13 Spas for the best Massage in Cape Town & Beyond.

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You want to get pampered and find the best massage in Cape Town? You have come to the right place! I think it has been well established that I am a sucker for massages and spa treatments in general. I found this obsession somewhat late in life and it seems I am now making up for lost time. 

A few of my favorite countries in the world, Bali, Sri Lanka, and Thailand are massage central and well-known for their great and inexpensive spas that will rub you into oblivion as well as extensive Ayurveda retreats.

You can see, I have been spoiled when it comes to massages and wellness in the last year. So when it was time to start my annual Cape Town trip in December, I knew I had to come up with something so I wouldn’t get massage withdrawals. 

Since my all-time favorite Cape Town spa, Petticoat Parlour, had closed I started to look around for new places to test for the best massage in Cape Town. 

I came up with a list, checked it twice and started to book appointments at spas in Cape Town that piqued my interest. All in the name of research of course! Just so if you are planning a Cape Town holiday and need some R&R to help you get over your jetlag or a strenuous Table Mountain hike you know where to go. 

My favorite places for a Massage in Cape Town

One & Only Spa

I have long dreamed of visiting the One & Only Spa in Cape Town at the Waterfront. This year, it finally happened, and my friend and I got invited for a spa day. 

As if heading to the One & Only wasn’t exciting enough, their spa is located on its own little island – going there feels like a proper holiday. The spa is beautifully designed by Muza Lab, inspired by what they call the Southern skies. Think ocean vibes and the stars above, making for a cool oasis of total relaxation – they even offer full moon rituals if you are so inclined. 

Usually, the sun is out when the magic happens at the One & Only Spa. They have a total of 13 treatment rooms as well as a small sauna/ jacuzzi/ steam room area and a relaxation room for after. Here you will also find the changing rooms with luxurious robes, plush slippers, and of course, a Dyson. 

On the spa menu, various treatments are offered under the motto of nature, aesthetic, glow, vitality, and soothe. They also have treatments for mothers-to-be, couples, waxing, and nails. Especially if you are new to Cape Town, the nature treatments are perfect as they were exclusively curated for One & Only using indigenous ingredients and authentic Southern African techniques. 

We opted for the ESPA natural face lift and the strength & resilience massage, both 90-minute treatments. Now, if you know me at all, I am a sucker for a good face massage, and as I am currently not in the market for a face lift, this facial was made for me. It not only includes cleansing, a scrub, and a mask but also a long face massage inspired by Japanese Kobido. Unfortunately, I did fall asleep, making 90 minutes fly by. I think this just means I have to come back… 

As a non-hotel guest, you usually can’t use the One & Only’s stunning pool, which is also located on the island. So either book a room or book the Island Indulgence experience they are currently running. This includes a 90-minute treatment, lunch at Isola, and all-day pool access. 

• Book a room at One & Only Cape Town: Booking / Agoda

Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa

When it comes to views, few hotels in Cape Town can keep up with the 12 Apostles between Camps Bay and Hout Bay. 

The 12 Apostles Spa area is twofold: the main part in a separate building from the hotel comes with a beautiful grotto/ pool/ chill-out area and various treatment rooms. They also have two Spa Mountain Gazebos outdoors that are used for massages when the weather is nice. Each guest has access to a Health Bar buffet and the use of hot and cold plunge pools is available for all half- and full-day packages.

All treatment rooms are named after a Cape plant. On the spa menu: various facials, massages, and body scrubs with traditional and signature treatments. One of their highlights is the Tata Harper treatments, a beloved Canadian skincare brand. 

I went in for a Tata Harper Skin Solution Facial. Perfect if you are not sure what your skin needs as the therapist will do a thorough analysis of your skin first before customizing your treatment. And best of all: no waiting around while masks do their work – you will get a hand and a head massage while you wait! 

If you are heading to the 12 Apostles for a spa treatment in Cape Town, I recommend you go in the afternoon so you can nip up to the Leopard Bar for a sundowner and some sushi after. 

• Book a room at 12 Apostles: Booking / Agoda

Africology Spa Constantia

What started as an all-natural product line made in a residential kitchen, has become a major South African skincare line: Africology. The approach is holistic, the products are all cruelty-free and mostly vegan, and in addition to retail shops, they also have their own spas. 

As some may know I have a soft spot for Constantia so when I read that Africology had opened a new spa there I was keen to check it out. While not technically a Cape Town spa if you are coming from Sea Point, their latest venture is well worth the trip.

The spa is beautiful and set in a little garden, with just the right mix of elegance and a bit of woo-woo – crystals, affirmations, and angel cards are just part of the experience. Mind you, you don’t have to believe in any of it and can just enjoy the treatments as they unfold their magic. 

I went for a Lymph Drainage & Cellular Activation Massage something I have never had before. My treatment started with a 3-minute facial steam, followed by 10 minutes in their infrared sauna. Afterward, it was time for the massage which included cupping, cold stones, and icepacks to detox the body and help my lymph nodes to regenerate and flow. I did feel like I was floating after, that much I know. 

Once you are done with your treatment you can sit or lay on their Labradorite crystal to heal, meditate, and manifest or stroll through their lovely garden in the back. 

Fresh Wellness The Cellars Hohenort

The Cellars Hohenort is one of my favorite hotels in Cape Town thanks to their incredible gardens and their world-renowned restaurant The Greenhouse. While the latter comes with a rather steep price tag (very worth it!) you can enjoy the gardens for free. Hidden in the Constantia Valley it is worth the trip if only to breathe some green air. 

WINE TASTING IN CONSTANTIA, CAPE TOWN.

While you are there you should stop at their Fresh Wellness Spa. Next to the tennis court and behind some rose bushes you will find one of the best spas in Cape Town: intimate with lots of chic greys and whites and an impressive Nespresso selection (honestly how great is a spa which offers you herbal tea OR coffee after your treatment?!). 

I was with spa manager Chervon who had booked me in for their Signature Fresh Facial with an added face massage. I don’t get facials very often as I am incredibly picky who and what I let on my skin and while I have no problem getting a $10 massage I wouldn’t go for a $10 facial. So for me, facials are the ultimate luxury and this one took the cake. 

Even without the extra massage, the facial starts with a back and neck massage, officially combining the best of both worlds. And once the mask was doing its magic, Chervon was working on my hands and feet. 

Next to the usual peeling and a bit of squeezing I got an amazing face massage with a Gua Sha next. This rose quartz roller is used in Chinese medicine for antiaging and increased blood circulation. I loved it so much I immediately put one on my birthday wishlist.

While I left with a big zit I came with thanks to a youthful bout of PMS, the rest of my skin felt and looked absolutely amazing. And needless to say, I had a nice nap during the massage part of the facial and was super relaxed afterward. 

• Book a room at Cellars Hohenort: Booking / Agoda

Face Cult

I discovered Face Cult last year when I lived in Seapoint and immediately became a fan. If you are looking for the best face massage in Cape Town, this is it! 

Similar to my beloved Maison Ysea in Bangkok, they offer various face massages like gua sha, lymphatic, or sculptural (or a mix) as well as buccal if you dare. You can also add a facial cleansing.

They have recently moved to a new building in Sea Point with more treatment rooms. Rooms are simple and cozy with nice amenities for after your message. 

I usually go for the gua sha or sculptural and love them both. Their therapists are trained in-house and are all incredibly kind and wonderful at what they do. For someone who loves the massage part of any facial best, their treatments are simply the best. You will leave not only super relaxed and glowing but with a visibly tighter jaw line and a younger-looking face. And if that is all in my head – who cares when it feels so good? 

Wonderland Cape Town

If you are not looking for a regular spa in Cape Town but rather an experience, Wonderland is the place for you. 

Where Luxury Meets Community is their motto, and though I’d call it weird and wonderful. Wonderland is part guesthouse, part retreat center, spa, and Neverland. The property sits between Constantia and Hout Bay, making it feel like a perfect getaway but still close enough to the city. 

And as soon as you step inside, you will realize why it is called Wonderland. Crooked trees, various bodies of water, including a pool with a slide, statues, and koi everywhere. The building resembles a castle and a hobbit house at the same time, and the spa is appropriately located in the former wine cellar. Stone walls with glass windows overlook a sort of aquarium with even more koi, and the setting is equally witchy and cozy. 

Prices are definitely on the high end for a Cape Town massage, so I chose the Kahuna Massage, something I never had before. It is based on ancient Hawaiian healing and is done with flowing forearm strokes, and is very intuitive. Perfect if you know your body needs fixing but can’t quite point out the issue.

They also offer maderotherapy and Brazilian Contour as well as couples and regular massages. 

While Wonderland offers no facials or such, you can pay a bit extra to use their sauna, gym, and pool facilities. That said, I’d probably rather go to ShuShu sauna on the beach and just come for a massage afterward. 

• Book a room at Wonderland: Booking / Agoda

Amani Spa at Radisson Blu Waterfront

The Radisson Collection at the Waterfront in Cape Town is probably the hotel with the best location in town and has incredible views over Granger Bay. The smell of the ocean, cheeky seagulls, yachts, and dolphins are on the agenda here. I recommend you stay for lunch or a drink on their terrace after a visit to the Amani Spa. 

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While the spa doesn’t offer any ocean views it offers ocean wallpaper, a contemporary version of those palm trees on a white sandy beach wallpaper from the 80s. 

Change into a fluffy robe and slippers and enjoy their lounge area first where you can take a dip, have some cucumber water, and catch up on the latest gossip magazines. From here your therapist will lead you to one of their aptly named treatment rooms: calm or bliss. 

I had a 60-minute classic Swedish massage which was absolutely heavenly – I marked my stress level on my consultation form as medium and my therapist Conny promised to take it down to zero which she did. She checked in about the right pressure often and did a great job focussing on the areas that needed attention. I may or may not have drooled through my donut a bit. 

Afterward, she showed me to the salt room. The salt room offers 45-minutes sessions and salt therapy helps with a seriously impressive list of ailments and allergies. It is a dry room meaning you can keep your cozy robe and are even allowed to bring your phone. I appreciate a spa that is okay with phones as personally, it makes me quite antsy at times to lock it away especially on a Monday morning when my inbox is busy. I like to multitask with emails and getting more calm at the same time! 

• Book a room at Radisson Collection Waterfront: Booking / Agoda

Cape Grace Spa

The Cape Grace must be one of my favorite hotels in Cape Town. It is world-renowned and stars & starlets, politicians, and those who appreciate its old-world charm come here to stay. In addition, my cousin used to work here for a long time and I used to get the occasional birthday treat at the wonderful spa. 

I guess for such a big hotel the spa is small but personally, I love that. The salon has some comfortable loungers, a sauna and a steam room, and wonderful views over Table Mountain. Best of all for me: a little snack bar! 

The treatment rooms are small and cozy with the most comfortable massage beds. For the Kalahari Rolling Sands oil massage, you can pick your smell from their Kalahari range – natural African products and smells for the win! You could assume that I tire of massages but I simply don’t and my back was in heaven – gotta love a therapist who can get all the knots out, even those you didn’t know you had. 

My massage was followed by a QMS Activator facial. They also call it the bridal facial as your skin will be plump and glowing afterward. In addition to gentle cleansing and a slightly terrifying but effective full face mask, I also got an oxygen treatment. Air tickles galore (I am ticklish in the oddest places!) but apparently nothing makes your skin younger looking. And while the treatments didn’t come with a groom, I did leave feeling on cloud nine. 

• Book a room at Cape Grace: Booking / Agoda

Enmasse

For me, the best Cape Town massage is available at Enmasse. I came across them when I was looking for a last-minute appointment at a spa near me and was happy to discover that they were located just up the road from where I lived and worked in Gardens.

Their unique concept sees massages as a way of life and not as an occasional luxury. Therefore they offer membership programs, are open 7 days a week until late, and you can usually get an appointment on pretty short notice.

On their menu, you will find a mix between Shiatsu, Thai & Reflexology as well as oil massages. However, their dry massages are what they are best known for. Just like a Thai massage, there is a lot of stretching and some poking involved, but you will walk on clouds afterwards. 

The interior is what I imagine heaven looks like: a big room with high dark blue ceilings and little white mattresses with partitions. You are dressed in white linen pants and a t-shirt, and your therapist may cover you in blankets for added coziness.

They also have an awesome tea bar, and you can buy your favorite varieties there, as well as a linen spray that smells so wonderful, you may want to buy a couple if you are only in Cape Town for a holiday.

While I think the facilities could use a bit of a refurbish by now, Enmasse still offers some of the best and cheapest massages in Cape Town – you can book a 1.5 hour massage for less than R 800!

The Beauty Spot

It seems like I am constantly searching for a place to get a good wax wherever I go. And once I have found a favorite place they always close. This happened to me so many times however now I hope I have found a spa in Cape Town that is here to stay. 

The Beauty Spot is not fancy by any means but they are apparently the oldest spa in Sea Point (thus me hoping they will last). I was looking for a spa near me when I was staying there. It’s location on Main Road is really nothing to write home about when it comes to the interior but their treatments are well-priced and the therapists are lovely. And they know what they are doing, hugely important when you go for a wax or brow lamination. 

So while I wouldn’t go there for a whole day of pampering, I think it is the perfect Cape Town spa for a quick wax or a facial. 

The best spas in the Winelands

If you don’t mind traveling just a little further head to the Winelands where you will find some absolutely beautiful spas in Stellenbosch and the surrounding vineyards.

Vergenoegd Löw Spa

Vergenoegd Löw is a beautiful wine farm in Stellenbosch that has recently come into new ownership. Just as well because it now feels like a proper destination for a day trip if you want a bit more than just wine tasting. 

One highlight, wines excluded, is their Indian Runner Ducks that can often be spotted running towards the dam. Another is Clara’s Barn, one of the best Stellenbosch restaurants as well as the Vergenoegd Löw Spa.

The rooms are housed in the restored farm slave quarters and are beautiful. They have a lounge/ waiting area as well as a couple of treatment rooms including two couple rooms. The setting is cozy and airy at the same time, the perfect Stellenbosch spa for a hot summer’s day or to keep warm in winter. 

Products used are from local suppliers and a highlight on the spa menu is the milk bath, of course, served with a glass of bubbly. 

Massages are incredibly well-priced and you can choose between a Swedish, Hot Stone, or Aromatherapy massage. They also offer a pregnancy massage. Whichever one you choose, chances are you will be off to Lalaland pretty quickly because the massage tables are just that comfortable and the therapists just this good. 

Delaire Graff Spa

Okay, so technically if you are looking for one of the best Cape Town spas, the Delaire Graff Spa may not qualify as it is in Stellenbosch. But if you wanted more than a quick back rub, I recommend you make a day of it and head over there because it is not just an incredible day spa but also one of the most beautiful vineyards in Stellenbosch. 

The drive from Cape Town isn’t the greatest, to be honest thanks to loads of constructions on the 310 but the final part leading up to Delaire Graff is pretty and once you are there all will be forgotten. 

The spa is next to their Asian themed restaurant Indochine and the first thing you will notice is a very special smell, their signature scent which is used in all the rooms. It reminded me of my favorite hotels in Dubai which meant the spa and I were off to a good start. 

Delaire Graff had chosen a very special treatment for me: the Black Pearl Body Illumination therapy which included a scrub and a full body massage with 24-carat gold body butter. Wow. I was a bit concerned I might be underdressed with my Birkenstocks but luckily neither my therapist nor the gold cared. While gold apparently has anti-aging properties I was a bit disappointed to see that the body butter was neither very shiny nor golden. But I was told that this didn’t matter, after all, it is the inside that counts! 

After my skin was scrubbed soft and after a quick shower, it was time for my massage. I am slowly but surely becoming an expert on massage beds and this one was extraordinary. Not only was it very soft and heated (didn’t think I would enjoy that as much as I did because it was 35 degrees outside) but once it was time to turn on my back, my therapist adjusted the back- and leg rest ever so slightly so my arched spine and wonky knee didn’t bother me at all and made it even more relaxing. 

She also spent some extra time on my hands, something this writer always loves and appreciates. Let’s just say it was probably the most relaxing two hours I have had all year and since I hadn’t been sleeping well, something I desperately needed.

KEEP CALM & GO WINE TASTING IN STELLENBOSCH.

Afterward, I had lunch and chilled on the pool terrace of the spa which comes with stunning views over the area and was probably the best place to be in the scorching Stellenbosch temperatures.

They have a small lunch menu available which is served poolside if you want. Alternatively, you can head to one of their main restaurants or in my case, go winetasting. 

• Book a room at Delaire Graff: Booking / Agoda

Lanzerac Spa

During my last visit to Stellenbosch, I stayed at Lanzerac, a beautiful old wine farm and hotel. One of the best perks of staying there besides the free mini bar – you get to use their spa facilities. 

A beautiful pool, a jacuzzi, and a stunning view over the mountains and the vineyard are all part of the experience. As far as treatments go, they offer a huge array of spa packages including the use of TheraVine^TM products and the unique Pinotage Massage. This one is a must if you are heading to a spa in the Winelands and is only available at Lanzerac Spa.

Book a room at Lanzerac: Booking / Agoda