12 Award-Winning Hotels In The World With The Best Spas
Hotel and resort spas worldwide tempt guests to travel to their environs with their wealth of luxurious services and elevated treatments designed to transform body, mind, and spirit. In destinations around the globe, award-winning spas in equally renowned hotels carefully curate experiences and rituals that raise wellness to a new level. Some focus on the latest technologies and research to offer bespoke facials and therapeutic treatments. Others dive deep into the culture of their locale, providing services deeply rooted in authentic traditions and rituals. They all offer a full range of services, including massage, facials, and bodywork. Nearly all provide water features ranging from hammams to hydrotherapy circuits.
All the spas on this list have earned the coveted five-star designation from Forbes Travel Guide and have either won or been nominated for World Spa Awards in 2022 and 2023. They distinguish themselves with awe-inspiring architecture and design, world-class amenities, and services at the forefront of wellness offerings. Listed alphabetically, the 12 spas — and the award-winning hotels that house them — beckon to those who want to experience transformative well-being.
Auriga Wellness at Capella Bangkok - Bangkok, Thailand
Capella Bangkok is no stranger to awards: No. 1 hotel brand in the world, No. 1 hotel in Bangkok, and Travel + Leisure's World's best award 2023. So it comes as no surprise that the spa keeps pace, with Forbes granting a 5-star rating and the World Spa Awards giving it Asia's best hotel spa in 2022 and 2023 and the world's best new hotel spa in 2022. An urban resort that capitalizes on its Chao Phraya River location, the property mixes nature and city life in its 101 suites and villas. Committed to creating authentic experiences, Capella Bangkok employs "Capella Culturists" who weave local heritage into the hotel's offerings and create guest experiences specific to Bangkok. Its five dining outlets further lure those visiting Bangkok because of its favored status among foodies.
Auriga Wellness boasts seven treatment rooms, a spa garden, a shower experience, a vitality pool, water therapy facilities, a relaxation lounge, and a fitness center. Its rituals incorporate local Thai ingredients such as riceberry, mung bean, and black sesame for authentic experiences. It is a place where you can partake in Tok Sen, an ancient Thai therapy also known as Hammer Massage, or the Shang Dynasty-inspired Harmonized Qi. The spa professionals aim to design individual, integrated healing programs so that each guest experiences personalized services that center around their needs. The goal is transformation brought about by combining traditional and contemporary practices.
Crown Spa Sydney - Sydney, Australia
With an unparalleled view of the Sydney Harbour, Crown Towers Sydney defines luxury in Australia's second most populous city. Sophistication describes its guestroom design, all fitted with floor-to-ceiling windows. Guests can head up to level five to hang out at the heated pool, stretch out in day beds, or rent a private cabana. Foodies can enjoy one of three restaurants: Oncore by Clare Smyth, a contemporary fine dining restaurant designed by a Michelin chef; Nobu, a top-rated Japanese restaurant; or Epicurean, a spot for all-day dining featuring an international menu.
Crown Spa Sydney is one of the property's sparkling jewels, a perennial nominee for World Spa's best Australian hotel spa, and a Forbes 5-star designee. It focuses on providing a luxurious experience from wellness to beauty. Many services combine modern science and research with ancient practices, such as its Sleep Support with Savasana, which combines meditation, yoga, massage, facial massage, and a nasal oil application. Its menu is divided into spa services, wellness experiences, beauty treatments, and curated journeys designed to appeal to travelers with specific needs such as pregnancy, sleep deprivation, or jet lag.
Fairmont Spa Century Plaza - Los Angeles, California, United States
A sparkling gem on the Avenue of Stars, The Fairmont Century Plaza is a historic landmark that opened its doors in 1966 and has since played host to movie stars, presidents, rock stars, and celebrities. It has hosted the Emmys and the Grammys and sets out to make each guest feel like a star. Its 400 guestrooms and suites add a dash of modern amenities to historic charm, from its marble bathrooms to its floor-to-ceiling windows.
More than just a place to book a service, the 14,000-square-foot Fairmont Spa designs an experience for its guests surrounding each treatment. This starts with the Forbes 5-star spa architecture and décor and extends to such amenities as customizable rainfall showers where you can adjust the pressure, aroma, and color. Other amenities include a hammam, Himalayan salt room, aromatherapy steam room, and samarium. Nor is anything jejune about the services on its treatment menu. Starting with "biohacking" services that let you nap on an anti-gravity bed and moving through body treatments, high-tech facials, luxury hair stylings, targeted massages, and pampering nail services, everything is designed to create a one-of-a-kind experience.
One&Only Le Saint Géran's Wellness Spa - Poste de Flacq, Mauritius
Considered a must-visit for those seeking an international beach vacation, the tropical island of Mauritius floats in the Indian Ocean, covered in white sand beaches. It's where One&Only Le Saint Géran has built a retreat on a remote peninsula. Both the hotel and spa have earned Forbes 5-star ratings. The hotel is surrounded by 60 acres of tropical gardens and was the first resort built in the One&Only Collection, with its 142 rooms filling a colonial-style building. With a private boathouse, the hotel offers adventurous experiences for its guests and complimentary access to its sporting equipment and watercraft.
Billed as a tropical retreat, the One&Only Le Saint Géran's wellness spa focuses on water. The 12 treatment rooms surround the spa's adult-only infinity pool; many are connected to private gardens where guests can shower outdoors. It offers signature treatments specially designed for the One&Only brand resorts that meld vibrational energy and eco-therapy. "Harnessing the beneficial powers of binaural beats, the Solfeggio scale and the rhythms of nature, these holistic treatments draw on the positive energy of the earth's vibrations to restore balance, leaving you more in tune with yourself and with nature," explains the official website.
Serrano Spa - Highland, California, USA
Yaamava' Resort & Casino wants its guests to feel like winners, whether through generous giveaways (a couple celebrating 44 years of marriage won $1 million in 2023) or through access to such amenities as poolside cabanas, upscale rooms, and nearly a dozen dining options. The 432-room, 17-floor resort, christened with the Serrano name for "spring," opened in 2021, providing San Manuel with its first casino hotel, a luxury property with views of the San Bernardino Mountains.
For those who want to escape the clamor of the casino, Serrano Spa offers a luxurious retreat into a world of wellness. Maybe it's due to the fact that it incorporates Oracle cards, crystals, and adaptations of unique international treatments into some of its services and rituals. Serrano is a Forbes 5-star spa with inspectors raving about it, and World Spa even nominated it as one of California's top resort spas in 2023. It incorporates technology into its facials and massages while tapping into energy work, chakra balancing, and a focus on tranquility. In addition to such treatments as elemental rituals, facials, bodywork, massage, hair styling, and nail care, the spa offers such experiences as sound healing, full-moon meditations, and other programming.
The Spa at Ashford Castle - County Mayo, Ireland
Where better to go than an Irish castle for those who desire royal treatment? The spa is inside Ireland's first Forbes 5-star hotel, the 800-year-old Ashford Castle, considered one of the world's most beautiful accommodations and the site of a dreamy room for those seeking a romantic getaway. Built on a 350-acre estate near Lough Corrib, the grounds are as attractive as the castle itself. Guests can stay in any of the 83 rooms and suites, all individually decorated with royal flair for those who want to be surrounded by Old World artwork, antiques, and period furnishings. Activities available to guests include golf, fishing, falconry, horse riding, hiking, clay pigeon shooting, and zip lining.
Taking advantage of design and art to promote restoration, the Spa at Ashford Castle is renowned for its Tree of Life mural. Throughout are Celtic touches and Irish twists on such things as a hammam. The World Spa Awards has given it the title of Ireland's best hotel spa for eight straight years. According to the spa menu, its goal is to ensure that its guests are "nurtured, purified, pampered, and relaxed." It pursues this by using top-of-the-line and carefully researched spa products and curating rituals drawn from nearby environs.
The Spa at Mandarin Oriental Jumeira - Dubai, UAE
While there are many affordable destinations in Dubai, the Mandarin Oriental Jumeira is a hotel of luxury and opulence where the grandiose is the norm. Guestroom furnishings are inlaid with mother of pearl, the bathrooms are made of marble, and amenities include a pillow menu and yoga mat. And that's just in the standard room (which it calls "superior"). Book the royal penthouse, and you'll have a private pool, gym, dining area, steam room, large living area, and several balconies on the split level overlooking the sea. The hotel's seven dining outlets include a caviar lounge.
The Spa at Mandarin Oriental Jumeira invites guests to escape their devices and melt into luxurious services. It organizes retreats consisting of personally curated collections of treatments that last from one to three days. The spa is home to the hotel's wellness and fitness activities, including martial arts classes. Making the most of its beachfront location with floor-to-ceiling windows, the spa emphasizes local authenticity with many Arabic-themed elements incorporated into its offerings. The Elixir Clinic provides a menu of IV treatments and services with ingredients like artisanal blends of 24-karat gold, jasmine, argan oil, and saffron also appear on the spa list.
The Spa at Sandy Lane - St. James, Barbados
Located on Barbados' Platinum Coast, Sandy Lane bills itself as "the most iconic address in the Caribbean," and those looking for a slice of luxury know this is the part of the island to visit. Adjacent to 1,000 feet of white sand beach, a mahogany grove surrounds the property, where, for more than 60 years, guests have sought out private, exclusive luxury. Considered a top Caribbean couples destination, Sandy Lane creates romantic moments with butler-drawn baths, candlelight dinners, and special packages.
Tranquility defines The Spa at Sandy Lane. Each treatment room is outfitted with either a hydrotherapy tub or a landscaped garden. The 47,000-square-foot spa has water features, luxury amenities, and fitness facilities. Some amenities include a Crystal Cold Room, a hydrotherapy pool, a meditation room, a cold plunge pool and cryotherapy, a panoramic sauna, experience showers, a yoga studio, boxing training equipment, and a relaxation room. Fitness classes are complimentary. Its extensive menu of services blends traditions from Barbados, the Caribbean, North America, Europe, and Asia. The Forbes 5-Star Spa is a frequent winner of the World Spa best resort spa in Barbados and was nominated as the best resort spa in the Caribbean in 2023
The Spa at West Hollywood EDITION - Los Angeles, California, USA
Hollywood knows how to roll out the red carpet, and West Hollywood EDITION continues that tradition. Designed by Ian Schrager and considered one of the world's most beautiful hotels, West Hollywood EDITION's 140 guestrooms, 48 suites, and two penthouses (plus 20 luxury residences) are modern marvels with enviable views of Hollywood and such amenities as down pillows, imported linens, blackout drapes, rainfall showers in stone bathrooms, custom-made Le Labo bathroom products, and French balconies. Four dining outlets range from a rooftop restaurant poolside to an exclusive nightclub with a separate entrance and weekly disco parties.
Luxury meets mindfulness at the hotel's Forbes 5-star spa, focusing heavily on wellness and beauty. It incorporates high tech into services while emphasizing ecologically sound and earth-friendly treatments. Nor has it turned its back on tradition with services incorporating self-guided meditation, aromatherapy, seaweed masques, and sound baths. There's even a Sanctuary for meditation. Amenities include a steam room, sauna, relaxation room, a gym with Precor fitness equipment, and a boutique. In 2020, the World Spa Awards nominated it as one of the best new hotel spas in the world, and it has been nominated for awards every year since then.
Spa Airelles - Gordes, France
Step back in time to a spa inspired by the nearby abbeys of the 12th Century, where the Forbes 5-star facility will nourish your soul and body with multi-sensory treatments combining ancient traditions and new technology. Located in a French Riviera hotel, Spa Airelles specializes in phyto-aromatic treatments using aromatherapy, plant extracts, and oils. The concept is incorporated into its massages, facials, and hair styling. Treatments can be administered in private rooms, on the terrace, or in a cabin for two. It has created a specialized spa menu for children so the entire family can enjoy it. While the spa covers 17,200 square feet, there are only four treatment rooms, making space for a gym, pool, relaxation room, hammam, sauna, experience showers, and terraces.
It's a continuation of the cozy luxuries offered by the Provencal palace where the spa resides, La Bastide, which rents out 34 rooms and six suites. With hanging gardens and terraces overlooking lavender fields and olive groves, La Bastide is decorated in 18th-century style. The hotel offers experiences for all ages, from cinema in the garden to yoga sessions, horse riding, kayaking, and star gazing with an astronomer. Hungry guests can sample French and Mediterranean food at five restaurants or the world-renowned tea room.
Spa Palmera - Boca Raton, Florida, USA
Since 1926, when it opened as a 100-room inn, The Boca Raton, which has a beach club and spa that have garnered Forbes 5-star ratings, has combined history and grand architecture to create a seaside resort. It spreads out across 200 acres and features two pool clubs, a marina, an art gallery, more than 14 dining outlets, a championship golf course, a racquet club (with both tennis and pickleball courts), and, of course, the spa. Within the single resort are five hotels– or types of accommodations — that include the modern tower rooms, the beach club with its myriad water activities, the adult-only yacht club, the Old World Cloister with its grand architecture, and the apartment-style bungalows housing those checking in for extended stays.
Inspired by Spanish royalty, the Spa Palmera architecture rivals the excellence of its services. The 50,000-square-foot luxury spa devotes 10,000 square feet to gardens. In any of its 44 treatment rooms, guests can receive treatments ranging from high-end facials to Alhambra body and tropical bath rituals. Services incorporate such varied elements as cryotherapy, Himalayan salt crystals, hydrotherapy rituals, CBD, hydrafacials, and coconut herbal compresses. Amenities include waterfall whirlpools, a spa pool, a relaxation room in a great hall, communal bathing therapies, a biostation, and a spa café. In 2022, World Spa dubbed it Florida's best resort spa, and it is frequently nominated as one of the best spas in the state.
Waldorf Astoria Spa, Las Vegas - Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
The 47-story Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas has what Forbes calls some of the best views in Las Vegas. The rooms are bounded by floor-to-ceiling windows, harbor deep-soaking spa tubs, and walk-in wardrobes or valet closets. The 3,100 square-foot presidential suite is decked out with a living room, cocktail bar, dining area, and in-room fitness center. The awe-inspiring lobby is designed in Art Deco style with 11,000 square feet of imported Italian marble and a crystal chandelier. Dining options include a Zen kitchen, hotel bar, and tea lounge.
Even in Las Vegas, places of serenity, quiet, and healing exist, as can be found by transcending the strip at the Waldorf Astoria Spa. You can tap into traditional spa services such as massage, facials, and bodywork or self-curate an experience with its amenities. These include five experience showers, a vitality pool on the 8th-floor deck, a hammam, steam rooms, a sauna, a relaxation room, and the Chinese foot spa. The spa welcomes couples with several rooms designed around services for two and such packages as the Karmic Happiness Ritual and Heart of Romance. If you are overwhelmed by the choices, you can book a Luxury of Time package where the therapist will create a personalized sampler of services.
How we identified the hotels with the world's top spas
By their very nature, spas are designed to elevate the experience of those who visit them. They are places where guests get highly personal, attentive, one-on-one service, which can make determining the "best" a challenging task. However, that's just the work that the army of Forbes Travel Guide inspectors do every year when they secretly visit and evaluate spas. The spas on this list all earned 5-star rankings from Forbes in 2023, rising above the rest for their facilities, service, and amenities.
We took that list and cross-referenced it with the World Spa Awards. Every year, the World Spa Awards accepts nominations, voted on by invited spa and wellness experts and consumers. To make it into this article, each 5-star, Forbes-ranked spa had to be either nominated or win a World Spa Award in 2022 or 2023. These included the best in categories such as the world's best city resort spa (The Spa at Mandarin Oriental Jumeirah Dubai) or regional awards like Ireland's best hotel spa (The Spa at Ashford Castle). The result was this list of 12 of the world's best spas in award-winning hotels.