And Relax: 10 Of The World’s Best Wellness Retreats

8th April 2019 | By Lottie Hulme

Life can be hella hectic, especially when you live in a city and the resounding noise in your head is that of tube announcements and beeping horns. Knowing this, we’ve mentally whisked ourselves away to worlds unknown, where social media is forbidden and days are spent laying amongst flora and fauna in hot tubs. If you’re yet to go on holiday this year and in desperate need of a bit of me-time, with an “ahhhh” murmuring on your lips just ready to be released then take a look at these ten sensational wellness retreats and thank us later…

Aro-Ha Wellness Retreat, New Zealand

The Aro-Ha Wellness Retreat in New Zealand completely stuns with its isolated yet evidently beautiful location overlooking the expanse of Lake Wakatipu, in New Zealand’s Southern Alps. The dramatic scenery and moody Game of Thrones-esque outlook makes the retreat one of the most coveted stays in the world. Zone in and out, explore mindfulness, hike up the sensational hills, immerse yourself in yoga and make haste with the Aro-Ha Wellness Adventures programme. You’ll be totally swept away from the world, left in an incommunicado state and it’s exactly what you need.

Photo credit here

Where: 33 Station Valley Rd, Wyuna, Glenorchy 9350, New Zealand
Website: www.aro-ha.com

Bio-Hotel Stanglwirt, Going am Wilden Kaiser, Austria

Nestled amongst Austria’s chocolate box surroundings, Bio-Hotel Stanglwirt looks like something from a postcard. Unwind mode begins as soon as you swap civvy clothes for a fluffy gown at the Green Spa Resort as it’s named. Wellness is explored at the five star offering via a large sauna complex that allows you to choose between five different saunas and three steam baths. Steamed out, you can venture across to the mesmerising water worlds where there’s the rock pool and the children’s water world, the sports pool and the waterfall grotto, an idyllic setting after a six-mile hike over to Schwarzsee Lake. The daily grind is a thing of the past at this spellbinding Bio-Hotel.

Where: Kaiserweg 1 A-6353 Going am Wilden Kaiser, Austria
Website: www.stanglwirt.com

Kananaskis Nordic Spa, Canada

Somewhat akin to Iceland’s Blue Lagoon, the Kananaskis Nordic Spa is a 50,000-square foot alpine sanctuary that can only be described as looking pretty similar to a MacBook screensaver. Set amongst Canada’s vast landscape, wrap yourself in a tartan dressing gown and enjoy the five pools, some of which were slightly warmer than the others, alongside Banya, Finnish and Barrel saunas, and an Alchemist and Eucalyptus steam cabin. Alberta’s Kananaskis Nordic Spa is somewhere where you don’t even want your phone – there’s something far too tranquil, too Bear Grylls about it all that technology just seems rather alien amongst it. Enjoy a life-altering massage or grab a snack and drink at the on-site eatery – Kananaskis really is what dreams are made of.

Where: 1 Centennial Dr, Kananaskis, AB T0L 2H0, Canada
Website: www.knordicspa.com

Bushmans Kloof, Clanwilliam, South Africa

The simply stunning Bushmans Kloof in South Africa is positioned on 18,500 acres of wide open plains at the foot of the Cederberg Mountains. You’re utterly immersed in the fascinating stretches of Africa, a far cry from civilisation but instead surrounded by 150 kinds of birds, 750 species of plants, and 35 species of mammals, and it’s quite honestly magical. It’s no surprise that the five-star spa has a wealth of accolades in its log, and a quick Google brings it up as one of, if not the best, in the world. You’ll enjoy awe-inspiring activities, unique dining experiences, organic vegetable gardens and caring service at this bucket list location, making you the envy of all your friends. With sustainability at its helm, Bushmans Kloof is the perfect definition of being at one with nature.

Where: Agert Pakhuis Pass, Clanwilliam, 8135, South Africa
Website: www.bushmanskloof.co.za

LUX* Bodrum

Just in time for summer, LUX* Bodrum is set to reopen on the 1st of May, sweeping guests off their feet with its plethora of tranquil, customised programmes. The retreat sits snug on its own peninsula on the Turkish Riviera providing sweeping views a far cry from tube stations and concrete jungles. Guests can enjoy the new Vitalica Wellness centre alongside a whole bunch of self care offerings with highlights of holistic therapies, beauty and anti-ageing procedures and grazing at the Vitalica restaurant which triumphs clean eating. LUX* Bodrum provides the ability to maximise sleep, detox and relax amongst award-winning designs all whilst being drenched in sun.

Where: Kuyucak Mevkii,, 48670 Adabükü, Bodrum Muğla , Turkey/Muğla, Turkey
Website: www.luxresorts.com

Taj Hotels Jiva Spa

We find ourselves rolling onto home turf for this next gem of a wellness retreat as March saw the anticipated opening of Taj Hotels’ Jiva spa. The zen hub offers a busy offering of traditional Indian treatments as a result of a collaboration between Taj’s award winning Jiva and the British lifestyle brand Temple Spa. With luxury at its helm the spa triumphs ancient and modern healing therapies and Eastern and Wellness rituals resulting in a diverse menu of holistic treatments. For those who can’t escape the confines of the concrete jungle to jet off to Africa’s Bushmans Kloof, this is the idyllic alternative located in the heart of the capital. The spa offers a vitality pool, steam room, sauna and emotional shower (the latter sounds like something we have every morning before work!) There are also treatment rooms and a couple’s suite. For a slice of R&R, it’s Jiva Spa.

Where: 54 Buckingham Gate, Westminster, London SW1E 6AF
Website: www.tajhotels.com

Kamalaya, Koh Samui, Thailand

With Thailand as its setting it’s hardly surprising Kamalaya wellness retreat is a talked about one. Holistic treatments are rife including treatments such as Ayurveda, Naturopathy and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Positioned on a green washed hillside in Koh Samui you can immerse yourselves in wellness, relaxation and blood red sunsets. Why not try out something new? There are a multitude of offerings that seek to please the soul including detox, stress and burnout, emotional balance, yoga, ideal weight, structural revival and Optimal Fitness.

Where: หมู่ที่ 3 102/9 Laem-Set Rd, Ko Samui District, Surat Thani 84140, Thailand
Website: www.kamalaya.com

SHA Wellness Clinic, Alicante, Spain

Sensational views accompany your stay at SHA Wellness Clinic, a space that triumphs a method that integrates the most effective natural therapies with highly therapeutic nutrition. Tucked away in the Sierra Helada Mountains in Spain, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, you can recline amongst beauty or take part in various programmes from detox, to fitness, weight loss, sleep recovery, and even anti-tobacco.

Where: Carrer del Verderol, 5, 03581 L'Albir, Alacant, Spain
Website: www.shawellnessclinic.com

Fivelements, Bali, Indonesia

Located near Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, the Fivelements retreat is notoriously dreamy. Positive, peaceful and holistic transformation is the goal at the award-winning destination which is helped along by the setting surrounded by lush forest and features organic gardens, tranquil water features, and unique Balinese-inspired structures made of bamboo and other natural materials. You’ll find spa treatments, healing sessions, purification rituals, yoga and meditation, as well as its award-winning plant-based cuisine at this eco-friendly haven.

Where: Mambal, Abiansemal, Badung Regency, Bali 80352, Indonesia
Website: www.fivelements.org

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