Luxury Hotel Spa venues

The name luxury hotel spa describes a level of service, not a location: it is the spa section of an upmarket hotel that, with its wet area, treatment rooms and relaxation lounges, operates almost like an independent centre. That is why the same type includes both the spa of a city hotel with Bosphorus views and the spa of a golf resort in Belek.

Facilities and what makes it luxurious

The pairing most often found at the luxury hotel spas in the guide is a Turkish bath and a sauna; steam rooms and indoor pools are also common. Among the massages, deep tissue and Balinese massage stand out, followed by aromatherapy, couples' massage and facials. What sets a luxury hotel spa apart from other hotel spas, however, is less the list of services than the way they are delivered:

• Private spaces: Treatment rooms set aside for couples and VIP hammam suites with doors that close; several of the Istanbul hotels on the list have suites of this kind.
• Signature programmes: Rituals named by the hotel itself that combine hammam, peeling and massage in a single session.
• Products and team: Working with a particular skincare brand, and therapists who come from Balinese and Far Eastern massage traditions.
• Use of facilities: Being able to use the pool, sauna and relaxation area before and after the treatment as well.

What need a luxury hotel spa meets

A luxury hotel spa makes sense for those planning to spend a few hours at the spa, couples looking for treatments to mark a celebration, and those who want a spacious wet area that is not crowded. If you go only for a short back massage or a kese, part of the price pays for facilities you will not use; for that kind of need, a city hotel spa or a hammam is a better-proportioned choice.

How it relates to other hotel spas

The luxury hotel spa is the most comprehensive end of the hotel spa parent category and often overlaps with the other subtypes. Some of the venues in the guide are also classified as city hotel spas, and some as resort spas. The easy way to read the distinction is this: the city and resort labels describe where the property is, while the luxury label describes the size of the space, the private suites and the range of services. The small-scale spas of hotels with few rooms are listed separately under boutique hotel spa.

Which cities have luxury hotel spas

About half of the luxury hotel spas in the guide are in Istanbul, most of them clustered in Beşiktaş, Şişli and Beyoğlu. The second concentration is in Antalya: apart from one city hotel in Muratpaşa, this group is made up of resorts in Serik and Kemer. There is also one example each in Bodrum, on the shore of Lake Abant and in Çankaya, Ankara.

Access and booking for non-residents

Whether non-residents can use a luxury hotel spa varies by venue: some admit outside guests for day use or with a treatment appointment, while others restrict the wet area to hotel guests and members. Two of the examples in the guide are also listed as day spas. Asking the following when booking makes it clear what to expect:

• Whether use of the pool, sauna and hammam is included in the treatment price, and for how many hours that use is valid.
• Whether the stated session length includes the welcome and preparation.
• Whether robes and slippers are provided, whether swimwear is required in the wet area, and whether the areas are open to women and men together.
• Whether prices or terms of use change at weekends and during holiday periods.

What makes up the price is covered in detail in the guide explaining what determines massage and spa prices. The high temperatures of the sauna, steam room and hammam may be inadvisable during pregnancy, with cardiovascular disease and with uncontrolled high blood pressure; in these cases, consult your doctor first.