asia's best spas
The experience of a dramatic tropical sunset in an exquisite luxury setting accompanied by tea light candles provides the experience of a lifetime at the Anantara Spa in Hua Hin in Thailand.
SEJATI SPA
AT BAGUS JATI WELL BEING RESORT
TEGALLALANG, UBUD, BALI
Bagus Jati Wellbeing Resort is a small destination spa located in the tropical mountains of Bali, about an hour's drive from Ubud. Its eight luxury spa villas, all featuring a private treatment room and whirlpool, are designed to integrate the spa with the lush natural surroundings.
Bagus Jati (translated literally as "good teakwood" with the meaning in Balinese of "strength of character") was founded to preserve the timeless wisdom of traditional Indonesian and Balinese healing and offer educational programs through adventure tours, jungle or garden walks, and cooking classes. All products used in the spa are based on the healing properties of Indonesian jamu and use indigenous ingredients to refresh and rejuvenate. Therapists from surrounding villages are trained to guide guests on a journey that may well include ayurveda, acupuncture, hydrotherapy, life enhancement and detoxification programs. Throughout the year a variety of retreats is offered to give guests an opportunity to reflect and transform.
Innovative spa rituals merge Vichy rain showers with pure volcanic mud from nearby Lombok Island together with mind-soothing ayurvedic shirodhara (oil therapy). One of the signature treatments is the three-hour Sejati ("Real Self), inspired by an ancient Balinese royal court beauty recipe. It was traditionally used to warm the body during the monsoon season or at the first sign of cold, flu, rheumatism or fever. The treatment, which takes place in a room overlooking the jungle, begins with a full body massage to ease you into a lingering state of calm. You are then immersed in a warm bath of Madura Island rock salt before being cocooned in a herbal conditioning body mask of aromatic tropical spices like ginger and cloves, ground together with brown rice, all enclosed by an outer banana leaf body wrap. A soothing scalp and face massage completes this journey, bringing you into a state of blissful contentment.
Bagus Jati focuses on the natural in both therapies and architecture: Galangal, turmeric root, lemongrass, cinnamon and vanilla seedpods are just some of the local ingredients that are handpicked and ground for preparations here. The resort's hand-hewn ochre sandstone Jacuzzi filled with warmed spring water is a wonderful spot to take in the exquisite natural beauty of Bali.
A therapist prepares the traditional Banana Leaf Body Wrap that utilizes a green pandanus leaf scrub.
Nature is all encompassing at Bagus Jati: A natural spring-fed pool is close to a holy waterfall and the yoga and meditation pavilion is set in a bamboo grove.
Other treatments include traditional Balinese village massage and the Jati Alami, a nutritious body polish and cell renewal treatment combined with acupressure massage. Ground indigenous spices from around the archipelago, including sandalwood, turmeric and rice, are used for skin exfoliation. The finale is a protein-rich papaya and yoghurt body mask and a flower and milk bath. Bliss—or as expressed in Balinese—kebahagiaan.
Bagus Jati is a recommended destination for those who wish to experience natural surroundings, bathe under a waterfall in a pristine spring water gorge, give nutrition to the body via a high protein diet and organic juices with fresh ingredients hand-picked from the nearby garden—and then return in the evenings to a reassuring luxury villa. You can rest knowing that you have the space and time to be intimate with lover, friends and self.
Bagus Jati is the ultimate spiritual retreat offering total privacy and quiet moments with oneself.
A small selection of the many natural herbal products used at Bagus Jati, most of which are grown on the premises.
MANDARA SPA
AT ALILA UBUD
MELINGGIH, UBUD, BALI
Something mysterious happens when you spend time in the Balinese village of Ubud. With ceremonies and temples, leisurely cafes and art galleries, emerald-colored rice fields and dance and music performances to enjoy, life here appears to be one big celebration. Once you've tuned into the essence of this place, you'll probably return, as, for many, Ubud becomes a second home.
The Alila Ubud is perhaps best known for its dramatic infinity pool that is one of the most photographed resort pools in the world and an inspiration for many others. This luxury 56-room and 8-villa resort is positioned high up on a ridge with views of lush green river valleys leading to the sacred river Ayung below. It's also home to the very first Mandara Spa that remains one of the most exquisite.
Who can forget the classic image of the girl in the frangipani flower bath that has defined the image of the Asian spa for many years now? Mandara Spas are known in the region for their appreciation of Asian traditions. Even the name has Asian origins: derived from the Sanskrit word that variously refers to a sacred mountain from a Balinese legend about eternal youth, a chain of pearls, and one of the five Hindu trees of paradise—it embraces the company's vision for health and relaxation.
A morning offering welcomes you as you enter the spa. Made from banana leaves and filled with rice, sweet cakes and flowers, these are placed in temples and shrines in the early mornings. Three final splashes of holy water create a positive mood for the day ahead.
Comprising one double spa pavilion and a double spa suite, a Thai massage suite and two single spa suites, the feel here is all about open spaces inviting the natural world of Bali into the treatments. Think outdoor tropical waterfalls and bathtubs set in lotus ponds and inhale the mountainside fragrance of Bali.
Mandara Spas are well known for their classical Asian menu of treatments, for Mandara was one of the companies who pioneered many of the spa "standards" that are now offered all over the world. Start by plunging your two feet in a traditional foot wash before being escorted to your villa for a choice of Balinese massage, reflexology, Thai massage, Warm Stone Massage, a facial ritual or the ayurvedic oil shirodhara. Javanese lulurs and Balinese borehs, staples on the menu, always delight first time visitors to Bali.
The emerald green infinity pool at the Alila Ubud seems to hover between heaven and earth, giving spectacular views over the Ayung River valley below.
The classic tropical frangipani flower bath was pioneered