With its windswept beaches and immaculate golf courses, Baja California has become one of Mexico’s best-loved boltholes. The 33km stretch of coast near Cabo San Lucas is dotted with starry hotels and spas frequented by the Hollywood crowd and intrepid Europeans willing to make the trek. It’s worth it. The spa at the old-school Esperanza offers modern reworkings of ancient Mexican healing remedies; there’s an aloe wrap, a body mask using red clay from the surrounding desert, a coconut and Bajan lime exfoliation, and even a beer and lime facial.
At the nearby One & Only Palmilla, where the spa is made up of private villas with secluded courtyards, ingredients are equally indigenous. Compresses made from local herbs, chocolate oil, and obsidian hot stones are all designed to achieve máalob kuxtal (‘wellbeing’ in Mayan).
Across the Pacific, at Mi Xun, the spa at the Temple House Hotel in Chengdu, bespoke bamboo tools are used to exfoliate, cleanse and pamper. Located in a heritage building, the spa offers Parisian Thémaé products made from tea extracts.
Saunas and plunge pools are a highlight at the Chedi Andermatt spa in Switzerland, which also comes with a scented salt steam bath. Austrian brand Alpienne was called in to create a bespoke range of products based on plants and fruits from the surrounding Alpine slopes.
Last but not least is Matteo Thun’s spa for the Richard Meier-designed Falkensteiner Hotel Jesolo in Venice. It boasts indoor and outdoor pools and a private beach with outstanding views, while treatments range from bespoke Acquapura facials to cryotherapy.
As originally featured in the December 2015 issue of Wallpaper* (W*201)
