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Asia Wins Big at World Spa Awards

From Vietnam's plush JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay Hotel, World Spa Awards were given to hotels from desert getaways in Abu Dhabi to shopping malls in Bali.

The World Spa Awards held last month featured a number of major category wins for some of Asia’s most famous wellness properties. The 3rd World Spa Awards took place at an opulent ceremony in the JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay hotel, with Emerald Bay’s Chanterelle Spa by JW itself clinching the World’s Best New Resort Spa Award.

World Spa Awards managing director Rebecca Cohen, said of the awards that the event “cemented our position as the global benchmark for spa and wellness hospitality.”

Worldwide

ABOVE: Qasr Al Sarab’s Anantara Spa took home World’s Best Desert Spa at the World Spa Awards.

Middle Eastern properties in particular took home many of the worldwide categories, with Talise Ottoman Spa at Jumeriah Zabeel Saray in Dubai winning World’s Best Resort Spa. Emirates Timeless Spa won the World’s Best Airline Lounge Spa and Maison de Joelle Jumeriah in Dubai won World’s Best Beauty Salon. In the sands of Qasr Al Sarab, Anantara Spa took home World’s Best Desert Spa.

ABOVE: Iridium Spa at the St. Regis Maldives Vommuli.

Further east in Asia, Banyan Tree Spa Marina Bay Sands in Singapore was recognized as the World’s Best Casino Hotel Spa. Architecture buffs will be keen to learn that Iridium Spa at the St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort won World’s Best Spa Design.

Asia’s Best Hotel Spa

ABOVE: Pool at the Ritz-Carlton in Shanghai.

In the Asia-specific categories, the Ritz-Carlton by ESPA in Shanghai overlooking the Bund took home top marks as Asia’s Best Hotel Spa. From the 55th floor over China’s most dynamic city, the luxury day spa features 10 treatment rooms, a 24-hour fitness studio, steam room, dry sauna and indoor heated pool. At 1,500 square meters, the facility offers treatments that include the Oriental Pearl Spa Treatment – which uses indigenous pearl powder – and the Tai Chi Yun, a spiritual experience that ends with a traditional Chinese Tuina Massage.

Asia’s Best Resort Spa

ABOVE: Pool at the Ritz-Carlton in Shanghai.

For the second year in a row HARNN Heritage Spa at the InterContinental Danang took home Asia’s Best Resort Spa. From the PEDI:MANI:CURE Studio by Bastien Gonzalez to the Sun Peninsula Lounge Airport Spa, The InterContinental is one of the most immersive wellness experiences in Vietnam. The HARNN Heritage Spa prides itself on fine botanical ingredients combined with traditional Asian medicine and naturopathy.

In more good news for Vietnam, the nation was named the overall World’s Best Spa Destination, a reflection of Vietnam’s booming luxury tourism industry.

Asia’s Best Wellness Retreat

ABOVE: Indoor pool at Chiva-Som in Thailand.

Hua Hin may not be Thailand’s most exclusive beach destination, but Chiva-Som is one of the most highly regarded spa and wellness experiences in Southeast Asia. With wellness programs specially designed for each visitor, Chiva-Som’s experts include doctors, nutritionists, fitness instructors, and alternative health practitioners. Consistently found in the top three of the Conde Nast Traveller Reader’s Travel Awards for its spa facilities, Chiva-Som has been Thailand’s premier spa destination for more than two decades, featuring 70 treatment rooms, watsu pool, kneipp bath, and large indoor swimming pool.

Asia’s Best Day Spa

ABOVE: The Seminyak Village Spa is Spring’s newest.

A little off the ultra-luxe brand, Spring Spa at Seminyak Village in Bali – with its rooftop terrace and ocean views – took home Asia’s Best Day Spa at the World Spa Awards, putting the mall-based spa in rarified company indeed. The fulsome offerings of the Spring brand have put this day spa above heavy competition in Bali and throughout Southeast Asia. The Seminyak Village is Spring’s latest addition – opened in 2015 – complimenting two other Bali locations and four in New Zealand.