Excellent Spa Hotels

The standard

What makes a hotel a genuine spa choice

Four questions sort a real spa hotel from a hotel with a spa attached, and our inspectors ask all four on site.

Is there a wet area worth using? Steam room, sauna, heated indoor pool, plunge pool — used properly, that circuit is the treatment. A sauna in a corridor is not.
How many therapists are actually working? A spa with six treatment rooms and two staff cannot fit you in on a Saturday. We ask about people, not rooms.
Is spa access included or charged? This varies enormously and is the commonest source of surprise. We confirm it hotel by hotel.
Is it quiet? A spa under the entertainment stage relaxes nobody. We check where it sits and when the noise starts.

Where to find them

Each of our countries has its own spa tradition, and they are genuinely different experiences rather than the same treatment menu in a different currency.

Turkey

The hammam, done at resort scale

Turkish resorts treat the spa as a headline facility rather than an afterthought, and the traditional hammam and scrub is part of it. the golf resorts of Belek is the centre of gravity: Susesi Luxury Resort, Cornelia Diamond Golf Resort, Gloria Serenity Resort and Spice Hotel & Spa all sit in our spa selection. Further west, Aquasis De Luxe Resort & Spa covers the bigger resorts at Didim.

Browse the full Turkey holiday programme.

Greece

Smaller rooms, better views

Greek spa hotels lean boutique. On Crete, Abaton Island Resort & Spa and Nana Royal Premium Resort & Spa sit in the resort of Hersonissos, while Mythos Palace Resort & Spa holds the Chania end of Crete end and Castello Boutique Resort & Spa the quiet Lasithi coast. On Rhodes, Akti Imperial Deluxe Resort & Spa is the big one.

See every island in our Greece holiday collection.

Malta

Spa as a short-break add-on

Malta's spas are hotel facilities rather than destinations in themselves, which suits a long weekend. In the bay at Mellieħa you have Solana Hotel & Spa and Radisson Blu Golden Sands; in St Paul's Bay, db San Antonio Hotel & Spa runs all-inclusive.

More at our top hotels in Malta and the Malta and Gozo programme.

Morocco & Egypt

Thalassotherapy and the Moroccan hammam

Morocco is the outlier worth flying for. Sofitel Agadir Thalassa Sea & Spa is built around seawater treatment on the bay at Agadir beachfront, and in the city of Marrakech the hammam-and-argan ritual at Kech Boutique Hotel & Spa is the local version. On the Red Sea, Pickalbatros Blu Spa Resort pairs an adults-only setting with year-round warmth.

Browse the whole Morocco programme, or our Egyptian Red Sea resorts.

Choosing

Choosing the right one

What you want from a spa week decides the country before it decides the hotel.

A treatment or two on a beach holiday

Book Turkey. The resorts are large, the menus long and the prices reasonable, so a massage on the third day and a hammam on the sixth is easy to arrange once you arrive.

A proper reset

Thalassotherapy in Agadir is the one genuinely programme-led option we sell — seawater pools, jets and a course of treatments over several days rather than a one-off.

Quiet above all

A small Greek hotel or an adults-only property will beat a big resort spa on peace every time. our adults-only hotel selection and this list overlap more than you would expect.

Honestly

What's included — and what isn't

The word "spa" in a hotel name tells you a facility exists. It says nothing about who pays for it.

Usually included

Flights, transfers and baggage on every package
Indoor pool, sauna and steam room at most resorts
Gym and fitness classes
Robes and slippers in the room at higher grades

Depends on the hotel

Hammam entry, which is sometimes free and sometimes a treatment
Thermal or thalasso circuit access
Children's hours, which many spas restrict
Booking ahead, essential in high season

Not included

Massages, facials and body treatments
Medical or physiotherapy programmes
Travel insurance
Tips for therapists, which are customary in Turkey and Morocco

One honest caveat: a spa treatment is not medical care, and a thalassotherapy programme is not a prescription. If you have a health condition, take advice from your own doctor before you book a course of treatments, and check that your insurance covers you for it.

Before you book

What to check before you book

Ask whether the wet area is included. It is the biggest cost variable, and it differs between two hotels on the same beach.
Book treatments before you fly. In July and August the good slots go in the first hour of the first day.
Check the age policy. Many spas are over-16, so a family booking may need a plan for the afternoon.
Look at where the spa sits. Basement spas are quieter; sea-view treatment rooms are louder.
Get insurance in place early. Cover from the day you book protects the deposit as well as the trip, and we can help you with arranging suitable cover.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Is spa access included in an all-inclusive package?

The wet area often is; treatments almost never are. Sauna, steam and indoor pool are typically part of the board basis at Turkish and Egyptian resorts, while massages, facials and hammam rituals are charged separately. We confirm this in writing.

What is the difference between a hammam and a spa treatment?

A hammam is a steam bathing ritual — heat, a scrub with a coarse mitt, then a foam wash. Turkish and Moroccan versions differ in detail but share the sequence. A spa treatment is a massage or facial in a treatment room. Many hotels offer both.

What actually is thalassotherapy?

Treatment using heated, filtered seawater, seaweed and marine mud, usually taken as a course over several days rather than a single session. It needs a purpose-built coastal centre, which is why we send people to Agadir.

Can children use the spa?

Usually not, or only during restricted hours. Most hotel spas set a minimum age of 16, and some run family swimming sessions in the indoor pool at set times. Ask us for the hotel's current policy.

Which country offers the best value for spa treatments?

Turkey, comfortably. Treatment prices at Turkish resorts are typically well below UK equivalents, and the menus are long. Morocco is competitive too. Malta and Greece sit closer to western European pricing.