Welcome to Vogue’s first ever spa guide—a compendium of the 100 best spas worldwide, pulling from the expertise of our global editors. There is a lot out there in the world of wellness, and we are here to sort the cryo from the cold plunge, the infrared light treatment from the IV infusion. Or if your path is a more holistic one—there’s something for you here, as well.
Why go here?
On a hot and humid morning in Singapore this past April, I hopped in a (blissfully air-conditioned) taxi from the city center to Sentosa Island, the leafy enclave best known for being one of the state’s top tourist destinations. But instead of heading for the thrills and spills of one of the island’s theme parks, my destination was an oasis of calm: the Auriga Spa at the Capella Singapore hotel, a five-star paradise surrounded by 30 acres of tropical rainforest that cascades toward a picture-postcard beach and the South China Sea.
It’s on one of the lower tiers of those cascading levels that you’ll find Auriga, its entrance tucked away along a curved wall covered with silver sculptures of fish, shimmering in the reflected light of the pond below. That sense of underwater tranquility extends through to the reception area, where you’ll be greeted with a glass of fruit- or herb-infused water and then spirited away to the spacious changing rooms, after having been encouraged to arrive an hour or so early to enjoy the impressive gender-separated facilities at each end of the enormous spa complex. (I was running a little on the late side, so made the most of them afterwards, but the vitality pool with its various jets and the herbal steam room—and the ice fountain to cool off—were blissfully tranquil.)
Photo: Courtesy of Auriga Spa at Capella Hotel Singapore
The name Auriga is inspired by a star constellation in the northern hemisphere, and fittingly, the general philosophy here is one that follows the cycles of the moon. The four signature treatments (New, Full, Waxing, and Waning) all promise to offer benefits that speak to the properties of that phase of the celestial cycle (invigorating, nourishing, balancing, or cleansing)—if that reads a little woo-woo at first, it’s underpinned by some serious wellness know-how, thanks to the depth of experience of the therapists, many of whom have been working here since the resort first opened. (It doesn’t take long to realize that they really know what they’re doing.)
Each of the nine treatment suites comes with its own private outdoor garden to chill in after your treatment—but if you’re anything like me, you’ll want to head back to the spa facilities proper for a final dip in that vitality pool and an aromatherapy shower. It’s a tropical paradise, inside and out.
Photo: Courtesy of Auriga Spa at Capella Hotel Singapore
What’s the vibe?
The Capella Singapore is a hotel of two—equally striking—halves. When pulling up through manicured lawns to the restored 1880s colonial building that serves as the resort’s main hub, there’s a feel of having stepped back in time to a glamorous old-world country club; until, that is, you walk through to the other side of the colonnaded porch. There, you’ll find those striking views of jungle and sea, but perhaps even more striking is the flowing colossus of steel that frames those views, housing the majority of the guest rooms and fusing with the original building to make a fabulously Frankenstinian whole. Designed by Sir Norman Foster for the resort’s opening in 2009, it’s a genuine architectural marvel.