Bulgari Bali
Uluwatu, Bali, Indonesia
Bulgari recruited Ritz-Carlton to manage the resort and tapped celebrated spa-design firm ESPA to run the property using Bulgari’s own product line. This team has melded modern Italian glam with ancient Bali -nese enchantment atop an Uluwatu promontory, where an intricately carved teak house serves as the reception area.
Favorite treatment: I don’t normally love facials, but The Bulgari Gem Essence facial is truly amazing. It uses actual gem dust from the brand’s famous jewels. I also love the guided sunrise meditation, followed by a rice-and-spice exfoliation, a ginger-yogurt wrap, and a lava-stone massage.
Rooms from $750; +62.361.847.1000
Shangri-La Rasa Sayang
Penang, Malaysia
Chi Spa by Shangri-La is one of the world’s greatest spa brands, and I believe this is their best spa yet. Eleven treatment villas—some with private terraces, outdoor tubs, and steam showers—ramble across an acre of lush gardens shaded by centuries-old rain trees on Penang’s most pristine beach.
Favorite treatment: The yin-and-yang-balancing chi massage, followed by an hour-long Himalayan barley rub.
Rooms from $244; +60.4888.8888
Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary
Koh Samui, Thailand
Chinese medicine, Western naturopathy, and ayurvedic healing come together amid a former Buddhist monks’ meditation cave and the cascading streams of an idyllic lagoon.
Favorite treatment: Daily sessions with a private trainer, followed by alternating turns in the cold plunge pool and the steam cavern, then either a Reiki or a Thai massage.
Rooms from $197; +66 7742 9800
Spa Village at Pangkor Laut
Pangkor Laut, Malaysia
This beautiful private island is accessible by helicopter or boat. Spectacular villas dot the hillside and beach, with some units rising up from the water. The Spa Village is gorgeous, a massive complex of plunge pools and massage huts. There’s an Ayruvedic doctor and traditional Chinese doctor onsite to prescribe the ideal treatments.
Favorite treatment: The progression of plunge pools is an extraordinary journey, so make sure to allow an extra hour before any treatments. Then when it comes to massage, opt for the traditional wooden massage table and Ayruvedic aromatherapy. Just don’t let the guru prescribe any essentials oils to be squirted up your nose–you’ll regret it. Everything else, though, you’ll love.
Rooms from $322; +60.3.2783.1000
The Peninsula Bangkok
Bangkok, Thailand
This magnificent, three-story, Thai colonial spa (also run by ESPA), adjacent to the high-rise Peninsula, is nestled among lush gardens overlooking the Chao Phraya River. Therapies intertwine Thai, European, and ayur vedic techniques—bathing with a lover has never felt better for both of you.
Favorite treatment: A four-hour journey that includes Thai Yoga massage (maybe the best I’ve ever had) and an age-defying facial.
Rooms from $400; +66.2861.2888
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