Imagine a fall afternoon spent sipping a mojito in Havana or a Negroni on a sun-soaked terrace in Florence. But now, change the surroundings to a luxury spa, and imagine not just drinking the cocktail, but having its fresh ingredients used throughout the spa treatment.
Around the world, luxury resorts and boutique wellness centers are taking inspiration from cocktail culture, translating classic drinks into sensory spa experiences designed not just for wellness, but for indulgence. Ingredients like cocktail salt can be used to exfoliate, the citrus slice that garnishes your glass can make your skin glow, and raw honey can help keep your skin moisturized and soft. From Japan to Texas, a growing number of cocktail-inspired spa treatments are borrowing not just the aromas of your favorite cocktails, but the ingredients, too.
While it’s easy to write them off as novelty treatments designed to bring in curious travelers, there may be more to the story. Modern, experiential travel is about more than just checking tourist attractions off one’s list, and in the last 20 years, gastronomy-focused and wellness-focused travel have become much more popular. And what better way to blend travel, gastronomy, and wellness than by hitting a resort that uses locally grown and fresh ingredients not just in its restaurants, but in its spa, too?
When you’re ready to try something new, these are seven of the most exciting cocktail-inspired spa treatments around the world that serve up wellness based on your favorite libations.
Bloody Mary Spa Treatment (Bali, Indonesia)
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While Bali may not be known for producing vodka, the lush conditions mean all the other ingredients of a Bloody Mary, like tomatoes, spices, and citrus, thrive on the island. And at the Iridium Spa at The St. Regis Bali Resort, spa pros have reimagined the classic cocktail as a lengthy wellness ritual. The 150-minute service blends the tasty cocktail with the kind of lavish luxury you expect from a luxury resort spa. The treatment starts with a body scrub made from tomato, pineapple, and a touch of wasabi to brighten your skin (and activate your senses), followed by a vodka-and-tomato clay wrap — supposedly a detoxifying combo. After a relaxing massage, guests get to soak in a bath infused with tomato, vermouth, and mineral salts.
If you want to take it a step further, you can add on one of the best possible pairings for a Bloody Mary: freshly shucked oysters, served after your treatment in the spa garden. It’s fun, playful, and wellness-focused, if a little indulgent (like many places in Bali). The service is priced at 7,400,000 Indonesian Rupiah, or about $450.
Beer Bath Hydrotherapy Soak (Denver, Colorado)
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Oakwell Beer Spa in Denver offers a rejuvenating — and certainly unique — experience with its signature Beer Bath Hydrotherapy. Guests soak in a cedar tub filled with warm water infused with the main ingredients in beer: hops, barley, and a blend of herbs designed by the spa’s herbalist. However, unlike with beer, the bath water is unfermented and free from yeast, making it better suited to soaking than drinking.
According to its proponents, the ingredients in beer can be pretty helpful for your skin. Hops promote relaxation and act as antioxidants with anti-inflammatory effects, while barley delivers vitamins and minerals to your skin and hair. Aromatic herbs add a soothing layer to the sensory experience, while soaking in warm water is bound to make sore muscles feel a bit better. Rooms and tubs are private, and yes, you can have local craft beer delivered while you soak. Oakwell has two locations in Denver, with treatments starting at $99 per person.
Bourbon Bubbler Body Treatment (Napa, California)
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The Bourbon Bubbler Body Treatment at Meritage Resort in Napa proves that the town is about more than just wine. The full-body treatment starts with a distilled Kentucky whiskey scrub, known for its antibacterial properties and ability to help control excess oils. After the scrub, guests are treated to a “Vanilla Bourbon Massage” focused on the feet, neck, and shoulders. Naturally, the service is paired with a shot of bourbon, too. Both singles and couples can book this 50-minute treatment, with pricing varying by day of the week.
The 50-minute treatment starts at $240 per person, with couples packages also available. And if whiskey isn’t your thing, the spa has another beverage-related service to serve as a pick-me-up: a coffee-inspired body scrub, with a touch of CBD oil to boot.
Rum Mocha Body Wrap (Negril, Jamaica)
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The Rockhouse Hotel & Spa in Negril, Jamaica, has a spa menu heavy on local ingredients, with the Jamaican Mocha Rum Wrap as a standout option. This treatment applies a blend of natural products as a full-body skin wrap, including honey, mango, cocoa, shea butter, and rum, mixed with aromas like patchouli, orange, and cinnamon. The spa hosts many treatments in open-air spaces by the cliffs of Negril, with other treatments that lean on local botanicals like mint, ginger, and lemongrass.
As with many spa rituals tied to place, the rum wrap is less about clear wellness claims, and more about evoking a connection to rum’s history in Jamaica. It’s also one of the more affordable cocktail-inspired spa treatments you’ll find around the world, with the Rum Mocha wrap starting at just $90. There’s also a mint tea wrap, in case you’d rather focus on the non-boozy side of Jamaica’s beverage culture.
Mountain Mojito Body Treatment (Boyne Falls, Michigan)
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Michigan may not be the first place you think of when you think of mojitos, but the Spa at Boyne Mountain may be the place to change that. It offers a regionally adapted spin on cocktail-inspired spa treatments, using a rosemary cleanser, followed by a mint and lime exfoliator, bound to give the whole room an aroma of margaritas. After the exfoliation, you’ll have a gentle rosemary massage to make sure your skin soaks up as much wellness as possible.
Mint is well-known for its stimulating properties and can help reduce muscle fatigue and refresh tired skin, while lime is known to be energizing. It’s likely one of the more aromatic treatments on this list, but it doesn’t stop at just the sense of smell: every Mountain Mojito Body Treatment comes with a mojito to sip on during services, too.
The treatment starts at $185, with add-ons like scalp treatments available for an additional $10-$20.
Sake Soaking Bath (Kyoto, Japan)
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The Four Seasons Kyoto offers a “Sake Bath” treatment that draws on Japan’s centuries-old traditions of sake as a beverage and cultural tradition, as well as a skincare ingredient. Though most Westerners know it as a beverage, it’s been used as a moisturizer for centuries. In Kyoto, the 30-minute soak uses sake brewed by Kitagawa Honke, a family-owned Kyoto brewery dating to the late 1600s. The sake itself is made from highly polished rice and pure local groundwater, and packed with amino acids to hydrate while stimulating circulation.
In Japanese wellness culture, sake baths are valued not only for their physical benefits, but as a way to encourage relaxation and renewal. There’s even a belief that sake can ward off negative energy, making the treatment a chance to experience a bathing ritual unique to Japan. A sake bath costs 16,000 yen, or about $160, but it’s only available as an add-on treatment, not a stand-alone service.
Champagne Mimosa Pedicure (Fulshear, Texas)
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You don’t need to travel to an expensive destination spa to take part in the cocktail-inspired spa trend, as evidenced by Fulshear Nails & Spa in Texas. The low-key nail salon offers a $75 “Mimosa Pedicure,” using actual champagne and orange-based products. It takes the word “bubbly” literally, with a fizzy champagne soak with “Detox Volcano Crystals,” and “bubbling volcano action.” In addition to the pedicure, it includes a 15-minute leg massage, in between extra treatments like an exfoliating orange scrub, a collagen cream foot mask, and even a paraffin wax treatment. Once you’re feeling totally relaxed, you’ve still got another 10 minutes of massage on the way, which you can choose to apply to your legs or your shoulders, if you want the Mimosa-inspired goodness to spread beyond your feet.
The service is a reasonable $78, with various add-ons available. It’s one of several seasonal, cocktail-inspired spa services the salon has introduced, with Instagram indicating the winter “Espresso Martini” nail treatments were a local hit.
