Sunday Times World's Top 50 Spas 2025 Winners

Healing Holidays are delighted to announce the launch of a brand new wellness guide with the Sunday Times. Available in print and online, this is the first time that Healing Holidays and one of the world’s best-known and read newspaper titles have partnered together to shine a light on wellness and all that encompasses. Featuring only the world’s very best spa retreats, boot camps, medical clinics, yoga retreats and detox & weight loss programmes, here’s a look at some of the Sunday Times World's Top 50 Spas 2025 big winners:

Best Overall Spa - Lefay Lago Di Garda, Italy

Tapped into the mountainside overlooking Lake Garda and surrounded by Alpine pastures and mystic woodlands, the family-owned Lefay Resort & Spa Lago Di Garda offers an intelligent approach to wellness. It blends perfectly TCM and Western techniques, bridging the ancient with the modern and innovative, with specialisms ranging from gut health to gynaecology. Programmes are as deep and immersive as you want them to be, covering the most prevalent health issues such as stress, sleep deprivation and weight management. There is mind-focusing Qigong and deeply-releasing Tuina massages threading in harmoniously with a perfect & modern Mediterranean diet. It is a warm and gentle-souled place to retreat to, that will leave you un-hunched, lighter on your feet and fuller in your heart.

Best Medi-Spa - RAKxa Integrative Wellness, Thailand

Just a short hop from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok on the peaceful, jungle-clad island of Bang Krachao, RAKxa Integrative Wellness is a fully integrative luxury wellness and medical retreat, which blends the latest medical science with holistic, traditional therapies such as Ayurveda, Traditional Thai and Chinese Medicine. You can do it all here, from genetic testing or an immune-boosting programme, to weight-loss, Fitness and detox. It certainly gives any of the European heavyweight medical-spas a run for their money; with their connection to Bumrungrad Hospital, the diagnostics are amongst the best in the world. It also feels friendlier than most medi-spas, with plush pool villas, colourful food that’s personalised to each guest, and warm Thai hospitality running throughout.

Best Detox-Spa - Park Igls, Austria

A quick 20 minutes from Innsbruck airport lies Park Igls, an intimate, contemporary Medical Spa which is underpinned by the principles of Modern Mayr medicine which believes fervently in the power of a fully functional gut, (the ‘second brain’), to help cure a vast array of physical and emotional issues from hay fever and dermatitis to migraine, stress burn-out and depression. Set in a picturesque corner of the Austrian Tyrol it combines pared back luxury with no-nonsense medical credentials, all under the watchful eye of Dr Peter Gartner. It offers the full clinical experience - diagnostics, supervised medical detoxes and cleanses, as well as high calibre holistic healthcare, all without any airs and graces but with genuine, attentive care and a close family vibe.

Best For Nutrition - Palazzo Fiuggi, Italy

Set within a private 8½ hectare park overlooking the medieval spa town of Fiuggi just an hour south of Rome, the exceptional Palazzo Fiuggi marries the deepest holistic traditions with the most advanced Western medicine and the very best facilities, allowing you to totally unwind and bliss out. The real stars of the show at Palazzo Fiuggi though are their programmes, which are impeccably executed and thoroughly road-tested in advance of inclusion and their food, which is the brainchild of Michelin-star chef Heinz Beck so you can expect exquisite morsels of delicious food whatever programme you are on.

Best For Solo Travellers - Euphoria Retreat, Greece

If you want to hunker down and do some deep healing close to home in the beautiful pine-clad surrounds of Greece's Peloponnese peninsula, then Euphoria Retreat and its unique blend of ancient Greek and Chinese wellness wisdom with modern medical diagnostics and treatments could be just the ticket. This magical place is also well-suited for the solo traveller as they offer a communal dining table and a whole host of sociable group activities.  

Best For Sports & Fitness - Palace Merano, Italy

For those who really know their Spas and Medical Clinics, Palace Merano with its world-class facilities, expert practitioners and intensive programmes is firmly on top of the annual must-visit list. Best known for its detox programmes, Palace Merano also excels at fitness and recently opened a new Sport Recovery Lab, which is dedicated to muscle recovery and rehabilitation for athletes. It also recently announced Zinédine Zidane as its new brand ambassador. The former French footballer has been a repeat guest of Palace Merano for nearly 30 years and will serve as the face of the Spa while advising on new wellness programmes.