How a Winter Spa Visit Can Boost Your Cold Weather Wellness

Picture this: Trees glisten with new-fallen snow. The calming silence is pierced only by a single birdsong. And steam rising from the heat of a pool creates an atmosphere of absolute serenity where Microsoft Teams is quickly forgotten. If this sounds perfect, a wintertime spa visit is for you.

Spas deliver relaxing, recentering and holistic treatments year-round, but often, they’re considered warm-weather destinations. However, cold weather and wintertime treatments have many advantages.

In winter, changes in barometric pressure, decreases in blood circulation and reduced physical activity are common, leading to muscle and joint pain. Winter sports put pressure on your body’s systems in different ways than summer pastimes. And routine activities, such as snow removal, require tiring physical exertion.

Konstantin Volkmar/Forestis Dolomiti

The list of benefits of wintertime spa treatments is long. Tight muscles and sore joints can be soothed by massage while also improving circulation. The warmth of a spa can also assist with blood flow.

White blood cell counts can be boosted by treatments, which can aid in warding off sickness, while the heat from a sauna can mimic a fever, triggering your body’s immune system and enhancing its ability to respond to germs and diseases when they present themselves.

Heading into 2026, spas are looking to attract guests by emphasizing their benefits as year-round destinations. “Spas are evolving into holistic wellness hubs that blend personalization, technology and nature to support long-term health and, crucially, emotional balance,” Joe McDonnell, director, WGSN Insight, the world’s largest trend forecasting company, told Newsweek.

He continued: “In response to the rising stress and digital fatigue defining 2025, people are seeking experiences that restore both mind and body while offering mindful ways to connect with each other. Social wellness is becoming a major driver, with more people visiting spas together and drawing inspiration from communal traditions like Russian banyas and Japanese onsens. These spaces are increasingly designed for shared rituals, fostering both individual rejuvenation and collective well-being.”

How destinations offer clients desirable spa experiences is also changing. Neil Jacobs, founder of the Wild Origins advisory collective and creative studio, told Newsweek: “Wellness today goes far beyond massages and facials. Longevity, performance and personalized health are driving the conversation. The most forward-thinking spas are expanding their offerings, integrating advanced modalities, expert-led programming and immersive experiences.”

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Some spas are bringing in guest speakers who specialize in New Age or Old World relaxation techniques, hosting retreats with social media influencers or putting together a menu of treatments meant for whole body resets that go beyond traditional spa offerings.

Jacobs explained further, saying, “Winter is an ideal moment to lean into restorative and regenerative programming. Cold exposure can be incredibly beneficial; think contrast therapy, hydrotherapy and group cold-plunge sessions. Paired with expert-led lectures, targeted treatments and wellness education, winter programming offers hotels an opportunity to create something both seasonal and truly transformative.”

Location is key, and each region of the world has a unique take on the wintertime spa experience. “In the winter season, our variety of saunas, heat and cold therapies and recovery treatments are particularly popular as après-ski therapy,” Lefay Resorts’ SPA Director Fabrizio Castellani told Newsweek.

“Our spa menus are crafted locally by intuitive spa managers and feature products from regional artisan suppliers, including Seaflora Skincare at Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge, verité spa skincare at Huka Lodge and alkeme in our Australian spas,” Craig Bradbery, Baillie Lodges chief operating officer, told Newsweek.

Baillie Lodges owns five properties in Australia, one in New Zealand, one in Canada and two in Chile.

“These spas offer guests the choice of relaxation or resetting and regenerating, offering moments that linger well beyond the treatment room. Whether it’s a cold plunge in nature at Clayoquot, an exhilarating ice contrast shower at Huka Lodge or a rainforest bath under the rainforest canopy on your private deck at Silky Oaks Lodge, the experience is immersive, elemental and unforgettable.”

Now that wellness destinations are stepping up emphasis on year-round spa treatments, tour guides and travelers are starting to take notice. “We’re seeing more and more in the restorative travel space: spa and sauna escapes that feel indulgent yet grounding. Our clients are craving stillness and sensory connection, not just another getaway. They want to come home feeling replenished, not exhausted,” Whitney Haldeman, founder of Atlas Adventures, a luxury group travel company for women, told Newsweek.

She points toward Scandinavia, the first region many think of when they think of a wintertime spa experience. She said: “Scandinavia continues to set the tone. Finland’s Arctic Bath in Lapland and Kuru Private Resort in Rantasalmi, eastern Finland, are great examples: glass cabins, floating saunas and total immersion in nature. Iceland, too, has evolved with newer openings like The Retreat at Blue Lagoon and ION Adventure Hotel, both in Iceland, which both blend stark landscapes with architectural minimalism and slow-living rituals that resonate with today’s traveler.”

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But there are other regions delivering luxury spa experiences each winter as well. “In Europe, winter spa travel has become something of an art form. The Aqua Dome in [Oberlängenfeld,] Austria, and Bürgenstock Resort in [Obbürgen,] Switzerland, offer that cinematic Alpine spa experience, while [Brixen,] Italy’s Forestis Dolomites (my personal favorite) is serene, sustainable and designed to help guests sync with the natural rhythm of the mountains,” Haldeman said.

Canada’s outdoor spas echo those in Scandinavia. Vettä Nordic Spa in Ontario offers a Finnish spa experience, while Mysa Nordic Spa & Resort on Prince Edward Island and Oceanstone’s Hydrothermal Nordic Spa in Nova Scotia deliver treatments inspired by Scandinavian ritual.

Japan’s onsens are ingrained as part of the country’s cultural landscape, with the practice of soaking in them dating back to the sixth century. “The onsen culture there is so beautifully ritualistic. Properties like Amanemu in Ise-Shima and Hoshinoya Kyoto bring a refined, almost spiritual approach to the concept of restoration. It’s luxury redefined through stillness and ceremony,” Haldeman shared.

Urban spas offer a different kind of wintertime escape. “Winter invites a slower rhythm. Guests crave warmth, comfort and renewal, and our Winter Spa offers a place to reset physically and emotionally while snow falls quietly outside,” said Chanel Lyrick, winter spa manager at The William Vale in Brooklyn, New York.

“What makes it truly special are the panoramic [wooden] barrel saunas, where guests can unwind with glimpses of Brooklyn and the Manhattan skyline. There’s just something cinematic about soaking in a hot tub as steam rises into the crisp air and the cold brushes your shoulders and face,” she said.

Spas in Courchevel in the French Alps and beyond welcome guests looking to recuperate and be rejuvenated from their days on the ski slopes. The L’Apogée Courchevel is primed for après ski while Arosa, Switzerland’s Tschuggen Grand Hotel Arosa provides an escape from other skiers on the famed Weisshorn mountain.

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Upstate New York and Canada are home to spas opened at estates built and expanded during the Gilded Age by figures familiar to students of history. The Ranch’s Hudson Valley location was built for J.P. Morgan’s family in the early 1900s. Ontario’s Ste. Anne’s is on grounds once owned by the Blaffer family, whose patriarch Robert was one of the founders of Humble Oil, which was affiliated with John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil and later became part of Exxon, now ExxonMobil.

The Ranch’s programs evolve with the seasons. Its Winter Wellness Program offers sledding and snowshoeing, snow permitting, while indoor activities like pool-based fitness classes, Pilates, manifestation sessions and breathwork are available.

“Programming is everything. We’re seeing a surge in retreats, festivals and specialized wellness activations designed to drive visitation during shoulder and winter seasons. From biohacking tools like Technogym’s new body scanner to hyperbaric chambers and immersive workshops, hotels are curating experiences that go well beyond traditional spa offerings,” Jacobs said.

Six Senses resorts is embracing this trend, offering retreats, programs and visiting practitioners that push beyond traditional spa offerings. Its Crans-Montana, Switzerland, location delivers a feast for the eyes and soul. In the winter, steep mountains covered in snow are a backdrop for treatments including those specialized for women and pets.

Other spas are leaning into promotion of their recently remodeled facilities as wintertime draws near. Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada’s Banff National Park, has just undergone a refresh with the installation of the BASIN Glacial Waters thermal bathing experience, which sits on a ledge overlooking the snowy peaks of Mount St. Piran, Fairview Mountain and Devil’s Thumb.

Though located in some of the most beautiful surrounds that nature offers, Haldeman believes there’s more to wintertime spa bookings than escapism. “I think the popularity of these experiences reflects a broader movement: Travelers aren’t just chasing beauty, they’re craving balance that our fast-paced world lacks. And with summer being such a period of travel focused on fun, the appeal of winter spa escapes is one that gives permission to slow down, rest and reflect.”