South African wine estate, garden hotel and wellness retreat Babylonstoren, which takes inspiration from the hanging gardens of Babylon, has a deep connection to nature. In homage to this, it’s just created a couple’s mud ritual in its new vibrant green mosaic rasul.

Starting with a self-exfoliation, the do-it-yourself ritual sees guests apply a rich clay mask – harvested from a nearby lake and infused with essential oils extracted from African botanicals – to their bodies and hair. Following this, they relax in the steam chamber before cleansing and buffing the skin to remove the mask.

The rasul is part of Babylonstoren’s new Hot Spa thermal extension which also includes an indoor-outdoor pool, salt room, sauna, steamroom, hammam and two vitality pools.

Location: Babylonstoren, Western Cape, South Africa

Duration: 30 minutes

Cost: ZAR750 (US$41, €42, £37)

Adventure travel operator Eleven has curated a new wellness retreat for guests at its remote Deplar Farm lodge in Iceland.

Set on a secluded peninsula in northern Iceland, the Live Well Retreat, which launches in January, is a comprehensive wellness experience inclusive of cutting-edge spa amenities, nutritious cuisine and exhilarating guided adventures.

Daytime activities include intentionally curated practices such as mindful horseback riding and Nordic skiing, Viking sauna rituals and climate-based Tata Harper spa treatments.

Guests can expect each element to be grounded in Eleven Life’s four pillars: mindful movement, nutrient-dense meals, consistent breathwork and nature-based connection.

Location: Deplar Farm, Iceland

Duration: Four days

Cost: Starts at US$8,700 (€8,809, £7,693)

Just 30 minutes in SHA Wellness Clinic’s new preventative diagnostic circuit and a series of non-invasive tests will glean vast quantities of information about a guest’s state of health.

The data, used by SHA’s medical experts to design bespoke programmes, would have previously taken days to collect.

The six-step circuit is the focus of a new Health Screening Lab. It measures everything from vital signs and AEG protein ageing markers to volumetric variations of blood circulation which can indicate arterial health and the functioning of the nervous system. There’s also a body composition analysis, 3D body scanner and neurocognitive test.

Location: SHA Wellness Clinic, Spain

Duration: 30 minutes

Cost: €600 (US$635, £527)

Just in time for its 30th anniversary, ESPA has debuted its all-new Restorative Wellness concept at ESPA Life Corinthia in London.

The company says the launch is an evolution of the brand and is underpinned by the addition of three modalities – cryotherapy, lymphatic compression massage and LED light therapy.

These are used in five new facials and two body rituals which combine the technology with holistic therapy and mindfulness techniques. This, says ESPA, helps to futureproof guests’ health and deliver preventative health outcomes.

The Restorative Wellness rituals have been devised to enable guests to step away feeling rebalanced, revitalised and equipped with new skills and self-care rituals that can be recalled and practised in daily life routines.

Location: ESPA Life, Corinthia, London, UK

Duration: 60 minutes

Cost: Start at £235 (US$261, €269)

photo: Ikeda Spa

Geishas are an iconic Japanese cultural symbol, easily identifiable by their stylised makeup. However, the performing artists historically used a surprising ingredient to cleanse their skin – nightingale droppings.

Ikeda Spa has tapped this tradition to create a treatment with a mask made of powdered UV-treated nightingale faeces which is claimed to cleanse, soften and brighten skin.

Eric Tan, CEO, says the droppings contain urea which helps the skin retain moisture, as well as OGG1 which treats UV exposure damage. The ingredient also includes guanine, which is claimed to promote a glowy complexion.

The mask is followed by a 300-stroke Japanese meridian massage, which has been designed to sculpt and encourage drainage. The facial also incorporates other traditional Japanese ingredients such as rice bran, camellia, azuki red beans and peach moon water.

Location: Ikeda Spa, Singapore

Duration: 90 minutes

Cost: SG$270 (US$188, €195, £174)

Zita West / photo: zita west

Waldhotel, the medical & health centre at Bürgenstock wellness resort in Switzerland, is partnering with Zita West to launch a Fit for Fertility retreat.

A midwife for 40 years, West is one of the world’s leading fertility specialists. Her approach is based on the mind-body connection and a tranquil spa is an ideal setting to reduce the stress that comes with trying to conceive. Not to mention Waldhotel’s medical expertise and its tailored approach to nutrition.

Each guest will work with her to create a plan to take charge of their fertility. They’ll be taught how to better understand their bodies, how to encourage a calm mindset and how to connect their brains, the head, heart and gut and also what West calls the uterus/pelvic ‘brain’.

Location: Bürgenstock, Switzerland

Duration: Five nights

Cost: CHF5,690 (US$6,039, €5,808, £5,009)

Ananda in the Himalayas has curated a Soul Detox package for those seeking self-acceptance and silence within.

The programme is designed to help attendees release past traumatic impressions holding them back and rediscover their true self.

During the week, guests revisit and release some of their biggest emotional blocks and rediscover their energy through processes that combine spiritual hypnotherapy, regression therapy, yoga, meditation and energy healing.

Led by a team of psychologists and spiritual hypnotherapists, the process of emotional healing will combine wisdom from eastern philosophy with western behavioural sciences.

More on this topic at spabusiness.com/soul

Location: Ananda in the Himalayas, Uttarakhand, India

Duration: Seven days

Cost: Starts at £4,201 (US$4,534, €4,695)

Cheval Blanc’s Baby Bonding wellness experience in St Barthélemy is designed to provide new parents with precious memories and skills to support their baby’s wellbeing.

The experience includes a 30-minute baby body massage by an expert therapist to promote relaxation and bonding through skin-to-skin interaction, alongside a private session teaching parents the safest technique for massaging their baby and learning more about the physical and emotional benefits this can provide for the whole family.

Mothers can also receive a postnatal massage to help their body and opt for a one-hour Aqua-Osteopathy session for the baby, as well as a first swimming lesson with a qualified lifeguard providing guidance.

Location: Cheval Blanc St-Barth Isle de France, Saint Barthélemy, Caribbean

Duration: One day

Cost: Starting cost of €710 (US$685, £634)

Karina Stewart

Thai destination spa Kamalaya is breathing new life into its offering with the launch of ozone and oxygen therapy treatments.

Ozone therapy is believed to help boost the immune system, restore balance and combat infectious and degenerative diseases. Performed by Kamalaya’s nursing team, it involves drawing a small amount of blood, mixing it with medical grade ozone and reinjecting it to help the body heal.

Oxygen therapy is carried out in a hyperbaric chamber to deliver more oxygen to the body via the lungs. Guests are fitted with an apparatus to directly absorb medical oxygen via a nasal cannula while resting in the capsule. This therapy is designed to heal injuries up to three times faster than normal and also helps the body fight bacteria, stimulate stem cell production and promote overall physical and mental wellbeing.

The additions join Kamalaya’s gamut of modalities, enabling the spa to offer a myriad of customisable approaches which bridge the gap between western science and ancient healing traditions of the east.

“People come to us for a ‘reset’ – whatever that looks like for them,” says co-founder Karina Stewart. “That’s why personalisation is so important.”

Ozone and oxygen therapy will initially be offered as standalone treatments and from 2023 will be incorporated into some of Kamalaya’s 17 wellness programmes such as Resilience and Immunity, Enriched Gut and Sleep Enhancement.

They follow the launch of Kamalaya IV therapies earlier this year, as well as the rollout of its functional testing. The latter is provided in partnership with UK-based clinic Paar and sees guests undertaking pre-arrival screening and wellbeing assessments to evaluate a range of health factors, including food intolerances and genetic predispositions.

In the future, Stewart hints at a Women’s Health retreat covering the menstruation, fertility, perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause stages.

She says there’s also a huge focus behind the scenes on developing Kamalaya’s online platform.

Location: Kamalaya Koh Samui, Thailand

Duration: 45-60 minutes (ozone); 60 minutes (oxygen)

Cost: THB6,827 or US$183, €186, £162 (ozone); THB4,944 or US$134, €135, £118 (oxygen)