Welcome to the third iteration of Vogue’s global spa guide, a compendium of the 100 best spas in the world, compiled based on first-person reviews and careful editing. This year, we’ve renewed our focus on establishments that have established a reputation for exceptional care of body and mind, though there is a great variety in the list. Whatever you are seeking when it comes to wellness, there is something here for you.
Why go here?
The elegant German spa town of Baden-Baden, nestled in the heart of the Black Forest, has been celebrated for its tranquil setting and the healing properties of its waters as far back as the time of the ancient Romans. (The name literally translates as “Baths-Baths”—so if you’re seeking some R&R, you know you’re in the right place.) And it’s lived many lives since: as a gambling hotspot for 19th-century Russians such as Chekhov and Tolstoy, a favored retreat of Queen Victoria’s, and perhaps most infamously in the British public consciousness, as the site of the “WAGs gone wild” furore surrounding the 2026 World Cup tournament. But for the past two centuries, the town’s crown jewel has been the Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa—and it’s never looked more lustrous, having just reopened its doors after a two-year, top-to-toe renovation.
During this process, particular attention was lavished upon the spa. (It’s in the name, after all.) The sprawling, five-story complex is largely located in Villa Stéphanie, a separate wing of the building housing 15 rooms and suites within a former royal residence, where you’ll find “digital detox” switches on the wall to kill the Wi-Fi and eliminate any residual “electronic smog,” as well as direct access to the medispa and various bathing facilities. That includes multiple saunas, a steam room, a hammam, a ladies-only sauna—we’re in Germany, so nudity is very much encouraged here—and a room I can only describe as a sort of enchanted forest of mosaic-decorated showers. (I was especially fond of the enormous Finnish sauna, which was set at a pleasingly scorching 90 degrees Celsius—perfect to get the body molten hot before leaping into the glacially cold plunge pool.) And that’s without mentioning the epic indoor pool, with its Roman-style frescoes and columns, and sweeping views of the leafy estate beyond and the babbling River Oos in the distance. It is, to put it simply, paradise.
What’s the vibe?
Where most of the world’s top medispas are designed within sleek colossuses of glass and steel, there’s something charmingly Old World about Brenners Park. The refurbishment, led by Countess Bergit Douglas of MM Design, has been executed with a gentle touch that preserves the Beaux-Arts spirit of the building—the richly patterned Colefax and Fowler and De Gournay wallpapers are especially ravishing—but folding in all the mod-cons you’d expect from a 21st-century hotel of this caliber. My suite for the weekend, with a terrace overlooking the dramatic foliage of towering ancient oaks and copper beeches, was decorated in a delicate palette of teal and coral with an enormous white woven cane bed swathed in Frette linens—perfect for flouncing onto after a morning wandering the city (or, in my case, a morning lounging by the pool). The spa has been given a tasteful refresh too, with fresher color palettes and contemporary artworks to contrast with the 19th-century oil paintings that line the walls of the hotel proper. This grande dame has never looked better.
The history?
It’s a long (and fairly impressive) one. Built in 1834 to serve as a hotel for the European upper crust already flocking to the city for its healing thermal springs, Brenners Park continued to thrive throughout the early 20th century, when Walt Disney, Henry Ford, and Richard Strauss were all frequent visitors. After a period of decline, it was acquired by the Oetker family in 1941 as the first property in their small but mighty hotel portfolio, which now includes icons like the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc and Le Bristol in Paris. It’s also a hotel for those of the belief that cultural pursuits are as nourishing for the soul as any spa treatment: Baden-Baden is home to the world-famous opera destination the Festspielhaus, as well as seven museums. That’s part of the reason why Brenners Park continues to attract a well-heeled, cosmopolitan crowd: many of the guests on the weekend I was there were in town to catch the premiere of a new production of Lohengrin, which made for some fabulous people watching over dinner at the hotel’s gilded, jazz age-inspired Fritz & Felix restaurant.
What should you try?
The highlight of my visit was, without a doubt, the 90-minute “mineral wellness cure,” which took place in a private spa suite—complete with an enormous four-poster bathtub—and was administered in three, equally decadent stages. First, I was slathered from head to toe in a glossy black peat mud, promising to improve circulation by forming a layer of insulation on top of the skin and target the lymphatic system to help flush out toxins. Then, after showering it off, there was a 15-minute soak in the tub, which had been enriched with mineral crystals. Finally, there was a medium-pressure massage on one of the most comfortable beds I’ve ever lain upon in my life, complete with armrests for the elbows, and my therapist’s thumbs working out the knots with the help of some Black Forest body oil. I’d been feeling pretty run down in the days before I arrived, and the treatment—followed by a few sauna sessions and cold plunges to really kickstart the engine—left me (almost) entirely restored.
What else do we need to know?
I visited the hotel in March, when it was still a little chilly, but in the summer months, there’s the option to do outdoor yoga and guided meditation sessions, as well as to head into the Black Forest for forest bathing. And while I opted for a customized facial and the mineral wellness cure treatment, there are plenty more high-tech options on the menu here, too. For that, you can visit the dedicated preventative healthcare clinic, whose program is overseen by the beloved integrative medicine practitioner Dr Harry König. With itineraries lasting between five days and two weeks (though really, they can run as long as you like), the offering spans everything from detoxes to immune system boosters, as well as sessions with in-house specialists in orthopedics to dentistry (there’s a program specifically focused on helping you relax your jaw, which sounds like something I could do with). Be warned, though: these high-intensity programs do come with the high-end price tags to match.
Who can go?
You can visit the spa at Brenners Park with a day pass or through the hotel’s Ausava Club membership scheme, which grants access to all of the sports and wellness facilities.
Booking details for Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa
Address: Schillerstraße 4/6, 76530 Baden-Baden, Germany
Read more from Vogue’s Global Spa Guide.
