The Best Spa Hotels and Wellness Retreats to Book in San Diego

Lying a little outside the city, this San Diego wellness retreat covers 265 acres (107ha) of North County with its Spanish-style mansions, gorgeous gardens and 18-hole golf course. Weave your way through climbing jasmine and bubbling fountains to the dreamy spa, where you’ll find your own private pool, waterfall whirlpool and curtained poolside cabana where you can have lunch and drinks delivered as you prepare for some serious pampering. A menu of stress-busting treatments is available, including a sensuous couple’s massage in a wood-warmed casita.

You’ll think you’ve gotten on the wrong plane and landed in Polynesia at this tropical retreat. Conjured up by an ex-Hollywood producer in the 1960s, it still looks like something out of South Pacific: all coconut fronds, tiki bungalows and lagoon-style pools. True to the theme, the spa delivers barefoot reflexology massages and Island Glow facials in tucked-away huts. Once you’ve adjusted to island time, let the days blend into one as you enjoy the resort’s five swimming pools, along with tennis courts, rental bikes, an 18-hole golf course and a full-service fitness center.

Are you ready to be wowed? This historic five-star hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter is so grand that you’d be forgiven for mistaking it for a national museum or bohemian palace. Matching the grandeur of the 1910s facade, the interior is decorated with vast chandeliers and gold-leaf details. The spa is fittingly opulent and offers an array of facials, scrubs, wraps and a dry-brush exfoliation that will combat your jet lag. After detoxifying, retox with a tipple at Rendezvous, the hotel’s French-inspired cocktail bar, followed by a seriously good dinner at the Art Deco-style Grant Grill.

Earning a coveted five-star rating in Forbes Travel Guide, this hotel spa is the pinnacle of San Diego wellness. Sample the spa’s own organic product line in an impressive range of treatments, covering everything from lymph-node drainage to special golfing massages and the ultimate, 135-minute Fundamentals of Wellness experience. Unlike many of the other spas on this list, you don’t need to be a hotel guest to access treatments here, but with San Diego’s best golf course and only Michelin-star restaurant on site, you’d be remiss not to stay the night.

Stay your way at Pendry, where personalization is the core focus. Just as you can choose from its six in-house restaurants for dinner, so can you select from a wide menu of spa treatments that are tailored to your needs. The level of pampering is off the charts – massages can be paired with soaks and wraps to create aromatic rituals that soothe the soul, while facial treatments can be tweaked to include peels, enzymes, light therapy or sonic infusions that will get you looking 10 years younger. This is one of the very best hotels that Downtown San Diego has to offer.

If you believe bigger is better, opt for the Westgate, home to AquaVie, a 40,000sqft (12,200sqm) wellness center that’s basically its own fitness village. The gym alone has more than 200 machines, and features a raft of instructor-led fitness, yoga and HIIT classes and an outdoor running track. On the pampering side, there’s a rooftop pool, hot tub and spa treatments, including some very serious-sounding facials and a whole separate list for “mommies to be.”

Located right on the bayfront, next to the San Diego Convention Center, this resort-style city hotel has all the elements to help you unwind. Exercise in the heated pool or the 24-hour fitness center featuring Peloton bikes, Cybex machines and gym equipment that can be borrowed for in-room workouts, too. Top up your vitamin D levels on the tanning deck, bubble away in the hot tub or hit the spa for a signature treatment, like a massage that utilizes hot paua shells from the South Pacific.

Named for the lifeguard tower found adjacent, this beachside luxury spa hotel in San Diego has a young and fresh feel. With names like Pacific Ocean or the Rising Tide, the spa treatments follow a coastal theme, incorporating sea salt, mud and seaweed to help you feel at one with the surroundings. Private yoga instruction and fitness consultations for singles or groups are another big plus, especially if you’re looking to return from your vacation feeling (and looking) like a new person.