays has five nights’ B&B from £2,899pp at Euphoria Retreat, including an Emotional Harmony programme and transfers (020 7135 2436; healingholidays.com/sundaytimes). Fly to Kalamata
27. Anazoe Spa, Costa Navarino
Keep your eyes open on the hour’s drive west from Kalamata to the swanky resort of Costa Navarino and you’ll easily guess the key ingredient in Anazoe Spa’s signature treatments. Millions of olive trees stud the Messinia region in the southwest Peloponnese and never mind drizzling it over your feta — the oil from their fruit has long been prized for its medicinal properties. The coastal resort is home to golf courses, dozens of restaurants and a handful of stylish five-star hotels, with Anazoe sitting neatly between the swish Romanos and the more family-friendly Westin. Its flowing complex of treatment rooms and hydrotherapy pools have a regal aesthetic inspired by the Palace of Nestor, which once stood nearby, and a pleasing proximity to a long golden beach on the Ionian Sea.
Spa treatments from £130 | Family friendly | Accessible
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Details Romanos, a Luxury Collection Resort, Costa Navarino, has B&B doubles from £335 (costanavarino.com). Fly to Kalamata
Ireland
28. Monart, Co Wexford
DigiCol PhotographyDon’t be fooled by the timeless appeal of the tree-lined drive through this 100-acre estate or the horses grazing in the paddock. Hiding behind this mellow-stoned Wexford Georgian mansion is a dazzlingly modern destination spa. The emphasis is on a reconnection with nature, so the floor-to-ceiling windows of its thermal suite, its restaurants, relaxation rooms and glamorous loft-style bedrooms guide your gaze to bewitching gardens designed by the Chelsea Flower Show gold medallist Mary Reynolds. Everything from the pampering treatments to the excellent service is designed to help you hit the brakes. Even its address encourages you to slow down: it’s located at the Still in Enniscorthy.
Spa treatments from £95 | Accessible
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Details Monart has B&B doubles from £285 (monart.ie). Take the ferry with Stena Line, which has return fares from Fishguard to Rosslare for a car and driver from £149, additional passengers from £36pp (stenaline.com)
29. Cashel Palace, Co Tipperary
John and Susan Magnier, the co-owners of the A-list favourite Sandy Lane resort in Barbados, have turned their attention closer to home with a multimillion renovation of an 18th-century archbishop’s mansion in cliché-cute Cashel town in Co Tipperary. It’s an architectural beauty with doll’s house dimensions, original Palladian flourishes and Michelin-starred dining, but the spa is the star. In a sparkling contemporary extension, it features luxury skincare brands such as Bamford and an indoor-outdoor pool overlooking the dramatic medieval ruins of the Rock of Cashel. The palace played a pivotal role in the creation of Guinness, providing a legitimate excuse for guests to order a pint of vitamin G.
Spa treatments from £117 | Family friendly | Accessible
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Details Cashel Palace has B&B doubles from £316 (cashelpalacehotel.ie). Take the ferry with Stena Line, which has return fares from Fishguard to Rosslare for a car and driver from £149, additional passengers from £36pp (stenaline.com)
Portugal
30. Yeotown Madeira
Yeotown’s Barnstaple flagship in the UK has won endless awards since opening 15 years ago, including our Southwest Spa of the Year in 2024. Three years ago, the owners Simon and Mercedes Sieff launched a second base in an agrotourism villa perched above the slow-paced town of Arco da Calheta on lush Madeira. The Sieffs haven’t tinkered with their successful formula. Mornings start with yoga followed by an often challenging hike, afternoons include a HIIT session or cookery class and more yoga. Days are wrapped up with a bob in the pool, a swing in a hammock, nutritious dining and a healing massage, all with a side order of sparkling Atlantic.
Spa treatments included
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Details Yeotown Madeira has five nights’ full board from £2,950pp, including all activities and three massages (madeira.yeotown.com). Fly to Funchal
31. Palacio Estoril, near Lisbon
In the town of Estoril, set back from Portugal’s riviera that stretches from Lisbon to Cascais, is this grand cream 1930s hotel. There’s plenty of history within its walls. Grace Kelly, King Edward VIII and King Juan Carlos are some notable past guests; and it was one of the settings for the Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (the author Ian Fleming himself stayed in May 1941). Now its claim to fame is the four-storey modern spa annex. In 2010 Palacio Estoril opened its prosaically named Wellness Centre opposite the hotel, which as well as housing an outpost of Asian hospitality brand Banyan Tree specialises in medical wellness from doctors, nutritionists and osteopaths. Guests can book multi-day spa packages, or simply dip in and out as a hotel guest.
Spa treatments from £66 | Family friendly
Read the spa review in full and book a stay
Details Palacio Estoril (palacioestorilhotel.com) and Sunvil have three nights’ B&B from £1,319pp, including flights and transfers (sunvil.co.uk)
32. Pine Cliffs Resort, Algarve
On the cliffs overlooking Praia da Falesia and a 30-minute drive from Faro airport, Pine Cliffs is one of the Algarve’s most family-friendly resorts as well as home to a chic, grown-ups-only spa, Serenity. You’d be forgiven for missing it entirely, though, as the spa is discreetly tucked away at this vast resort with 870 rooms spread over 172 acres. There is also a roster of distracting activities including padel, fitness bootcamps and jet-skiing — plus eight swimming pools. While the style elsewhere at the hotel is all hand-painted azulejos and Moorish-inspired buildings, Serenity spa is a quiet and earthy-toned sanctuary. The focus is on treatments that celebrate Portuguese produce, including local sea salt and Algarvian orange oils. Or hang out in the thermal suite, which offers a Himalayan salt room, sophisticated cold plunge pool and experience showers.
Spa treatments from £118 | Accessible
Read the spa review in full and book a stay
Details Pine Cliffs Resort (pinecliffs.com), Serenity Spa (serenity-spa.com) and British Airways Holidays have seven nights’ B&B from £799pp, including flights (britishairways.com)
Belgium
33. Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp
Hugo ThomassenBack in the 15th century, Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp’s buildings were in use as a monastery and infirmary. Today, this stay in the heart of Antwerp remains a restorative place to reflect and reset — only now it’s with the 21st-century additions of two Michelin-starred restaurants, 108 delightful rooms and suites and an airy 1,000 sq m spa. Botanic Sanctuary opened in 2021 and the wellness philosophy has evolved beyond the treatment menu of massages and facials (although there are plenty of those too) and now incorporates traditional Chinese medicine and osteopathy. There’s everything from high-tech gear that performs a whole-body scan in less than 45 minutes to an IV lounge — overseen by experts — and private yoga classes. It’s chic and soulful, but there’s a dash of rock’n’roll too: during our stay we spotted Iggy Pop stretching out in the spa and the Sex Pistols pondering breakfast options.
Spa treatments from £70 | Family friendly | Accessible
Read the spa review in full and book a stay
Details Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp has B&B doubles from £393 (botanicantwerp.be). Fly or take the train to Antwerp
Contributors: Cathy Adams, Francesca Angelini, Rose Astor, Mike Atkins, Jenny Coad, Helen Davies, Jonathan Dean, Hannah Evans, Lizzie Frainier, Katie Gatens, Josh Glancy, Daisy Goodwin, Blossom Green, Roisin Kelly, Huw Oliver, Lucy Perrin, Claudia Rowan, Sarah Turner, Harriet Walker, Alexandra Whiting
The full list of the World’s 50 Best Spas, in collaboration with Healing Holidays, was first published on 13 October 2025
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