Relax on shore: Luxury Dubai spas

23 January 2015 • Written by Caitlin Cheadle

Boasting numerous luxury spas, Dubai offers plenty of options if you're craving a bit of pampering while visiting its shores in your charter yacht.

Home to the world's stateliest shopping centres and unapologetically extravagant hotels, Dubai's unquenchable thirst for opulence makes it the kind of city where being over-dressed is never an issue. A visit to the spa is a weekly occasion for residents, so there really is no shortage of options if you're craving a bit of pampering while visiting its shores. Read on for a selection of the most indulgent spa experiences the city has to offer.

The Spa at The Palace The Palace

Downtown Dubai

Treatment: One Desert Journey

Ambience: Intimate Moroccan hammam: dark woods, soft cushions and jasmine-scented spaces.

The One Desert Journey begins with a serving of detoxifying cucumber, apple and celery juice as you are consulted about your stress levels and health concerns, and select an all-natural massage oil by Les Sens de Marrakech. You'll then lie down in your private treatment room for a gentle all-over body scrub of sand and pure argan oil (widely reputed for its healing properties). After you rinse off, your therapist will gently knead out the tension in any problem areas, stimulating pressure points for deep relaxation. Next, warm poultices of Moroccan mint are rolled gently along the body to activate blood circulation, relieve tension, and nourish and tone the skin. Post-treatment, detox in the heated hammam, Jacuzzi and steam room before reclining in the relaxation room, where you will be served tea and snacks.

Cost: AED 825

Duration: 105 minutes.

The One & Only Spa One & Only

One & Only Spa

One&Only The Palm, Dubai

Treatment: Rhassoul Experience

Ambience: Contemporary Moorish: airy courtyards and textures of teak, marble and mother-of-pearl.

This couples' treatment begins at the over-water restaurant 101, where you can moor your yacht and take a buggy directly to the 110 sq m private treatment suite. Your therapist will meet you in the suite's consultation room before you slip into a robe and enter the private hammam room, where you are scrubbed with sea salt and essential oils to smooth the skin. Next you will be given an all-natural mineral mud to apply to yourself (and your partner) in the private steam room, which emits dry and then moist steam to open pores, allowing the mud's minerals to nourish the skin. Rinse off and step into twin deep-soak tubs, prepared with skin-hydrating mineral salts. The experience ends with a two-hour treatment of choice from the spa's menu.

Cost: starts from AED 2,780

Duration: Three hours; however this can be extended.

The Amara Spa Park Hyatt

Amara Spa

Park Hyatt Dubai

Treatment: Ruby Botanical Arabic Massage

Ambience: Persian palace: marble, soft natural light and Iznik tiling.

To get to the spa you walk through a small garden courtyard with trickling fountain. After changing into your robe your treatment begins with a foot massage and consultation, in which you will select your 100% natural massage oils by Bahrain-based company Green Bar. Your therapist will then begin your treatment using a blend of eastern and western massage techniques to loosen tense muscles and improve blood circulation. Afterwards, sit in the treatment room's private courtyard to sip Moroccan mint tea and nibble on a selection of Arabic delicacies. An absolute must post- treatment is to spend a few hours lounging by the tranquil outdoor pool, in a secluded courtyard shaded by palm trees and set away from the busier areas of the hotel.

Cost: AED 640

Duration: 1.5 hours.

The Armani Spa iStock

Armani/SPA

Armani Hotel Dubai

Treatment: Armani Full-Day SPA Experience

Ambience: Zen meets catwalk: minimalist and chic, with long, dark corridors and mellow lounge music.

This extensive package can be tailored to suit your needs, with the basic Full-Day Experience including body massage, facial, body scrub, body rub, manicure and pedicure, and a two-course meal from the SPA menu which includes bio, organic and vegetarian options. Also included in the package is a personal training session (optional) and access to the outdoor pool, where you can take your meal if you wish. After the sun goes down pamper yourself at the SPA Terme, with steam bath, laconium (Roman dry heat sauna) and 'sequential shower', before a little me-time in the relaxation room.

Cost: From AED 2,500

Duration: Eight hours (including up to four hours of holistic treatments); however time can be altered to match your preferences.

Talise Spa iStock

Talise Spa

Madinat Jumeirah

Treatment: 24 Carat Gold Hammam Experience

Ambience: Arabian oasis: lush tropical gardens, intricate tile mosaics and trickling waterways.

The Talise brand of spas is renowned in Dubai for beautiful design and luxurious treatments, and the Madinat Jumeirah location, with its waterfront setting and views of the Burj Al Arab, is the most impressive. This expansive spa is a maze of pathways linking 26 treatment rooms, spread out over tropical landscaped gardens, including separate male and female changing rooms with hammam, wet relaxation and hot and cold plunge pools. The 24 Carat Gold Hammam takes place in a private hammam room, where you are scrubbed with black eucalyptus soap and a traditional Moroccan Hammam mitt to exfoliate the skin and rejuvenate the senses. You are then covered in a gold clay body mask with myrtle to sooth and heal the skin. The treatment concludes with a full-body massage using gold-infused oils. After your treatment, cool off in the spa's heavenly outdoor pool.

Cost: AED 1,039

Duration: Two hours.

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