While a Dubai holiday might conjure images of sleek skyscrapers, high-end shopping in swanky malls and gold-leaf-topped dishes, your trip to the United Arab Emirates could also be an opportunity to prioritize your wellness with specialized treatments.
With holistic wellness programs, regenerative therapies, guided yoga and meditation sessions, sound healing and nourishing meal plans, these resorts invite you to slow down and take the time for self-care, whether for a couple of hours or a few days.
Talise Spa Madinat Jumeirah
Set among romantic canals and lush gardens, Talise Spa at Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star Jumeirah Al Qasr feels like a secluded haven of serenity yet is still close to the city’s interesting sights and attractions. Aside from invigorating massages and facials, the treatments and guided sessions at Talise Spa focus on the pillars of internal well-being, mental health and mindful movement.
The Four-Star spa offers customized three-, five- and seven-day programs geared toward individual goals such as recharging your mind and body, de-stressing and eliminating tension, detoxifying and rebalancing, and cultivating and sustaining restful sleep. Depending on your choice, expect days to be filled with food consultations, life and sleep coaches, sunrise walks, breathwork, crystal healing sessions, art therapy and other helpful services.
AWAKEN Wellness at Atlantis The Royal
At Five-Star Atlantis The Royal on Palm Jumeirah, AWAKEN Wellness takes a holistic approach to health with a wide range of treatments. Some use products enriched with desert sand, date sugar, 24-karat gold hot stones and moringa leaves to help you rejuvenate, relax and glow; other services address deeper issues such as anxiety, stagnant energy and emotional pain through hypnotic suggestion, sound immersion and breathwork.
The 90-minute AWAKEN Massage combines reiki energy healing with Swedish and aromatherapy massage techniques. The 90-minute AWAKEN Chakra Balance uses tuning forks to create specific sound frequencies in addition to a massage and chakra balancing. To bolster your body’s essential nutrients, ask for an IV drip infusion (such as a multivitamin and iron boost or the collagen-boosting Fountain of Youth) as a bonus to your treatment. Additionally, it’s worth scheduling extra time to use other facilities such as the salt cave, vitality pool, snow fountain, aromatherapy steam and sauna.
Anantara Spa at Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort
On Palm Jumeirah, the Four-Star Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort provides the idyllic setting for a wellness getaway with its meandering lagoon pools, private beach and overwater villas. Anantara Spa’s extensive menu delivers treatments designed for issues such as boosting immunity, relieving stress and improving sleep.
For ultimate relaxation, try abhyanga or shirodhara massages. These proceedings use warm herbal oils carefully selected according to your mind-body type as stated by the ancient Indian science of Ayurveda.
With steam rooms, a bamboo sauna, a liquid sound pool, a salt inhalation room, an ice grotto and experience showers, Anantara’s sanctuary gives you many reasons to linger after your massage.
Anantara Spa at Qasr Al Sarab by Anantara
Hidden away in a spectacular setting in Abu Dhabi’s Liwa Oasis, at the edge of the Rub’ al Khali, the world’s largest continuous sand desert, Anantara Spa impresses with surreal views of shifting desert dunes from floor-to-ceiling windows in its serene treatment rooms. Besides body services and facials that rejuvenate, detoxify and contour, the spa at the stellar resort curates a variety of Thai healing treatments and restorative Ayurvedic massages, as well as guided yoga, meditation, sound healing and breathwork sessions.
Signature treatments like the Arabian Desert Rose Ritual and Royal Hammam use desert sand body scrubs, rose milk baths and rhassoul masks, making them ideal for guests wanting to experience a sense of place while being pampered.
If your trip centers on wellness, consider the three-day Personalized Wellness Journey. The sublime session includes a detailed consultation with the resort’s wellness guru, daily yoga and meditation sittings and four wellness therapies tailored to your needs. The three-day Anti-Aging Body and Face Retreat is also customized to individual skin and involves nourishing body scrubs, wraps and other treatments.
InterContinental Ras Al Khaimah Mina Al Arab Resort & Spa
As if the stunning seaside location of InterContinental Ras Al Khaimah Mina Al Arab Resort & Spa on Hayat Island, surrounded by the azure gulf, wasn’t relaxing enough, the resort’s spa sets the scene for a wellness-focused stay with its pearl-shaped treatment rooms and hammam.
To begin your vacation looking and feeling your best, try the 150-minute Ras Al Khaimah Escape, which involves applying an invigorating pineapple body scrub, a lavish rose essential oil body wrap, and an argan oil and green tea hair cleanse. Afterward, a 60-minute hot stone massage relaxes the mind and muscles, while a Maison d’Asa mini-facial leaves you radiant.
