Organic spas around the globe have an important mission: to promote wellness and well-being, which is something we are seeing, more than ever, in the eco-luxury market. The top spas we have selected here are passionate about prioritizing sustainability initiatives, conservation efforts, local ingredients and products that are clean and pure.
—The Editors
Andaz Peninsula Papagayo Resort
Papagayo, Costa Rica
Nature is the star at this beachside getaway—with open-air seaview restaurants and spa suites (designed to cut down on air conditioning), howler monkeys that swing from trees—and the resort has implemented a number of practices to preserve it (including non-sexy stuff like using gravity-based water systems over electric pumps.) Nowhere is the green commitment more evident than in the spa: From the friendly receptionist who helped us mix our own organic body scrubs to the dedicated therapist who used smooth local bamboo in the massage, this spa blew us away—no small feat for one that just opened in December 2013. papagayo.andaz.hyatt.com
Esperanza
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
An Auberge Resort, Esperanza, this beautiful beachfront property in Cabo San Lucas is committed to “responsible luxury”; green design principles and sustainable materials, landscaping that preserves water, energy-efficient fixtures that minimize waste, temperature controls on the infinity pools to conserve energy, reuse and recycling initiatives throughout the resort. Sign on for the purification program, centered around indigenous Nopal cactus—in a spa detox treatment, organic cooking classes and delicious menu offerings; work out with the running concierge, or simply relax on the beach. esperanza.aubergeresorts.com
L'Auberge de Sedona
Sedona, AZ
In the midst of Sedona’s renowned spiritual and healing vortex sites, L’Auberge is a calming oasis where the peaceful sound of Oak Creek, a spring-fed creek, flows through the property. Treatments like “Feet in the Creek” integrate the L’Apothecary Spa with the outdoor environment and the spa offers guests the chance to custom-blend local organic botanicals like juniper and rosemary into body salts and scrubs. The clean desert air and serene mystical setting provide a perfect backdrop for yoga, desert hikes or a transformative “full moon meditation” at nearby Serenity Point. lauberge.com
Natural Body Spa & Shop
Atlanta, GA
The first spa in the U.S. to be designed and built with the highest level of LEED specifications: this LEED Platinum Spa now features nine locations in Georgia, with four more in the South. Natural Body is a founding member of the Green Spa Network and an eco-leader in many aspects: low-flow plumbing, renewable power purchased to offset energy consumption, LED lighting, no VOC paints, all flooring is recycled, all laundry and cleaning products are biodegradable. naturalbody.com
Post Ranch Inn
Big Sur, CA
Set on 100 gorgeous acres overlooking the Pacific Ocean at Big Sur, the Post Ranch Inn has been an environmental steward since 1992 and they just keep upping their game. Post Ranch has one of the biggest solar installations in California (no small feat!), with 990 solar panels, the buildings are made from sustainable materials, and they created the first commercial gray water system in the state. And talk about recycling: trees that fall on property are made into benches and dinnerware at Sierra Mar is made from recycled plate glass. If a plate breaks, they send it back to the platemaker to be remade. postranchinn.com
Rancho La Puerta
Tecate, Mexico
“The Ranch” as it’s known affectionately, by the many who return for repeat visits, is one of the first and still best fitness and destination spas in the world, renowned for its leadership in sustainability and environmental practices. The Ranch offers something for everyone: a men’s program, organic cooking classes, amazing hikes, to a new employee wellness program that dedicates doctors, nutritionists and exercise physiologists to help 440 staffers and their families slim down. The menu features food from the large organic farm and spa treatments use healing plants from the garden. rancholapuerta.com
Six Senses
Laamu, Maldives
A pioneer in the eco-luxury hotel movement, Six Senses monitors their properties using the strict Green Globe Benchmarks, employing a carbon calculator and long list of sustainable practices. This idyllic Maldives outpost goes beyond company standards, from hiring a resident horticulturalist (to oversee the organic garden) and marine biologist (to teach guests about the coral ecosystem), and implementing a boatman’s Code of Conduct for Dolphin Watching to help protect local sea life. Spa services using all-natural products are performed in open-air treatment “nests” on the beach or tucked among the trees. sixsenses.com/resorts/laamu
Tabacon Grand Spa Thermal Resort
La Fortuna, Costa Rica
Set at the bottom of the Arenal Volcano, in La Fortuna de San Carlos, Costa Rica, Tabacon is themed around the healing power of water. With 12 hot spring pools and lagoons surrounded by lush rainforest and organic gardens and a natural geothermal river running through it, the Waterfall Massage is a treatment not to be missed! The sweat lodge or a volcanic mud wrap is the perfect way to detox after a winding trail hike through wild orchids and dense forest ferns. tabacon.com
Travaasa Austin
Austin, TX
Tucked into Balcones Canyonlands Preserve, a 240-acre bird sanctuary in Texas’ Hill Country, all treatments feature authentically natural and organic products, and 100 percent certified organic cotton sheets not only at the spa, but throughout the entire property. The server at your delicious meal on the patio restaurant lets you know that “almost everything is local, sourced from our organic farm or within a 200-mile radius. (They also offer a mouth-watering selection of vegan and gluten-free dishes.) Travaasa has its own reverse osmosis plant, all reclaimed water is used for irrigation. Local, certified organic coffee is in all of the guest rooms. travaasa.com/austin/
Vana Malsi Estate
Dehradun, India
This brand-new wellness retreat is set on 21 acres in Dehradun, India, where attention to detail is elevated to an art form. Founder/Retreat Director Veer Singh has a passion for wellness that is unrivaled. His vision was to create “a beacon of well-being,” and, quite simply, he has. Guests have a choice of retreats overseen by an Ayurvedic doctor, a Tibetan Healing doctor or a Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine, who will create a personalized wellness program for you. The food is light, artfully prepared and organic. Intensely therapeutic yet thoroughly enjoyable spa treatments use 100 percent organic ingredients and they are among the best we have ever had. vanaretreats.com