Spa and wellness

The words of wellness

Treatment menus mix Moroccan, Turkish and French terms. These are the ones you meet everywhere.

The hammam. The steam bath is a ritual in Morocco. It takes place in a hot room: the steam opens the pores, then come black soap, made from olives, the scrub with a kessa glove, which removes dead skin, and often a wrap. The Moroccan National Tourist Office lists ghassoul, henna, black soap, rose water, herbs and green clay among hammam products. At La Mamounia, the most classic hammam combines neroli black soap, the kessa and ghassoul. The Steigenberger ALDAU Beach in Hurghada has an Arabic and a Turkish hammam, and a rhassoul bath for two.

Frankincense. Oman is the land of frankincense, luban in Arabic: the resin of the frankincense tree, Boswellia sacra, which grows in Dhofar, in the south of the country, where the harvesting and trading sites are inscribed by UNESCO as the Land of Frankincense. Omani spas make it their signature: the spa at Al Husn, in Muscat, bears its name, and the Guerlain Spa at the St. Regis Al Mouj has built its "Legend of Incense" treatment around it.

Ghassoul, or rhassoul. A Moroccan clay from the Atlas, used as a mask for body and hair.

Thalassotherapy. Treatments based on seawater and marine elements: jet pools, seaweed wraps, underwater massages. In Morocco, the National Tourist Office presents it as practised under medical supervision, for preventive and curative purposes. The seawater circuit is the heart of a centre: the Thalasso-Tonic at The Cascades in Soma Bay is a 750 m² pool holding 830 m³ of seawater, divided into zones of jets, currents and bubble baths.

Thermal water. Near Fez, the Moulay Yacoub spa uses naturally hot sulphurous water: baths, jet showers and a thermal pool. In Aswan, the Benben by Dhara spa has a bath fed by a hot spring.

The large spas in figures

Size is not everything, but it shows what a spa can offer: several hammams, an indoor pool, treatment rooms for two.

Choosing by type of trip

A seaside cure. For a week of treatments, Sabaro recommends a hotel built around its thalasso. On the Red Sea, Soma Bay brings together The Cascades, in the middle of the golf course, and the Kempinski, on a 400 m beach, which share the same centre: golf in the morning, seawater in the afternoon. In Hurghada, the Pure Spa at the Steigenberger ALDAU Beach has its thalassotherapy pool. In Morocco, the Sofitel Agadir Thalassa was built around its institute, and the Riu Tikida Beach, for guests aged 16 and over, has its seawater circuit. On the Mediterranean, the Sofitel Tamuda Bay offers hammam rituals and a heated indoor pool.

A spa after a day of sightseeing. In the cities, the spa is where you recover after walking. In Cairo, the Fairmont Nile City has a private hammam and a hydrotherapy circuit, and the Four Seasons Nile Plaza an indoor pool. In Marrakesh, Fez or Tangier, palaces and riads have their hammam: La Mamounia, the Royal Mansour, Les Jardins de la Koutoubia with its Shiseido spa a short walk from Jemaa el-Fna, Palais Faraj and Riad Fès in the Fez medina, Palais Zahia in the Tangier medina. In Luxor, Al Moudira has a domed hammam and therapists from Kerala.

A big resort spa, in Dubai. In Dubai the spa is part of the beach resort, and several rank among the largest in the region. On Palm Jumeirah, the Talise Ottoman Spa at Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, which the hotel describes as the largest in the Middle East, is laid out like a small neighbourhood: a large Turkish hammam in marble and mosaic, saunas, steam rooms and snow rooms for cooling off between two heats. Across the crescent, One&Only The Palm has the only Guerlain spa in the Emirates, with a hammam called Désert d'Orient and a suite for two. In Jumeirah, the Mandarin Oriental Jumeira, the Bvlgari Resort, the Four Seasons, with ten treatment rooms and an indoor lap pool, and the Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab, its windows facing the Burj Al Arab, each have a full spa. Near the Marina, every treatment room at Banyan Tree Dubai has its own jacuzzi, and the spa at Address Beach Resort, on the 75th floor, is the highest in Dubai according to the hotel. In town, The Lana, in Business Bay, has a five-room Dior spa. In the desert, the Al Maha spa has its infinity pool, hammam and cold plunge pool. The season runs from October to April; the very hot summer is spent mostly indoors. Two city hotels are closed for works, the Armani Hotel and the Park Hyatt, with reopening announced for early 2027.

Oman, between garden, sea and mountain. Oman offers two ways to look after yourself. The first is the retreat: at Barka, about 55 km from Muscat airport, Al Nahda Resort & Spa has 109 suites and villas set in 12 hectares of mango trees; on arrival, a wellness consultant draws up a programme of treatments, yoga and fitness with each guest. The second combines the spa with a tour. In Muscat, the Chedi is the calmest address; the Mandarin Oriental has a mosaic hammam and a couple's suite with its own hammam; the St. Regis Al Mouj its Guerlain spa. Then you head up to the Jebel Akhdar, at around 2,000 m, where average highs stay between 15 and 20 °C from December to March: the Anantara has five treatment rooms, two of them for couples, an aromatic sauna and a hammam; Alila Jabal Akhdar a heated outdoor infinity pool and morning yoga; the simpler Sahab a small spa. Near Al Hamra, at 1,400 m, the Falak Spa at The View offers Ayurvedic treatments facing the valley.

A retreat in nature. Outside the cities, the spa goes with walking or yoga: Kasbah Tamadot and Kasbah Bab Ourika in the High Atlas, Michlifen at 1,650 m in Ifrane, the Eden Boutique Hotel in the Dadès valley, Dar al Hossoun in its botanical garden in Taroudant, Paradis Plage, north of Taghazout, with three yoga classes a day. The Mountains page presents these regions, and the trip idea Surf, yoga and spa in Taghazout, 7 days makes a full stay of it.

Before booking a treatment

Minimum age. Many spas set one: 16 at the Mandarin Oriental Marrakech, the Robinson Club Soma Bay, the Mandarin Oriental Jumeira and Bab Al Shams, in the Dubai desert, 18 at the Fairmont Royal Palm and the Fairmont Nile City, for residents and visitors alike. In Oman, the spa at the Mandarin Oriental in Muscat and the Falak Spa at The View are open from age 16. Families should check this before choosing a hotel for its spa; the Family holidays page presents hotels that welcome children.

Opening hours. They are given in local time. The ALDAU's Pure Spa opens 9 am to 9 pm, the Oberoi spa at Sahl Hasheesh 9 am to 8 pm, the Fairmont Nile City from 6.30 am.

Outside visitors. Some spas welcome guests from other hotels, such as La Mamounia, subject to availability, the Fairmont Taghazout Bay from 10 am to 9 pm, or the Sofitel Tamuda Bay; others, like the Oberoi spa at Sahl Hasheesh, are for residents only. Sabaro recommends booking treatments in advance.

For a treatment for two, the Honeymoons page lists the couples' suites.

Tunisia: thalassotherapy by the Mediterranean

In Tunisia, wellbeing is above all about thalassotherapy, treatments based on seawater, seaweed and marine mud. Eight hotels selected by Sabaro have a thalassotherapy centre; the guide Golf and thalassotherapy in Tunisia compares them.

The large centres. On Djerba, the Hasdrubal Prestige has an 11,000 m² centre, with 13 private treatment suites and seawater and thermal-water pools. In Yasmine Hammamet, the Hasdrubal Thalassa & Spa has 5,500 m², 25 treatment rooms and three seawater pools. In Gammarth, near Carthage, The Residence Tunis has 18 treatment rooms and an indoor seawater pool heated to 30°C all year round. In Tabarka, the centre at La Cigale covers 2,300 m².

Thalassotherapy with a beach. Four beach resorts also have their own centre: the Mövenpick in Sousse, the Iberostar Selection Royal El Mansour in Mahdia, and the Iberostar Selection Eolia and Radisson Blu Palace on Djerba.

Spas and hammams. La Badira in Hammamet and The Residence Douz, at the gateway to the Sahara, have a Clarins spa; the Four Seasons in Gammarth an 11-room spa; The Mora Sahara Tozeur a hammam and separate areas for men and women. In the medina of Tunis, the Palais Bayram has a traditional domed hammam, and Dar El Jeld its own hammam. In Nefta, Dar HI Life offers a sulphurous geothermal hot-water bath and yoga retreats.

Turkey: large Aegean spas and Istanbul hammams

The large spas. Near Bodrum, Six Senses Kaplankaya is a resort devoted to wellness, with a 10,000 m² spa, an indoor pool and hammams; the Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum has a 2,700 m² spa. In Istanbul, on the Bosphorus, the spa of the Mandarin Oriental Bosphorus covers 3,500 m², with three hammams and an indoor pool, and that of the Four Seasons at the Bosphorus 2,100 m², with hammams in Marmara marble; on the Golden Horn, the Well+ spa at Aliée Istanbul covers 4,000 m².

The hammam at the hotel. In the old city, every room at Hagia Sofia Mansions has a Turkish bath, and AJWA Sultanahmet a spa with hammam and heated indoor pool. In Karaköy, The Bank Hotel has a white marble hammam; in Beşiktaş, the Shangri-La a hammam with İznik tiles. In Cappadocia, the Exedra has a 350 m² spa with hammam, and the Avantgarde Refined Caves a 600 m² spa. In Antalya, the Akra has a TheLifeCo spa and a heated indoor pool.