World’s most unusual spas

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 2:04 PM

Come on a relaxing and rejuvenating journey with us as we discover the world’s most unusual spas, from sitting in bath of freshly brewed beer or sake, to treatments in ruins of an old fortress or a woodcutter’s cabins, or even experiencing God’s creation in seven days within seven unique glass cubes. Here’s our pick of the world’s most unusual spas.

Spa at the Sanctuary, Cap Cana, Dominican Republic
Located in an old castle-like fortress filled with small thatched huts, the Spa at the Sanctuary feels like it could be set in a quirky museum. Indulge in this 20,000 square ft spa with thermal hydrotherapy circuits, treatment rooms, yoga and pilates studios, and a juice bar, while you look up at the old ramparts and turrets, surrounded by the sea.

Spa Nuxe Les Bains de Léa, Grand Hotel Bordeaux
This beautifully elegant spa at the Grand Hotel Bordeaux in France feels somewhat like having a bath in the middle of the great hall of a stately home or palace. Complete with fine oil paintings on the walls, heavy silk curtains and pillars of red, black and gold. The spa has an air of Roman, Greek and Byzantine design about it, which leaves you feeling that you’ve stepped into an age antiquity and grandeur.

Image Credit: Guy Charneau

Wellness, Backstage Hotel Vernissage, Zermatt, Switzerland
This new and innovative spa at the Backstage Hotel in Switzerland is centred around seven treatment cubes which are based on the seven days of creation. Cube two is the ‘separation of water and air’ room, where you lie on a field of infrared heated glass pearls, while you meditate watching clouds pass above you. In cube four you sweat it out in a hot sauna accompanied by pictures from the Hubble Telescope; and in cube five, float on a basin of water, while listening to the songs of whales and dolphins below.

The Spa at the Hidden Pond, Kennebunkport, Maine, USA
Set in a wooden tree house, high up in the canopy, the spa at the Hidden Pond in Kennebunkport, Maine, reminds visitors of lying in a wood cabin in the forest, featuring a wooden kitchen-like interior full of bottles of herbs and lotions. Everything in here is made from natural woods and fibres and feels like it’s part of the forest itself. There is even a silver birch tree growing inside, dripping with old fashioned lanterns.

Pravé Pivní Lázne, Czech Republic
We’ve heard of bathing in chocolate and even wine, but this beer spa at Chodovar Beer Wellness Land in the Czech Republic really is something quite unique. Guests lie in huge metal tubs surrounded by beer kegs and brewery pipes, filled with freshly brewed warm dark beer, mixed with crushed herbs. The beer and yeast is supposed to be good for soothing muscles, warming joints, rejuvenation, complexion and hair, as well as improving the body’s immunity. Afterwards you lay down and are wrapped in large fleece blanket and serranaded by soothing music for relaxation. The last step a sweating phase, in which toxins are realsed from the body while it cools down. Complete the process with a deep massage.

Hakone Kowakien Yunessun Spa Resort, Japan
And if you like the sound of the one above, then you’ll probably love the Hakone Kowakien Yunessum Spa in Japan, where you can bathe in wine, coffee, or even green tea and sake. Consisting of four different spa rooms and an interesting Rodeo Mountain waterslide, the Yunessun Spa certainly is a unique experience. Laze in the wine spa complete with giant wine bottle, then top up your anti-oxidants with a dip in the green tea spa, poured from a giant teapot, and made with leaves grown at the foot of the Hakone Mountains. Relax further and beautify your skin in the sake spa, a uniquely Japanese experience and finally awaken your body and mind at the coffee spa, made from real freshly coffee brewed with hot spring water.

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