The Best Boutique Spa Hotels
Courtesy La DonairaFinca La Donaira, Ronda, Spain
This rustic-chic, nine-room renovated farmhouse in the heart of rural Andalusia is a draw for horseback riders, with more than 60 horses on property. Four of the stallions are trained in dressage, but you can also take a Lusitano horse out for a trail ride through the surrounding 600 acres of mountain forest and farmland—you might even give yoga on horseback a shot. The wellness programming continues in the spa, with an infinity pool, Turkish hammam, and Russian wood sauna open to all, as well as bookable massages and body scrubs using products handmade from almonds, rosemary, and other botanicals from La Donaira’s medicinal garden. The organic farm supplies nearly all the food, including Pajuna cattle and dairy cows, sheep and chickens, vegetable gardens, olive groves, and fruit orchards. The chef transforms all of it into seasonally changing dinners and incredible breakfast spreads featuring the property’s own jams and honey, which you’ll want to eat overlooking the property’s natural spring-fed pool.
Photo by Kenny VieseChablé Resort & Spa, Merida, Mexico
Set deep within the lush gardens of the Yucatán, this 38-casita retreat in a 19th-century hacienda has a showstopper of a spa built around a natural cenote. The treatments all incorporate some kind of ancient mysticism—like the traditional Temezcal with volcanic stones and medicinal flower extracts. You’re well positioned to explore Merida’s colonial streets or visit local artisans before heading back to Chablé’s restaurant Ixim, something of a local social hub. Here, chef Luis Ronzon turns out organic Mayan cuisine with plenty of gluten-free and vegan options (think artichoke tartlets and octopus with lentils) from the kitchen garden while overseeing the world’s largest tequila collection.
Courtesy Borgo EgnaziaBorgo Egnazia, Fasano, Italy
The Italians aren’t known for being wellness pioneers (it’s not exactly synonymous with bottomless bowls of orecchiette with sausage). But even in Puglia, a region known for its proliferation of stylish converted masserie, or farmhouses, the creamy, stone-walled, linen-clad Borgo Egnazia, with 63 luxuriously white-on-white rooms overlooking the Adriatic, is a standout for its Vair spa. Try a candlelit Roman bath soak in their suite of tubs—including a tepidarium, a caldarium, and a frigidarium—or swim laps in the indoor pool. Whatever you do, save time for the 90-minute massage by barefoot Apulian masseuses, and a one-on-one with an Italian shaman whose intuitive feedback may just change your life.
Courtesy Sao Lourenco do BarrocalSão Lourenço do Barrocal, Monsaraz, Portugal
This working winery, olive grove, and hotel in Portugal’s sunny Alentejo region is a former farming village that’s been lovingly white-washed and restored by an eighth-generation family member. The kitchen serves up local and organic fare in dishes like sautéed vegetables with beans and poached egg, oven-roasted octopus, and roasted black pork cheeks, which you’ll want to wash down with bottles of regional red varietals and crisp whites crafted on property. But the highlight has to be the bright, vaulted Susanne Kaufmann Spa Barrocal. Known for attracting a chic set to her family’s Hotel Post in Austria, Kaufmann’s own organic skincare line is the secret ingredient in the spa’s anti-aging and detox skin treatments that are administered in vaulted and airy white rooms; there’s also a small gym for kettlebell workouts, yoga, and other group classes.
Courtesy Phum BaitangPhum Baitaing, Siem Reap, Cambodia
With a proliferation of hotels opening at the gateway to UNESCO wonder Angkor Wat, two things set this property apart. One: Its 45 villas are designed to resemble a Khmer village, propped on stilts overlooking rice paddies and decorated in tasteful linens and natural woods (several with private plunge pools). Two: The dedication to wellness is real. After a day spent padding around the ruins of Angkor, boating on Tonl´´é Sap lake, or ducking into Siem Reap’s various textile and crafts shops, you’ll want to retreat for the evening to the Spa Temple, a gorgeous stone building with carved pillars. Here, the signature rituals last from 80 to 170 minutes: That might involve a Khmer healing treatment traditionally used by fishermen and farmers in which the body is smothered in warm herbs and spices (jasmine, turmeric, raw honey, and the local moringa plant) and wrapped in a banana leaf, or a two-hour massage while wearing cotton pajamas. When you head back to your villa at night, the only thing that may break the calm is the rustle of a grazing buffalo.
Courtesy Las Alcobas Napa ValleyLas Alcobas Napa Valley, St Helena, California
This 68-room California outpost of the Mexico City boutique hotel, comprising the 100-year-old-Acacia house and a new build section, is a refreshing addition to the heavy-handed rustic and Spanish colonial/Mission vibe that usually dominates Napa decor. The rooms are simple and modern (think bleached wood, soft greys) and luxe, with Italian bedding by the same company that has supplied the Vatican for ages, and floor-to-ceiling views over Beringer Brothers’s first vineyard. The spa experience begins around a fire pit in the indoor/outdoor relaxation area, and the Thai, Chinese and Indian-inspired treatments incorporate fresh local herbs and spices (we loved the Samunprai massage); there’s also a yoga and meditation studio. But you’re still in Napa, after all, so make sure to indulge by the chic pool area with a glass from the bar/restaurant’s amazing wine list, or the best margarita we’ve had outside of Mexico.
Courtesy Retreat at Blue Lagoon IcelandBlue Lagoon Retreat, Southwestern Iceland
Iceland’s thermally heated Blue Lagoon has been drawing Instagrammers for years, and in April it will finally get its first luxury hotel. Built into an 800-year-old lava flow on the south shore, the Retreat at Blue Lagoon is home to the Retreat Spa, which takes the hot soak to another level. Guests will progress through a gauntlet of temperature-controlled rooms—dry heat, steam heat, drip ceiling, fire, a cold air well—culminating in a body treatment incorporating the healing properties of geothermal seawater: silica, algae, and minerals. Snooze it all off in a hanging nest chair overlooking the Retreat Lagoon (a private extension of the main pool) via floor-to-ceiling windows—if you're lucky, you just might catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights.
Courtesy Kara RosenlundHalcyon House, Cabarita Beach, Australia
This former surf hotel turned hip east coast haunt just opened a huge wellness space, with full bookshelves and cheerful prints and wall coverings that extend the property’s beachy-cool interiors. Halcyon’s massages and body treatments, using chemical-free Aussie Sodashi products, are exactly how you’ll want to decompress after kayaking or SUP’ing at Cabarita Beach, or hiking to Norries Headland. (Bonus: Boho-chic Byron Bay is only a half an hour south, with some of the best surf breaks in the country.) Come back for dinner at the art-filled Paper Daisy, where chef Ben Devlin, a veteran of Copenhagen’s Noma, does simple preparations of grilled squid with green onion and black garlic or glazed lamb with horseradish.
Courtesy Split Apple RetreatSplit Apple Retreat, South Island, New Zealand
A small oceanside lodge at the edge of New Zealand’s most beautiful national park, Split Apple—which houses three large suites with Japanese-style baths—is an oasis of serenity in hi-fi New Zealand. The food alone is worth the trek: Co-owner and chef Anne Pen Lee cooks up gluten-free and delicious seaweed soups, chicken salads, and fresh Kiwi seafood. But while there, it’s well worth having a consultation with Pen’s husband, Lee Nelson, a co-founder and holistic doctor, whose meditation techniques may cure your insomnia. Alternatively, opt for an energy-balancing reiki treatment in the blond wood spa, to better enjoy your gorgeous surroundings: empty, golden beaches; hikes through native bush; boating excursions into the national park; and helicopter rides to nearby sacred Maori sites.