19 of the best luxury spas in the Mediterranean

From Monaco to Bodrum the Mediterranean is full of hotspots that attract some of the largest private superyachts and the most expensive luxury yachts for charter. Thankfully, the Mediterranean is also home to some of the world’s best spas. So after a long week of socialising at some top Mediterranean party destinations, hop off your yacht and enjoy a spot of pampering.

1. The Opium Health Spa, Elysium Hotel, Cyprus

From a bright and contemporary reception area with a Grecian mosaic at one end, stroll down the stone-floored corridor to the vast indoor pool, which is surrounded by comfy loungers and lies adjacent to a Jacuzzi, sauna and steam room, perfect for an afternoon of relaxation after a stint in the fully-equipped gymnasium. Opt for a Pilates class with the charming in-house personal trainer to help improve your posture and core strength.

For the main pampering event, retire behind a curved wooden wall into the Balinese styled relaxation lounge, a quiet spot to enjoy a cup of herbal tea and a book before your treatment. Begin with an ESPA full body Balinese massage and enjoy 80 minutes of muscle unravelling by way of warm essential oils and hot stones — be sure to say what pressure you prefer, though a stronger massage will leave you feeling light and extremely relaxed. To add to your experience, opt for a restorative mud wrap to leave your skin feeling smooth and rejuvenated.

Best by boat: Superyachts up to 110 metres can moor at the Limassol Marina on the southern coast of the island.

Wrapped around a bay in Northern Greece with a marina for yachts up to 33 metres at the centre, the Sani Resort has five spas (with just a golf buggy ride between each). There is an extraordinary amount of treatments and wellness options for guests to try, all boasting luxurious products by Anne Semonin.

Guests at Sani Club can head to the beautiful Club Spa to unwind with a range of treatments, including Thai massage, Mediterranean salt exfoliation and Indian Shirodhara, among many others. Additionally, there's a couple's suite where you can enjoy a treatment with your other half. Bright, light and airy, this is an elegant space with both indoor and outdoor relaxation areas alongside thermal offerings.

The resort's newest hotel is the stunning Sani Dunes, which features the D spa. Here, guests can partake in the latest cryotherapy treatments, Xerolipo Bodysculpting, Opera LED therapy and a sparkling pink quartz exfoliation body scrub, among an expansive list of relaxing therapies.

Guests staying at Sani Asterias can enjoy an exclusive-use and fully-equipped spa, complete with two private rooms with steam baths and a couple's suite – this VIP-only spa is just one of the reasons to visit Halkidiki this summer.

With calming views out onto the gulf of Elounda the spa at the heart of Crete’s Blue Palace Resort offers 24 treatment rooms, three thalasso pools and two traditional Turkish Hammams. As well as its focus on Thalassotherapy, using seawater as a form of therapy, the spa offers a series of treatments using natural ingredients from Crete to improve your wellbeing.

Try the Traditional Cretan Experience, which starts with a relaxing soak in a hot tub of seawater at 34◦C, with chamomile, dittany and sage. This is then followed by a body scrub using a mixture of dried herbs, olive oil and warm honey before a final massage using olive oil, herbs, honey and raki.

Leave time after your treatment to unwind in the luminous relaxation pool which, during special spa evenings, is lit by candles and has a musician playing a grand piano.

Best by boat: Moor out in the bay, which is protected by the now deserted island of Spinalonga, and tender in to the hotel’s private jetty.

This glamorous beachfront resort is the first phase of an audacious plan to turn a little-known but spectacular pocket of the south west Peloponnese into a rival for Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda. Explore Messinia’s secret islets and hidden bays on board the hotel's yachts, Carmen Serena and Carmen Fontana, with local crew recounting the area’s ancient myths and legends from the deck. The spa also references Messinia’s fascinating history. Its indulgent olive-oil treatments were inspired by techniques described on centuries-old clay tablets discovered at the nearby Palace of Nestor. They outlined the ancient Greeks’ bathing rituals, elements of which have been incorporated into signature treatments. These include Nestor’s Baths, a hydro massage in a therapeutic bath, using herbs from the spa garden, and the Healing Massage Remedy by Hippocrates that combines therapies described by the father of western medicine with cutting-edge methods.

Best by boat

Kalamata Marina, about 20 miles away by road, accommodates small superyachts, but if you moor in one of the quiet coves near the resort you can zip straight back to your yacht to explore the beautiful western Peloponnese coast when you are all spa-ed out.

There really is nowhere else quite like this place: a 15th century fishing village built on a tiny islet that rises out of the sparkling Adriatic Sea. Its cute cottages have been converted to five-star hotel suites and, across on the mainland at Aman’s Villa Miločer, is one of the best luxury spas in the Mediterranean, with a heated indoor/outdoor swimming pool and treatment rooms with fireplaces for cosy winter pampering. Therapists make full use of the herbs that grow wild along this rugged coastline to create restorative massages that are heavenly scented with local valerian, sage, thyme and lavender. You can moor in the nearby Bay of Kotor at the Adriatic’s superyacht capital, Porto Montenegro, which has ambitions to become as important as Saint-Tropez and Porto Cervo on the Mediterranean yachting calendar.

Best by boat

Superyacht Heaven Porto Montenegro has 400 berths ranging up to 180 metre and a huge range of facilities. Yachts often anchor off Villa Milocer and tender into its pier, or to the pier on Sveti Stefan island.

Located on the north coast of the Bodrum Peninsula, a destination that’s currently sizzling hot with superyacht owners, this resort is a great choice for families. Rooms are big enough for bounding, the restaurant has a sweet shop, there’s a dedicated children’s pool, playgrounds and the MiniMO Panda Club, which will entertain your four to 12 year olds. If you book the VIP sea-facing apartment, which features its own hammam, sauna and spa pool, you might even raise a smile from that sulky teenager. The luxury spa offers a myriad of treatments using olive oil, local pumice stone, honey and herbs from the resort’s organic garden. If you venture out for some adult time, head for the grand, white marble hammam. A Turkish delight: you’ll be laid on warm stone, brushed with soft muslin until you’re heaped with cloud-like piles of bubbles, gently scrubbed and massaged. You might even forget you have a family.

After the energy-zapping fluster of the Côte d’Azur, the green hills of Grasse are a rejuvenating haven. This Shiseido Spa is housed at the Hôtel Le Mas Candille in the medieval village of Mougins, 10 minutes from Cannes – and it brings the latest Japanese-inspired anti-ageing treats to brighten skin and undo the sins of sun worship. Indeed, as you cross the spa’s ornamental bridge you can feel your frown unfurrow. All the treatments use the Qi method: a traditional Oriental philosophy that aims to restore the vital energy that runs through the body. The Future Solution LX Facial Ceremony, which uses ingredients ranging from pearl to green tea and star fruit, involves a number of delicate steps, from exfoliation to light steaming with Oshibori hot towels and a firming face massage. And there’s the excellent Shiseido boutique, which sells hard-to-find specialist anti-ageing creams and Serge Lutens fragrances.

Resembling a luxury spaceship hovering over Port Hercules, this massive spa is a suitably cutting-edge place to rejuvenate after the Monaco Grand Prix or Monaco Yacht Show. There’s a spectacular pool and a sprawling gym, both of which overlook the clutch of superyachts far below, but the must-have experience here is cryotherapy. Used in the sporting world to help speed athletes’ recovery, clients brave a cold sauna (at -110C) for three minutes, wearing protective socks, gloves and not much else. This is not for the panic-inclined but it’s worth gritting your teeth for the serotonin-induced marathon runner glow. Kiss insomnia, jet lag and muscle inflammation goodbye and rejoice in your newly glowing skin. The less intrepid can enjoy elaborate pampering, too. Don’t miss the Absolute Youth Experience, with its mother-of-pearl powder body peel and series of massages and scented baths. Cleopatra would certainly have approved.

Rocco Forte, who built Verdura, is one of the world’s leading hoteliers and this is one of the Mediterranean's best spas. Forte has also represented Britain at the World Triathlon Championships and looks 10 years younger than his 70 years. How does he do it? Verdura’s anti-ageing Vita Health programme is overseen by Forte’s personal physician, Dr Nyjon Eccles, an integrated medicine expert who will customise treatments according to your test results. Yachts can moor just off this rugged stretch of coast and ask for masseurs to come on board. On land, the glamorous spa flows from an impressive gym and workout studio, to a vast hammam and alfresco hydrotherapy pools that overlook cypress-studded hills.

Helicopter in

Anchor and take a helicopter in to the resort’s helipad. This coast boasts beaches, olive groves and ancient history, so stick around for post-spa cruising.

Built from scratch in 2011 in the style of a traditional whitewashed village, this place is pretty enough for French Vogue to book it as a backdrop for fashion shoots. Staff welcome your bambinos with open arms at one of the Med’s best kids’ clubs. Furthermore, it doesn’t close until 10pm, so you can park the progeny and enjoy a gaping, guilt-free window to hit the spa. Expect acres of buttermilk marble, flickering candles, soothing pools, toga-clad therapists and top-notch treatments (Aquann, the saline float tank, is one of the best legal highs available).

Best by boat

The 318-berth Cala Ponte Marina from Camper & Nicholsons has recently opened, just down the road.