This S-shaped country in Southeast Asia is famous for its sun, sand, and sea, but now Vietnam can add “spa” to its growing list of draw cards. According to a new study by SpaSeekers.com the coastal country saw a 175% increase in Google searches for “spa holidays”, the most of any destination. Next in line was Morocco with an 84% search increase, less than half of what Vietnam saw.
Late last year, for the first time ever, a Vietnamese spa resort scored a coveted spot in the top ten of Conde Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards spa resorts category. TIA Wellness Resort landed the number ten spot on the leading travel publication’s ‘Top 20 Destination Spa Resorts in the World’ list. It was one of just two properties in Southeast Asia to score recognition in the top ten.
Vietnam’s abundance of natural and cultural resources and price competitiveness have helped the wellness industry blossom over recent years. Below, we’ve rounded up some of the top spa holidays in the country that allow guests to improve their health while enjoying some time away.
Cleanse Body and Mind With a Year-Round Retreat
TIA Wellness Resort, embraces nourishing raw food cuisine, detox therapies, and holistic wellbeing practices from sound healing to private yoga sessions in its retreat package “Body & Mind Cleanse”. The four-night or seven-night offering draws from different healing modalities so guests can detox and release toxins from the body, while also improving vitality through letting go of what’s holding them back on a mental level. A key element of the new package is intermittent fasting, a practice where all the food consumed in a day is eaten during an eight-hour window. When the fast is broken guests follow a plant-based raw food meal plan. While the schedule varies each day, with new practices and treatments, a typical day on the program starts with a private yoga lesson at 7am to activate oxygen flow and heat in the body. This is followed by a treatment in the wellness center, such as a Lymphatic Detox session, Bamboo Rollout treatment, or Heart Stone Therapy. A private breathwork session, one of the most powerful yet easily accessible practices and a core of TIA’s overall offering, rounds out the morning before an 11am breakfast. There’s a three-course raw lunch at 1.30pm and an optional creativity workshop that starts at 3pm, which takes an artistic approach to self-healing. The Body & Mind Cleanse is available year-round.
Four Days to Rejuvenate in Da Nang
Fusion Resort & Villas Da Nang’s new 4-day, 3-night “Healing Retreat” is a carefully curated journey designed to nurture emotional and physical well-being, leaving the client refreshed, rejuvenated, and deeply relaxed. These packages include personalized spa treatments, private wellness coaching, guided meditation, and detox meal plans, creating a holistic approach to well-being in a tranquil beachfront setting. This newly opened 15-hectare resort is a sanctuary of wellness where guests have unlimited access to Maia Spa, one of Vietnam’s largest spa complexes, spanning over 3,000 sqm. The spa features an indoor heated pool covering 260 sqm, infrared saunas, steam rooms, and complimentary wellness sessions including yoga, tai chi, and meditation.
Broad Spectrum of Yoga and Meditation Offerings in Cam Ranh
Alma Resort Cam Ranh, a 30-hectare beachfront resort on Cam Ranh peninsula’s, has appointed a full-time resident yogi to bolster its array of wellness offerings that address “ambitions and ailments and everything in-between”. Equipped with 20 years of experience in the health and wellness industry, with expertise in yoga and meditation from India’s “city of yoga” Rishikesh, Umesh Kumar Sharma joins Alma after working at a nearby resort as a yoga and gym instructor. In his new role as Alma’s health and wellness manager, Umesh offers a variety of restorative group and private yoga experiences as well as guided meditation for participants at all levels on their wellness journey. “No matter your ambitions and ailments and everything in between, we customize our yoga practices to benefit your individual situation and health goals, and equip you with practices to take home with you to ultimately lay the foundation for better living and a longer life,” Umesh said.
Vietnam’s National Flower Is the Right Lotus for Revitalization
The Revitalizing Lotus, a signature 150-minute treatment at the Banyan Tree Spa at Laguna Lang Co, one of Vietnam’s leading integrated properties, celebrates Vietnam’s national flower and showcases the country’s rich indigenous holistic traditions. It is this heritage that is being mined for the nation’s modern-day wellness wave. The immersive journey begins with a soothing body massage, enhanced with the delicate fragrance of Clarity Cumby oil, which draws on time-honoured Vietnamese herbal remedies to ease tension and rejuvenate the senses. As skilled therapists work their magic, you are transported into deep relaxation and revitalisation. The experience continues with an uplifting aromatic lotus bath, designed to purify and hydrate your skin, leaving it with a refined, healthy glow. More than just a treatment, the Revitalizing Lotus epitomises Vietnam’s emergence as a premier spa destination, blending ancient healing arts with modern luxury. Indulge in this unique cultural escape and embrace a harmonious balance of mind, body, and spirit with a heady dose of deep cultural pride.
Spa or Beach? Why Not Both
The Anam Mui Ne, an Indochine-era inspired resort in Vietnam’s popular beach town Mui Ne, has expanded its spa and wellness offerings with the launch of its “Beach Spa” specialising in express treatments. Adjacent to the resort’s 266sqm saltwater infinity swimming pool and beach lawn, Beach Spa sits at the other end of the beach to the resort’s Lang Viet Restaurant & Bar, bookending the resort’s best view over the waterfront. Equipped with two massage beds, Beach Spa offers 15-minute and 30-minute head treatments, a 30-minute aloe-vera after sun treatment, 30-minute back treatment, 30-minute head, neck and shoulder treatment, 30-minute foot treatment and a 40-minute organic facial treatment. The spa’s highly skilled therapists pamper guests with non-clinical treatments that follow a ‘high-touch, low-tech’ approach, infusing ancient techniques from the East with Western healing practices designed to recalibrate and rejuvenate.
Relax and Rejuvenate
Azerai La Residence, Hue, the elegant 122-room heritage hotel overlooking the fabled Perfume River in central Vietnam, recently unveiled a new spa menu featuring a range of distinctive treatments, including Tibetan singing bowls, Reiki healing and moxibustion therapy. Moxibustion involves burning a dried herb called “moxa” on or near the skin to stimulate acupuncture points. This is believed to stimulate blood flow, boost the immune system and help treat various conditions, including arthritis, digestive issues and more. Meanwhile, Azerai Ke Ga Bay in southern Vietnam offers a range of therapeutic massages at its renowned beachfront spa, including body scrubs and wraps, hair treatments and facials, in addition to hand and foot therapies, complimentary steam room and sauna to help guests relax and indulge. The resort also recently introduced new outdoor morning yoga sessions overlooking the sea. The rejuvenating treatments at both Azerai spas combine gentle movements and distinctive wellness techniques with massage, seeking to soothe the mind, body and soul.
A Benchmark for Luxury Wellness
The award-winning Le Spa du Metropole at Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi has long set a benchmark for luxury wellness in Vietnam. Situated within a 400-square-meter oasis overlooking a serene garden courtyard and pool, this sanctuary offers private massage areas where guests can unwind and recharge. Featuring two thematic couples’ suites, six bespoke spa suites, a manicure-pedicure booth, and a steam bath, the spa blends health and relaxation in an intimate setting. Treatments fuse Eastern holistic rituals and Western therapies, using premium products like Sothys and Anne Semonin. Essences that reflect the traditional scents of Vietnam and those reminiscent of an Indochina journey have been blended to provide a signature ambient scent for the spa areas, making Le Spa a top choice for sophisticated rejuvenation.
