Unique Spa Treatments For Your Next Zen Escape
Everyone loves a vacation full of active adventures. But from time to time it’s okay to indulge in a little pampering as well. From Utah to South Africa, these spa escapes are some of the best in the world, and their unique experiences incorporate ancient methods that seek to connect you with nature, clear your mind, restore your body and balance your spirit.
NihiOka Spa Safari – Nihi Sumba Island
Located just a short flight from Bali, Nihi Sumba Island is a resort that lives on “the edge of wildness.” Guests are encouraged to not only indulge in the resorts rugged luxury and unregulated freedom, but to also connect to something much deeper and larger than themselves, through spa and wellness programs that are an integral part of the Nihi experience.
Designed to indulge your senses, the NihiOka Spa Safari is a one of a kind experience not to be missed. The Spa Safari starts with an optional 90-minute trek through hills, expansive rice fields and a traditional Sumbanese village, followed by breakfast over a private coastline.
Next, your spa therapist will show you to your private cliff side room where you can choose to enjoy a swim in the ocean or simply dive right in to your selection of treatments, which range from body wraps and scrubs to 90-minute massages and an organic facial. I highly recommend the Salt Glow Scrub to maintain your glow. Choose to enjoy a half or full day of indulgence starting at $495 and $695, respectively. Easy to see why Nihi Sumba Island was awarded #1 Hotel in the World by Travel + Leisure in 2016 and 2017.
Desert Awareness – Amangiri
International resorts aren’t the only way to recalibrate your mind, body and spirit. Set amidst the natural beauty of Canyon Point in Utah, Amangiri goes back to basics and looks to the holistic healing traditions of the Navajo for their spa treatments.
Amangiri’s Desert Awareness treatment seeks to restore guests’ inner equilibrium with an inspirational and unforgettable journey. Start by relaxing your mind and body with 30-minute meditation and 60-minute yoga sessions. Next, a Navajo guide will help you explore the area’s iconic canyons, including Rattlesnake Canyon, before returning you to the resort for a lunch overlooking the desert.
Finally, surrender to peace with a 30-minute floatation therapy session (where you float in warm saltwater from the Dead Sea), a 90-minute massage and 30-minute Crystal Sound Bath, before ending the day with a Hot Stone Dinner where you are serenaded by a Navajo flutist. The full day experience starts at $2,685 for one person and $2,895 for two people. Namaste.
Enchanted Forest Treatment – Ayana Resort & Spa
Not interested in fancy crystals or hikes with your spa treatments? Bells and whistles are not always needed to get back to your zen place. Head to the Rimba Rooftop Spa at Ayana Resort in Bali and settle into a sensory experience fit for a goddess.
The Enchanted Forest is a 100-minute session that is filled with a Balinese style massage that eliminates stress, an aromatherapy herbal balm to moisturize, a smooth body scrub hand-crafted from sandalwood, hibiscus, and frangipani and topped off with a spicy herbal tea rose petal bath that will elevate you to the highest heights of relaxation. Not bad for only around $170.
Mayan Healing Hands – Rosewood Mayakoba
It is said that there can be power in touch, so it’s no wonder that Rosewood Mayakoba created a journey of the senses that combines natures elements with a warm touch, to provide an indulgent experience that will leave you in the ultimate state of balance.
Mayan Healing Hands begins with a private session with a shaman to determine the intention of the visit. Then you participate in a “Sunset Ceremony,” featuring an energy-healing ritual. The experience continues with a private visit to a cenote, a secret Mayan well that contains a natural blend of detoxifying and restorative properties. With the Shaman as the guide, your spirit is “reborn” by bathing in the cenote.
To complete this energizing experience, you are taken into a 60-minute Temazcal journey that features a purifying bath with aromas that are meant to awaken your ancestral memory and unite you with Mother Nature. After becoming one with the elements, you are allowed to indulge in a 90-minute Mayakoba Massage. The 6 hour, $975 journey is time and money well spent.
Mindfulness Moment – One&Only Capetown
Known as the Mother City, Capetown’s multicultural vibe and iconic history make it the perfect place to go when you want to clear your mind and get refocused. Nestled in an enviable spot in the city’s Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, the One&Only Capetown has created an urban oasis with its spa that is as serene, unique and beautiful as its surroundings.
The Mindfulness Moment is a holistic, deeply relaxing and clarifying experience that works on the concept of mindfulness, focusing on both mind and body to help you reduce stress and be present for life’s journey. Your therapist will guide you through breathing and visualization techniques to help you release physical or emotional anxieties.
Focusing on the metamorphic zones on the feet, sink into a massage meant to help rebalance and ground, before a soothing, deeply therapeutic massage is continued up through the body to promote positivity to the mind, finishing with a re-energizing scalp massage using warm Rose Quartz Crystals. After two hours, you will re-emerge relaxed, stress free and with a clear mind, focused on whatever may lie ahead. For about $150, it is definitely a one and only type of experience.