10 Best Spas for 2010

From sleep clinics in southern Spain to Italian lake idylls, Lydia Bell lines up the places to watch (and wallow in) this year

The Scarlet

BEST FOR: CLIFFTOP BATHING
CORNWALL, UK

The ramping up of Cornwall to cool weekend destination is confirmed with the opening of The Scarlet hotel, whose spa ticks all the boxes for au courant luxe lounging palace. It’s completely eco-driven, with over 100 sustainable initiatives, such as biomass boilers, grey water recycling, sea-thrift planted roofs and solar water heating. Food is sourced locally (think seared scallops with vermouth and mint sauce), and the giant (850m2) spa embraces the Indian concept of Ayurveda — and uses all organic products, including its own signature line. Try a hammam scrub, followed by a clifft op hot-tub bath and a spot of meditation in a hammock-like pod for the ultimate in relaxation.

TEL: +44 (0)1637 861800, WWW.SCARLETHOTEL.CO.UK

Nemuno Slenis

BEST FOR: THERMAL WALLOWING
BIRSTONAS, LITHUANIA

The spa town of Birstonas offers a restful, old-fashioned experience that’s worlds away from the slickness of western European luxury escapes (especially on price). On the banks of the wild Nemunas river, it’s one of the oldest “balneology” resorts in Lithuania – that’s thermal bathing to you and me. Its healing mineral waters have lured Lithuania’s dukes, poets, painters and musicians for years, and there are four sanatoriums in town to choose from. Perhaps the best place to stay is Nemuno Slenis hotel, with its nouveau-hunting aesthetic, dark-wood furnishings and river dock that can be accessed by boat from Kaunas. The old-style restaurant caters mainly to Lithuanian tastes, but when in Rome!

TEL: +370 3195 6493, WWW.NEMUNOSLENIS.LT

Terme di Saturnia

BEST FOR: TUSCANY LOVERS
SATURNIA, ITALY

The nonna of Tuscan thermal spas has had a facelift, and is looking good. Italians have been taking the 37ºC waters in these parts for millennia, and the countryside of the Maremma is strewn with Etruscan necropolises and elegant Roman villas. Water is king here, with a Roman bath, steam bath, sauna and the original spring feeding a thermal park of pools and waterfalls. Spa areas now have a dramatic dark-grey palette and colour-coded treatment rooms, and you can enjoy wild and wonderful treatments using gold, or cryoprotein from Antarctic ice. Don’t miss the new “green” 18-hole golf course, which is built around the natural landscape.

TEL: +39 (0)564 600111, WWW.TERMEDISATURNIA.IT

Sha Wellness Clinic

BEST FOR: HYPOCHONDRIACS
ALICANTE, SPAIN

Just opened last year, this Alicante healing palace has already garnered awards for its ground-breaking approach to food, and the seriousness with which it approaches the fusion of Western medical practices and oriental health traditions. Overlooking the Med in the Sierra Helada, Sha has macrobiotic experts, masseurs, acupuncturists and aestheticians (read: people who make you look better). Diet, exercise, classes and treatments are delivered to guests in a timetable tailored to their individual needs. Or you can pre-book a specific programme: say, cigarette withdrawal, anti-ageing or sleep clinics. All this takes place within a sexily designed modern context, on the sun-kissed Costa Blanca.

TEL: +34 96 681 1199, WWW.SHAWELLNESSCLINIC.COM

Novi Spa Hotels & Resort

BEST FOR: A FAMILY GATHERING
NOVI VINODOLSKI, CROATIA

If you shy away from resorts, this new, sleek spa will not be for you. But for sheer scale alone – the interior clocks in at 10,000m2, making it the largest in Europe – this Croatian megaspa is breathtaking. And that’s without mentioning the pulse-slowing Adriatic views. The space here means you can book large family apartments, and state-of-the-art facilities include indoor and outdoor thalasso pools, two sauna areas, 20 treatment rooms, five private zones and a hammam. Sign up for lifestyle programmes from weight loss to de-stressing, or pick from treatments that mix Mediterranean and Eastern elements.

TEL: +385 51 668400, WWW.FALKENSTEINER.COM/EN/HOTEL/NOVI-RESORT

Brooklands Hotel

BEST FOR: UNADULTERATED LUXURY
WEYBRIDGE, UK

Just opened, this racy hotel pitches a new level of super-plushness, only 50km from Gatwick airport. The whole design is unrepentantly modern, made almost completely from glass. Highlights include outdoor hot tubs, a selection of super suites and a head chef from Cecconi’s. Being based at an iconic racing track, you can book “Car and Spa” packages, which involves taking a Mercedes for a burn then getting you into a bathrobe. The spa offers an entire signature menu, facials by Tracey Malone and Lubatti, and body treatments by Jane Scrivner. Just kick back, relax, and make like the recession never happened.

SPA OPENS IN APRIL. TEL: +44 (0)1932 335720, WWW.BROOKLANDSHOTELSURREY.COM

Hotel White Horse Inn

BEST FOR: OLD-WORLD NOSTALGICS
LAKE WOLFGANG, AUSTRIA

Spring in Austria, and the meadows are green, the birds singing, and the shimmering, transparent lakes of the Salzkammergut go on and on. Overlooking cobalt Lake Wolfgang, the White Horse Inn comprises nine connected town houses, and is centuries old — the mountain-andbelltower surrounds offering the kind of Austrian idyll of your dreams. Romantic yes, but its refreshing Alpine qualities mean it’s also a great place to purge yourself of urban excesses. The family spa area includes an indoor pool, steam bath, sauna, sun terrace, lake pool, whirlpool and steam bath with brine, plus enough mani-pedis, facials and massages to keep you occupied! Run by the 5th generation of the Peter family, there’s an old-fashioned charm and pride in its history, and you’ll be mesmerised watching the comings and goings of ferries, boats and the occasional seaplane on the lake.

TEL: +43 6138 23060, WWW.WEISSESROESSL.AT

Six Senses

BEST FOR: URBAN CREATIVITY
PARIS, FRANCE

Six Senses at Rue de Castiglione is Paris’s new sexy spa on the block. As usual, the Six Senses design crew have eschewed the traditional aesthetic and gone for something minimalist, modern and playful — and this place is so much fun it’s hard to remember you came for a treatment. Expect a “vertical garden” by the king of lush urban spaces, Patrick Blanc, six spa cocoons crafted from light oak where treatments take place, and a real-time image of the exquisite Parisian skyline projected the full length of the spa. The treatment menu delivers a level of indulgence bordering on the silly, from Asian-inspired massages to full-on packages that will lay you out like a lizard on a rock for the day. Try the Paris Roof Top Honey Facial, an anti-ageing treatment that uses honey made in rooftop hives in Paris.

TEL: +33 (0)1 4316 1010, WWW.SIXSENSES.COM

Amber Spa

BEST FOR: COUCH POTATOES
JURMALA, LATVIA

On the rugged Baltic coast in the town of Jurmala – known for its curative mud and mineral waters – Amber was once a recovery centre for injured athletes. Today it’s a family-run boutique hotel and spa where they continue their no-nonsense work of creating sensible balance in peoples’ lives, as doctors, therapists and personal trainers all help you on your way. You may not have time to sign up to their six-week detox of diagnostics, diet, fitness and treatment plans, but you’ll surely enjoy the fitness classes (from yoga to tai chi and dance), authentic Russian baths and wild-horse riding opportunities. Plus, don’t miss the regular seminars led by health experts.

TEL: +371 6775 5331, WWW.AMBERSPAHOTEL.LV

Lefay Resort & Spa

BEST FOR: CHIC CHAKRA-BALANCING
LAKE GARDA, ITALY

You know you’ve hit it big when you secure a suite at the Lefay – vast in size with private gardens, designer furniture, a Jacuzzi overlooking the western shores of Lake Garda, and chic Milanese guests who’ve zipped up in their convertibles for some spa time. And what a spa – over 3,000m2 – offering a menu that fuses Chinese medicine (a rarity in water-therapy-obsessed Italy) with Western practices. Features include saunas with various temperatures, a signature beauty line, and face masks to suit every possible skin type. Lefay is also eco-tastic – it produces most of its own energy from biomass waste and sticks strictly to seasonal food.

TEL: +39 0365 241800, WWW.LEFAYRESORTS.COM