Detox Destinations: 10 Luxe Spots in the World to Recover and Reset

Health is big business and dedicated wellness warriors are choosing to retreat to luxe wellness properties around the world to achieve total mind-body-spirit balance. Here are some of our favorites.

Chiva Som, Thailand

There’s good reason for Chiva Som being consistently voted the best wellness destination in the world. You’ll find more than 150 treatments on offer - including fitness and medical services – and 70 treatment rooms at its underground spa. Feast on healthy, flavourful spa cuisine made with fresh local ingredients, and complete the experience with the wealth of wellness amenities – think a kinesis studio, watsu pool, and a bathing pavilion with a kneipp bath. Details are important here, and you’ll find your every need met with ease, whether it’s dietary requirements or personalized programs.

Shanti Maurice, Mauritius

With pristine white sandy beaches, clear turquoise waters, and a laid-back island vibe, Mauritius is a relaxing wellness destination in itself. Shanti Maurice enhances the feeling of escapism with its world-class 75,000 sqft Nira Spa, which marries traditional techniques with contemporary international methods to leave guests revitalized. Achieve total body balance with a holistic approach that addresses your mental state, spirituality, diet, and fitness through the spa’s four specialized deluxe experience. If you can drag yourself away from this oasis, enjoy early morning power walks, yoga classes overlooking the sea, water sports, tennis, and golf.

Song Saa, Cambodia

A sustainable private island, Song Saa is a wellness destination that gives back. Check in for one of the five or seven-night Refresh, Rejuvenate, or Revive wellness retreats and you’ll enjoy carefully crafted spa cuisine and indulgent spa treatments like the Stillness Bath Ritual and Maniupra Massage. Depending on which retreat you choose, you’ll also be treated to special experiences like underwater meditation, cooking classes, and night hikes. Best of all, you’ll be supporting The Song Saa Foundation which manages Cambodia’s first dedicated marine reserve, a waste management program, and health and education efforts.

The Farm at San Benito, The Philippines

Advocating lifestyle overhauls, The Farm takes a holistic approach to wellness with its combination of food, exercise, medical treatments, and spa rituals. Medical treatments like nutritional microscopy and colonic hydrotherapy are the focus here, balanced with a detoxing regime of mostly-raw, all-vegan foods – full juicing diets are also an option. Spend the days being physical with complimentary activities like yoga and nature walks, zen out at the oasis-like spa, and take (healthy) afternoon teas by the pool.

Palace Merano Espace Henri Chenot, Italy

More science lab than spa, this luxe property in the Dolomites encourages complete body overhauls with technical medical treatments. Henri Chenot’s unique program – called Biontology - is a combination of Chinese and western detox method. And it’s effective enough to have won over fans like Monaco’s Princess Caroline and famed tenor Luciano Pavarotti. The program’s centerpiece is the detoxification diet – delicious food with no meat and few carbs – and a 30-hour fast that’s not for the faint-hearted. Hydroaromatherapy sessions and phyto-mud treatments are used to help the process.

Miraval, USA

Surrounded by the dry, ruddy Arizona desert, this full-service resort offers a total mind-body-lifestyle revamp. Feast on food so flavourful you won’t believe it’s healthy, indulge in dozens of spa treatments at the Miraval Life in Balance Spa by Clarins, take healthy cooking classes, work up a sweat in one-on-one tennis sessions with a pro, or perfect your equestrian skills with the Miraval Equine Experience. Mind-body challenges that make you face your fears are a big draw here – try the Qantum Leap, where you’ll walk across a beam suspended high over the desert floor.

Ananda in the Himalayas, India

A former maharaja’s palace transformed into one of India’s most lauded wellness oasis, this tranquil resort is built around time-honored Indian wellness traditions. At the Ananda Spa, more than 80 rituals blend Ayurvedic therapies with modern western practices. Overlooking the spiritual center of Rishikesh and the holy Ganges river, yoga and meditation are at the forefront of the programs here, along with healthy organic meals that rejuvenate from the inside out.  Build your health knowledge with philosophical Vedanta Talks that promote mental well-being, and workshops with visiting experts in different health disciplines.

Six Senses Samui, Thailand

This exquisite Thai retreat nourishes the whole body with food, spa rituals, and total relaxation. Enjoy blissful panoramas of the Gulf of Siam while indulging in delicious multi-course meals with the Table 100 dining experience; explore the Ang Thong Marine Park, and indulge in pampering locally-inspired treatments at the spa – which also offers yoga, pilates and reiki.  Sleep better with the Yogic Sleep program, or achieve deep relaxation with the Synergy Ritual, which combines massage and Reiki.

SHA Wellness Clinic, Spain

Northeast of Alicante, SHA is less of a spa and instead a more glamorous clinic with staff in white coats that take their detoxing seriously. Guests start with a health assessment before starting individualized programs that combine treatments like lymphatic drainage, acupuncture, and shiatsu massages. This is a bespoke experience designed to gain optimum results. The SHA diet is macrobiotic, with lots of whole grains and vegetables – so basically, what the experts keep telling us to eat; and while the slick spa is almost overwhelming in its comprehensiveness, it’ll definitely leave you completely rejuvenated.

Oceano Hotel Health Spa Tenerife, Spain

Perched on the sea, this medical wellness retreat combines beachfront relaxation with scientific health programs. The Thalasso-friendly food is calorie-controlled, low-carb, and cooked to preserve nutrients – but utterly delicious. Treatments include seawater jet baths, flotation tanks, shiatsu massages, mud baths, Ayurveda treatments, and many programs harness the healing powers of the area’s divinely blue seawaters. The property also offers an exclusive range of Modern Mayr Medicine packages including Mayr metabolism and Mayr Atlantic-Fit. If the mood strikes, you can also learn Spanish, go on hikes, explore the surrounding cities, and practice yoga.