The people at Banyan Tree Spa Phuket believe that love is what is needed most in modern lives that are so alienated by gadgets and material objects. The meditative philosophy and practice of Buddhism (most young men in Thailand spend three months in the monastery as novice monks) allows the Thais (this includes the therapists here) to detach themselves and offer this love unconditionally through their hands. It's not health claims, but relaxation with all her attendant touch, sound, scent and scenery, that is the panacea adopted at this spa.
However, this spa has become so popular that the mood of relaxation can get a little lost in the clamour of souls on its doorstep. Opt for your Oasis of Bliss in the privacy of your own Pool Villa, with its extensive proportions, raised sala and lap pool within a tropical, walled garden. Here that little extra dose of love, Thai-style, will leave you so relaxed you will never want to leave.
Each private Pool Villa covers an extraordinary 270 square metres. This nine-metre mini lap pool, as well as the Thai sala or outdoor dining area landscaped gardens and outdoor sunken bath, have all contributed to making the Banyan Tree Spa Phuket something of a yardstick among the top-end spa resorts in Asia.
This, one of the resort's two rock edge swimming pools, overlooks the secluded bay at Tanjong Said, on the northwest tip of Britan Island.
Banyan Tree Spa Bintan
There is little global fanfare about Banyan Tree Spa Bintan which is a blessing for those who seek that which has come to classify the essence of an Asian spa resort: tranquillity, therapy and spiritual time out packaged in a tropical setting. Banyan Tree Spa Bintan offers it all with understatement.
Perhaps this special little spa misses out on the hype lavished on many of its Asian cousins because it is situated on the relatively unknown Indonesian island of Bintan. Lying just 45 minutes by hydrofoil from Singapore, Bintan is a growing tourist destination with a plethora of new resorts. Never mind; when paddling in a spectacular private villa pool with palm-fringed beach views that sweep to the horizon, who would know that this was not the furthest corner of the South Pacific? And yet it is conveniently located.
The resort's spa pavilion is as tropical as they come, clinging to a cliff face and communing with nature. Watch out for the giant geckos while wending your way along the decking to your treatment room that seems to float over a vociferous ocean be low. The nub of the 'tropical spa' assault on the senses lies here in Banyan Tree Spa Bintan's 'Tranquil Room' where the sound is the waves, the view is the seashore, the smell is spicy-burning patchouli, vetiver and clove oils- and the mood is thick with calm. To lay back in here is to let life's pains evaporate from every pore. And then walk along the corridor for a treatment. Otherwise, it's easy to stay in the hilltop villas that are tastefully decorated and feel like home but, undoubtedly, with better views and clean sea breezes.
Treatments here embrace the general gamut of massages, facials and wraps using raw materials and mesmerizing scents, which altogether compound the peaceful experience that this resort already provides.
The Source at Begawan Giri Estate
We have come to associate Bali with the very best in luxury resort hotels, spas and tropical holiday locations so it is something of a feat to have created Begawan Giri which outstrips her cousins on so many levels. The nub of her exclusivity- there are only five private residences, each designed to defy description - really lies with her owner. Bradley Gardner has been locked in a passionate clinch with this piece of land ever since he first set foot on its sacred ground over ten years ago. Since then he has fashioned the private estate of his dreams on this extraordinary peninsula.
The spa experience here is an innovative one; it focuses less on passive indulgence and more on guests' ability to tap into their own inner source by embracing the vitality of the landscape. This is not as 'cultish' as it sounds. There is a palpable energy at Begawan Giri that flows from a natural spring, revered for miles around for its rejuvenating and healing powers.You don't have to chant mantras to appreciate some meditative moments by one of its natural pools half way down the mountainside above the confluence of two rivers.
The Source, the Estate's 'natural' spa (no spa buildings, receptions or treatment rooms here) is spread all over the estate's eight hectares with walking trails, a 'jungle gym', spring-fed rock pools and outdoor massage pavilions perched among the trees. Restorative programmes-up to three hours long-are conducted in the belief that the body can restore itself with the right kind of guidance: Reiki, meditation, yoga, walking and inner focusing finished off with pampering, all made that much more effective by a setting that is beautifully bewitching.
For the more sedate spa-goer, a full complement of traditional treatments is offered on the decks or in the rooms or poolside of the residences.
The 'swimming pool' redefined. Begawan Giri boasts a number of rock-lined pools fed by water from a holy spring (see above). It is said to have inborn healing properties. The pools are always cold, but also chlorine-free.
The 'natural' spa experience at Begawan Gin (Wise Man's Mountain) takes visitors on a journey through terrain like this found at one of the villa's open-air bathrooms. The 25-acre estate is planted with 2,000 indigenous hardwoods and is filled with such flowering plants as heliconia, ginger and orchids.
(Clockwise from top left) A hair perfuming treatment offered only at Begawan Gin literally smokes the hair with perfumed incense as it dries.
A Jacuzzi at one of the villas.
The philosophy of The Source says that the more people are returned to nature for reflection, exercise and therapy, the easier it is for them to begin to experience their true inner healing and balancing energies.
Each of the five residences is drop-dead dramatic. They are testament to architectural achievement whereby built form and Jungle fuse in super-statement. There is now here more stunning to stay - or recline for a massage - in Bali.
There cannot be many swimming pool spots in the world that take your breath away quite like this. A stunning slab of black water teeters on the brink of Bali's most dramatic river gorge. The silence here is almost busy with a sense of spiritual activity.
Mandara Spa at The Chedi
The sounds of lapping waves on Bali's coast are swapped for those of lowing cows and crickets in the hilly country of Ubud. Far from the madding beach crowds, nature remains raw and abundant up here and the spas adopt an earthy ambiance in tune with the powerful landscape surrounding them.
The much photoghraphed Ayung River gorge in Ubud is often cited as one of the most beautiful in the world and one of the many benefits of visiting the Mandara Spa at The Chedi is its dramatic setting on the lip of this valley, hundreds of feet above the river. The whole hotel, including the imposing infinity-edge swimming pool, seems to tumble into the sheer leafy jaws of the gorge, made soft by a landscape stepped with trees.
Even that nostalgic image of maidens bathing naked at the