Italy has just been named the World's Best Spa Destination for 2026 at the 12th World Spa Awards, and the win goes deeper than a national trophy. Three of the country's wellness retreats picked up major individual titles, giving spa-minded travellers a ready-made itinerary from the Dolomites to Tuscany.
Top of the list is Lefay Spa World at Lefay Resort and Spa Dolomiti in Pinzolo, which took the 'World's Best Resort Spa' title. The facility stretches across more than 5,000 square metres and pairs alpine views with a serious sauna setup: nine saunas organised into five different circuits, plus indoor and outdoor pools and personalised treatments. It's a repeat award-winner, so expectations are high — and apparently met.
Near Rome, Palazzo Fiuggi held onto its crown as 'World's Best Wellness Retreat'. Its 6,000 square metres of facilities split into two styles of stay: a medical track with cryotherapy, IV drips and blood analysis, or a gentler wellness programme featuring saunas, sound healing and light therapy. The centrepiece is a reproduction of ancient Roman baths, so you can soak much as people did two millennia ago — with considerably better plumbing.
The most atmospheric winner might be Grotta Giusti Thermal Spa Resort in Monsummano Terme, Tuscany, named 'World's Best Thermal Grotto Spa 2026'. The spa sits partly inside the largest natural thermal grotto in Europe, on the grounds of the former family villa of poet Giuseppe Giusti. Inside, zones are named Paradise, Purgatory and Hell, with temperatures climbing from 28°C to 34°C as you descend among stalactites and stalagmites. At the bottom lies Limbo, a warm thermal lake holding a steady 36°C — a natural steam bath in genuinely dramatic surroundings.
Italy wasn't the only name called. The full winners' list also included the Guerlain Wellness Spa at the Waldorf Astoria New York, the Six Senses brand, and the Asaya Spa at Rosewood Mandarina in Mexico.
Why it matters: wellness travel keeps growing, and awards like this are a useful shortcut for anyone planning a trip where the spa is the point rather than an add-on. Italy's trio covers three very different styles — a mountain resort, a medical retreat and a historic thermal cave — so there's an option whether you want hiking between treatments, a clinical health reset, or something you can't experience anywhere else.
