Summer snow, winter warmth

August 20, 2024 - Six Senses likes to mix things up when it comes to aquatic therapy. Take the plunge in Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Portugal, and Kyoto with locally inspired hot and cold spa treatments to reinvigorate your senses.

Turn up the heat, turn down the tension. Submerge in cold water, emerge revitalized. It is this sweet spot between the contrast of temperatures that makes a water treatment experience an invigorating and powerful aid to healing, helping to reduce muscle tension, alleviate pain and stress, bolster the immune system, aid detoxification, and boost mindset and mood.

As Anna Bjurstam, Six Senses Wellness Pioneer, shares, “Through my journey, I've discovered that the path to longevity is enriched by the powerful interplay of hot and cold thermal therapies to enhance our body's resilience and vitality.”

Discover the therapeutic benefits of cryotherapy and thermotherapy treatments through practices, including Swiss saunas and flotation pods, underwater sound therapy, grottos, igloos, ice fountains, cold plunge, Watsu, and more.

Float into Aqua Bliss in our Saudi Arabian Desert Oasis

Launching this summer, Aqua Bliss at Six Senses Spa Southern Dunes, The Red Sea blends the mesmerizing desert surroundings with the restorative power of water therapy to create a harmonious journey for body and soul.

Our Vitality Pool, positioned in the heart of the resort, becomes the stage for a blissful treatment. Once you are immersed in the soothing warm waters, our skilled wellness hosts guide you through the session accompanied by singing bowls. Steeped in ancient healing traditions, singing bowls produce deep, resonant tones that vibrate and carry through both air and water.

The water amplifies the sound waves, creating melodies designed to facilitate deep relaxation and bring about a meditative state, harmonizing the vibrational frequencies of your body and mind with the stillness of the surrounding environment. Aqua Bliss promises to be a unique multi-sensory experience, creating a serene energy and tranquil tone to help release tension, foster inner peace, and promote a heightened sense of well-being throughout your stay.

Stimulate the five senses with the Sauna Meisters in Switzerland



Six Senses Spa Crans-Montana's inspiring 2,000-square-meter space offers a unique sauna experience featuring Aufguss ceremonies, a multi-sensory wellness ritual combining music, storytelling, temperature variations, aromas, and dance, led by skilled Sauna Meisters. Aufguss enhances the benefits of a sauna session, leaving you feeling mentally and physically revived.

Along with the traditional Finnish Sauna, you might like to try a session in the Rock Sauna that draws inspiration from the surrounding granite peaks to sweat out toxins. The Bio Salt Sauna, adorned with rose pink Himalayan salt bricks, a crystal known as the master healer, further enhances detoxification and improves focus.

Additionally, the fast-acting Infrared Sauna directly heats your body to reduce joint pain and improve cardiovascular health — the perfect post-hike or après-ski remedy — while the cold plunge and ice fountain stimulate circulation and oxygen uptake, boosting your immune system and gently exfoliating your skin.

Try Journey to Restore, our restorative spa treatment designed to ease stress and help you regain lost strength and energy. Begin by experiencing the weightlessness of our state-of-the-art floatation pod followed by a balancing full-body massage using warm grape seed pillows to leave you with a new sense of equilibrium.

From Infrared to Igloo with a Portuguese Forest Backdrop



Serene relaxation blends with the picturesque rolling hills and vineyards at Six Senses Spa Douro Valley. Enter the Vitality Suite for a centering Himalayan Salt Sauna to amplify focus, Herbal Therapy Sauna to recharge your body, and a classic dry-heat Panoramic Sauna session replete with forest views. Add an Infrared sauna and hot steam for a deep and invigorating cleanse, interspersed with a cold bucket shower, ice session at the Igloo, or full dunk in the Cryotherapy bath.

Our indoor pool is no ordinary pool, as it enhances relaxation through underwater sound therapy, color therapy, and massage jets. Go one step further with a water-based Sound Massage with Tibetan Bowls. Here, you will release your inner water baby, feeling the vibrations of the singing bowls through the transcendent portal of water. Supported by comfortable floats and embracing weightlessness to induce a state of unparalleled calm, this treatment is enhanced with a blend of healing aromatherapy oils combined with a relaxing foot massage to take you on an aquatic journey to inner peace that leaves you floating out of the spa.

Discover Japanese Zen culture in Kyoto’s only Watsu pool

Six Senses Spa Kyoto’s take on the art of Zen incorporates smart science, traditional healing, and Japanese culture into a unique wellness experience. With its wood and stone finish and light and airy vibe, you’ll want to hit pause on your action-packed sightseeing schedule and set aside some self-care time in our biophilic cocoon.

Equipped with Kyoto’s only pool dedicated to Watsu (Aquatic Bodywork), one of the many wellness highlights on offer is a transformative and Zen-like water therapy treatment. Watsu is an immersive healing experience for both body and mind, making it especially effective in addressing chronic pain, joint stiffness, arthritis, stress, and sleep disorders.

Soothing sounds and lapping water combine with an all-over fluid body treatment using massage and stretching techniques to help soften muscles, stretch tissues and open energy pathways to increase mobility and flexibility, and release stored emotions.

Finish your session in the Herbal Tea lounge with a crafted herbal tea blended with plants that reflect Japan’s 24 micro-seasons, or sekki, from Risshun (beginning of spring) in early February right through until Daikan (greater cold) the following January.

Pioneering Wellness

A final word from Anna our Wellness Pioneer on the power of hot and cold therapy as a stepping stone to transformation not only on a personal level but also as a communal act, “I believe that when we share these transformative experiences as a community, we not only improve our individual health but also strengthen our collective well-being.”