The world's first underwater spa - plus 9 other amazing wellness sanctuaries

More than a simple indulgence, a trip to the spa on your holiday is the ultimate "me time". The treat you give yourself for all the seen and unseen things you do in this life as you exhale the everyday away and breathe in a more balanced, light-filled you.

Even the scent in a spa can spark a shift in our energy as we walk through those doors, while some are such a fantastical visual feast that we feel like we've stepped into another world.

Here are 10 of the world's most spectacular hotel and resort spas to delight your mind, body and soul.

La Sultana, Morocco

Set over five adjoining riads in the historic Kasbah district of Marrakech, La Sultana has 28 individually designed rooms and suites, a huge rooftop terrace, lush gardens and one very special spa. Vaulted ceilings, carved stucco arches and a pink marble-lined indoor pool are just the beginning as you prepare for treatments in a candlelit room. Indulge in hammam rituals, bespoke massages and facials inspired by ancestral Moroccan wellness traditions.

Try this: Lie back on a marble slab to be exfoliated with traditional Kessa gloves and black soap before being covered in purifying and moisturising body masks in the traditional Moroccan hammam ritual.

While you're there: Join a Modern and Fashionable Marrakech tour to the iconic Majorelle Garden and the Yves Saint Laurent Museum.

Explore more: lasultanahotels.com

Chanterelle - Spa by JW, Vietnam

Vietnam's best resort spa in the 2025 World Spa Awards, the Chanterelle - Spa by JW is part of the JW Marriott Phu Quoc where architect and designer Bill Bensley has created a jaw-dropping hotel inspired by a fictional 19th-century university. Mushroom-themed touches in the spa include botanical illustrations, fungi-form furnishings and a mushroom-shaped soaking bath for Alice in Wonderland vibes, while the spa menu is divided into sections to calm, indulge, invigorate and renew.

Try this: In the Khem Beach shell massage, warm shells are worked over your back, neck and shoulders in deep slow movements to warm and release tension, knots and stress.

While you're there: Ride the Hon Thom cable car, which claims the title of the world's longest cable car, and take in views across the An Thoi archipelago.

Explore more: marriott.com

Grotta Giusti Thermal Spa Resort, Italy

In the largest thermal grotto in Europe you can take your spa experience more than 200 metres underground into three areas: Paradise, Purgatory and Hell. Here in a huge natural cave in Tuscany the temperatures climb from 28 degrees in Paradise to 34 degrees in Hell as guests feel the heat in natural steam baths, thermal yoga sessions, hydro massage treatments and spa floats. Feeling brave? You can even go scuba diving in the deep underground lake.

Try this: In the therapeutic thermal mud treatment, clay that has mixed with the thermal springs for at least six months is heated to 47 degrees before being applied to your body.

While you're there: Stroll through Tuscan olive groves and get a taste for the local extra virgin olive oil and wine on an Olive Oil Experience.

Explore more: grottagiustispa.com

Huvafen Fushi, Maldives

At Huvafen Fushi, just walking over that Maldives blue water to the spa feels special enough. And when you step down into the world's first underwater spa life gets even better. Colourful fish, stingrays, turtles and more can swim by as spa therapists work their magic surrounded by panoramic reef views. Then, when your treatment is over, the sea creatures love continues as you sip herbal tea and eat fresh fruit in the glass-walled relaxation pods.

Try this: The Underwater Dream combines gentle massage, reflexology, shiatsu and breathing techniques as you look out at the serene sea-life scene.

While you're there: Get to know the local hawksbill sea turtles on a turtle safari with a marine biologist.

Explore more: huvafenfushi.com

Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, Switzerland

In the foothills of the Alps, the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz is where you can go old-school in one of the most traditional and beautiful thermal baths in Switzerland - or get your next-gen precision diagnostics at the Tamina Health Centre. The resort has a range of indoor and outdoor thermal pools where you can look up at the mountains as you soak, in between visits to the historic Helena spa, the modern sport spa and the family spa.

Try this: The resort's Sauna World has a huge kelo infusion sauna along with a Finnish sauna, Latvian pirts sauna, bio-sauna, infrared sauna, textile salt sauna and more.

While you're there: The resort is on the doorstep of the Buendner Herrschaft region, home of the fictional Heidi, where you can step into scenes from the children's book at Heidi Village.

Explore more: resortragaz.ch

AYANA Spa, Bali

Spa treatments and Bali go together like lime and coconut and at AYANA Bali they raise the spa bar in three unique spaces. No visit to AYANA Bali is complete without being pummelled by warm Indian Ocean water jets and soothed by bubbles in the thalassotherapy pool's water massage zones. In the cliffside villa rooms you can try holistic Balinese and traditional Indonesian therapies, along with exclusive treatments created by anti-ageing expert Tadashi Nakatsuji, while in the Spa on the Rocks villa the treatments can come with the sound of waves crashing against the glass walls.

Try this: The sound of the ocean, the long, flowing Balinese massage movements and the private waterside villa make the Spa on the Rocks signature massage one to remember.

While you're there: The SAKA Museum is dedicated to Bali's Nyepi (Day of Silence) philosophy and shares insights into the island's spiritual and cultural heritage.

Explore more: ayana.com/bali

Aqua Dome, Austria

Back in the 16th century the area formerly known as Langenfelder Baths was famous for its healing springs. Today, sulphur spring water from about 2000 metres underground still bubbles up but now you can soak in a thermal bath shaped like a glass crystal and float in a brine basin in an ultra-modern thermal resort. The Aqua Dome in Austria's Otztal Valley has 12 indoor and outdoor pools, including some with underwater music and light effects and others where you can simply gaze up at snow-covered mountain peaks as the thermal bath steam rises around you.

Try this: The WAVErelaxation treatment combines a neck, head and face massage with a water acoustics sound journey as you're cradled by a heated waterbed.

While you're there: Get the blood pumping on a high ropes course or go rafting, canyoning, mountain biking and more at the outdoor adventure park, Area 47.

Explore more: aqua-dome.at

The Slate, Thailand

Try this: Derived from the Sanskrit words "shiro" (head) and "dhara" (flow), the Shirodhara massage includes having warm medicated oil gently poured over your third eye chakra.

While you're there: Learn about Thailand's culture on an early morning tour to Wat Nai Yang as monks leave their temples to receive their morning alms.

Explore more: theslatephuket.com

Spa Kinara, Australia

When Max Pritchard Gunner Architects gave the luxury Uluru wilderness camp Longitude 131 a major refurbishment, the upgrades included two new spa buildings inspired by the rich tones and forms of the Red Centre desert landscape. At Spa Kinara, bush medicine and Indigenous wisdom are at the forefront of treatments which include irmangka-irmangka (scented emu bush) balm made by local traditional healers through the Ngangkari program. When your treatment is over, continue to feel the magic as you gaze at Uluru in Baillie Lodges-style luxury.

Try this: The Ipilypa i-pil-pah (good health) treatment includes a massage with irmangka-irmangka and native rosemary, a magnesium salt exfoliation, and a yellow Australian clay body mud mask.

While you're there: Take a private guided Valley of the Winds hike to experience the spectacular gorges, groves, creeks and canyons of Kata Tjuta.

Explore more: longitude131.com.au

Amangiri, USA

At Aman's Utah desert oasis Amangiri, 34 modernist polished concrete suites and 10 tented pavilions create a remote sanctuary in red-rock country. Here the expansive spa looks out over dramatic mesas and buttes under a big sky, and includes a water pavilion with a plunge pool, sauna and steam room. Guests can join mindfulness walks and do yoga on the rocks after hiking to the top of a butte, while multi-day wellness retreats include a detoxification program by tennis champ Novak Djokovic.

Try this: The Peaceful Mountain spa journey includes hot and cold contrast therapy, a meditation with singing bowls as you lie on air-filled massage balls, connective tissue release rolling and a Thai yoga massage.

While you're there: Saddle up for a horseback ride through Long Canyon to take in the stunning red-rock formations of Vermilion Cliffs sandstone country.

Explore more: aman.com/resorts/amangiri