With today’s mounting daily personal and professional struggles, demanding schedules, torturous traffic, and traumatic world events, the demand for healing, soothing and rebooting safe havens is increasingly on the rise. Holidaymakers are seeking sanctuaries where they hope to achieve mental, physical and spiritual balance in Through nature to reconnect with nature. World travelers are on the lookout for wellness holidays to optimize the benefits of their getaways, to make sure they can keep themselves entertained until their next trip; a week of chilling on a beach somewhere no longer seems sufficient to fully relax and recharge the modern stressed mind and worn-out body. Consequently, more and more holiday resorts are integrating a combination of exercise, activity and relaxation treatments to help the tense and burned-out realign their natural balance and find their inner peace; yoga, pilates, fitness training, cleansing diets, massages, baths, treatments or simply indulgent mani-pedis to name a few. The end result is ideally a revitalized, rejuvenated, chillaxed, healed, detoxed and healthier holidaymaker who’s ready to face the world again.
Unfortunately, stress-free vacationing doesn’t always come cheap. However, you can still enjoy your healthy dose of extravagance in many retreats which offer top class spa facilities without breaking the bank. Cairo East Magazine compiled a list of some of the best spas worldwide to accommodate all vacation budgets:
Thermal Spa Resort in Lasko, Slovenia A luxurious spa center, Ayurveda center, and multiple pools and saunas, and healing natural hot springs, Lasko Thermal Spa Resort is an oasis in Eastern Europe. The luxurious destination spa is flanked by a river and mountains, as well as the small village of Celje. (Affordable)
Best Western Museum Spa Wellness Hotel in Santorini, Greece
This historic resort in the village of Oia on Santorini was originally a mansion that was turned into a museum before being converted into the wellness hotel. The intimate space features seven suites, pool and garden, the Volcanic Spa, sweeping vistas, and the two oldest olive trees on the island. (Affordable)
Levni Hotel & Spa in Istanbul, Turkey
In the heart of Istanbul and featuring sweeping views of the city, Levni Hotel is a luxurious yet affordable option for spa-goers looking for a decadent European experience. The spa features traditional Turkish baths as well as an ‘adventure shower,’ which allows guests to shower surrounded by exotic sights, sounds, and smells. (Affordable)
Vana Malsi Estate in India
Vana is a sanctuary of healing, with the focus of the resort being on the individual and a reverence for nature. The Vana approach to wellness is all-encompassing and includes cuisine, relaxation, music, art, outdoor activities, discourses and discussion. Vana (meaning ‘forest’) is set amidst 21 acres of ancient forest on the outskirts of Dehradun, a spiritually rich region of India. (Mid-Range)
Chiva-Som in ThailandChiva-Som has been purging and cleansing visitors for 20 years, and still remains triumphantly at the top of its game. Tucked away on acres of lush tropical gardens in Hua Hin, a mere two hours by road from Bangkok, Chiva-Som is the perfect spa for everyone. The schedule is strictly timetabled, with Tai Chi at sunrise, followed by a nice stretch, with kickboxing, Pilates, yoga, and meditation. Chiva Som boasts an almost unimaginable range of spa and alternative treatments, a range of massages and facials, colonic irrigation therapies and flotation, scrubs and body polishes, iridology and seaweed treatments, milk baths as well as acupuncture. Food has always been saintly yet scrumptious at Chiva-Som. You can learn how to prepare healthy meals, with daily classes to teach you the art of preparing and cooking the Chiva Som way. (Mid-Range)
Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru in the Maldives
Situated on an island that is almost too beautiful to absorb, with its mesmeric turquoise sea and unblemished sandy beaches, this is an outstanding Ayurvedic sanctuary. The seven-day Chakra Blessings ritual is an intense, carefully calibrated series of treatments which balance each chakra point. Marma points will be stimulated and there’s a daily intuitive lymph-drainage massage. Volcanic levels of rage and grief are accessed and sensitive souls will release deep-held pockets of emotion quickly. The yoga is a delight, especially as the main pavilion is on stilts in the sea. There is also aqua yoga and challenging anti-gravity yoga, which leaves you feeling decompressed. Staff will organize trips to see dolphins or swim with manta rays, and other activities which further connect you to yourself. Expect to reach a state of almost preternatural calm. (Luxury)
Six Senses Zighy Bay in Oman
Six Senses is an oasis of peace which feels like a rustic, ancient Omani village with its sandy paths, low-cushioned daybeds and palms, figs and lime bushes dotted around. Everything you can imagine is on offer and executed with style, incredible care, and superlative know-how. You can hike or bike in the mountains, go yogic, meditate on the rooftop or sweat over the wildly challenging, heart-pumping boot-camps (where you exercise for eight-hour stints at a time, kayaking, swimming, and hurling yourself across horizontal ladders). Or embark on a proper detox programme with hardcore training, mind clearance and pure, cleansing food including green juices for breakfast, lush protein lunches and slimming soup for supper. Treatments are decadent but results-driven; these include a vigorous Indian head massage, an Arabian facial, reiki, singing bowls, cupping, acupressure, the Bowen Technique and all manner of leftfield holistic treats. (Luxury)
