Where to book a facial, body treatment, sauna or ice bath in Santa Teresa, Mal Pais and Montezuma in 2026: Skin & Soul, OM Spa, Essenttial, Aurora, Numu at Nantipa, Anamaya, re:center, Be Smart at Griss Lodge, ACTIVO and Somos, with prices, hours and how to book.
Skin & Soul Holistics in Plaza Las Palmas is the best spa in Santa Teresa for a facial in 2026, with a published menu from ₡63,000. For sauna and ice bath, re:center's $60 day pass is the most complete contrast therapy set up on the coast and ACTIVO's $30 recovery pass is the cheapest. Numu at Nantipa is the day spa for a beachfront treatment room.
The short version
Santa Teresa's spa scene splits into three. The treatment spas do facials, scrubs, wraps, and waxing alongside massage: Skin & Soul, OM Spa, Essenttial, Aurora, and the hotel spas at Nantipa (Numu), Ecocoon, and Anamaya in Montezuma. The recovery clubs sell sauna and ice bath by the session or the month: re:center, Be Smart at Griss Lodge, ACTIVO, and Somos. And the neighbourhood spas, SPA Paraiso Escondido and Costa Azul Esencial, do a treatment at a local price without a website.
Massage is covered in depth in the massage guide, so this guide is about the rest: skin, body, heat, and cold. If you want all of it packaged into a week with meals and yoga, the wellness retreats guide is the one to read.
Skin & Soul Holistics
Skin & Soul Holistics is a small spa and skincare shop in Plaza Las Palmas, beside Greenworld, in the centre of Santa Teresa, and it is the only spa in town that publishes a full facial menu in colones. Google reviews are 5.0 from 145. The shop is open 9:30am to 5pm Monday to Saturday and 10:30am to 5pm Sunday; treatments are by appointment only, booked online or on WhatsApp at +506 8771 5911.
The 2026 menu: the Essential Skin Ritual with Katherine, a one hour grounding facial, ₡63,000; the Skin Ritual with Katie, one hour of advanced care, ₡75,000; the Super Glow Facial, the signature 90 minute treatment, ₡105,000; the Soul Sanctuary Facial, two hours head to toe, ₡135,000; a 30 minute Sculpt Facial Massage, ₡50,000; and a Green Season Spa Day Retreat, two hours for ₡95,000, which is the best value on the list while it lasts. It also does sugaring hair removal and massage, and the shop stocks natural skincare, sun protection, and haircare that is hard to find elsewhere in town. Who it suits: anyone whose skin has taken three weeks of sun, salt, and sunscreen and needs a proper reset from someone who will also fix the home routine. The caveat: it is a two therapist spa, so book several days ahead in high season.
OM Spa
OM Spa is 200 metres north of the football field in Santa Teresa, open 10am to 6pm daily and to 4pm on Sunday, with a 4.7 Google rating from 84 reviews. It is a day spa in the classic sense: full body massage, body scrub therapy, wrap therapy, facial skincare, waxing with the Spanish hard wax system, and manicures and pedicures, in rooms with nature sounds and the smell of whatever oil is on that day. Reviewers come back for the massage plus scrub combination.
Prices are quoted on WhatsApp rather than published. Who it suits: a two hour scrub, wrap, and massage afternoon, and anyone who wants waxing done properly. The caveat: Sunday closes at 4pm, and with no published list you should ask for the full quote including tax before you book.
Essenttial Spa
Essenttial Spa is on the second floor next to Hotel Santa Teresa at Playa Carmen, open 10am to 6pm Monday to Saturday, closed Sunday, with a 5.0 Google rating from 77 reviews. It runs in collaboration with the hotel and pitches itself on state of the art technology and personalised treatments and therapies. Contact is +506 8838 4777 or essenttialspacr@gmail.com.
The treatment list is on the site's menu page rather than in a public price list. Who it suits: hotel guests at Playa Carmen and anyone who wants a technology led facial rather than a purely manual one. The caveat: closed Sunday, and the menu is easier to read on WhatsApp than on the site.
Aurora Spa
Aurora in Plaza Royal has run since 2019 and sells facials (purifying, deep hydration, radiance), massage in the spa or at your villa, nails, waxing, and lash and brow work, with a 15% discount for two or more services in high season and bookings confirmed within two hours. Its Rebalance and Radiate package pairs a deep tissue massage with a premium facial. Google reviews are 4.7 from 82. Hours are Monday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm or 6pm depending on season, closed Sunday. A 2026 notice on the site mentioned a temporary move to Mal Pais while the Plaza Royal space is rebuilt, so confirm the address when you book. Who it suits: a facial and massage package at your villa. The caveat: check where it is operating from before you walk to Plaza Royal.
Numu Wellness Center at Nantipa
Numu Wellness Center is the open air spa in the gardens of Hotel Nantipa, 1.5 kilometres north of the cruce on the beach, open 10am to 6pm daily, and it welcomes day visitors as well as hotel guests. Treatments happen in open air rooms, on the beachfront, poolside, or on a villa terrace, and the menu is massage, body rituals, and restorative treatments with natural products. The centre also runs daily yoga, meditation, breathwork, Pilates, and sound healing classes open to outside visitors, and it is the base for Nantipa's Blue Wellness programme built on Nicoya's Blue Zone longevity story. Google reviews are 5.0 from six.
Prices are quoted on request. Who it suits: anyone who wants a treatment with the ocean in earshot, and couples staying north of town. The caveat: hotel spa pricing, and the small review count means you are trusting the hotel's reputation rather than a long public record.
Anamaya Spa (Montezuma)
Anamaya Spa is the spa at the Anamaya resort above Montezuma, 200 metres north of the butterfly garden, and it is now open to the public by phone or WhatsApp at +506 8759 9222. Hours are 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 6pm at weekends. The published menu is the most complete on the peninsula: relaxation massage $80 for 60 minutes to $110 for 90, deep tissue and myofascial $90 to $125, hot stone and ashiatsu $100 to $135, Thai massage $135 for 90 minutes, a Japanese facial and Indian head massage $90, Chi Nei Tsang abdominal work $80, Reiki $80 to $110, plus skin and beauty treatments. The resort has a four person Clearlight far infrared sauna, free for guests in 30 minute sessions.
Who it suits: anyone staying in Montezuma, and Santa Teresa visitors making a day of the waterfalls. The caveat: it is 40 minutes from Santa Teresa by road, and the sauna is a guest perk rather than a public booking.
Ecocoon Tree-Villa Retreat and Spa
Ecocoon is a tree villa retreat in the hills above Santa Teresa with its own spa, a 4.5 Google rating from 87 reviews, and a six day realignment programme that is its main product. The spa serves the retreat first; ask on WhatsApp whether day treatments are available during your dates, because the answer depends on whether a retreat is in residence. Who it suits: people who want the spa as part of a stay. The caveat: not a walk in.
Recovery clubs: sauna and ice bath
Contrast therapy has become the thing to do here after a surf, and four places sell it by the session.
re:center Wellness Club, in the jungle north of town, is the most complete: infrared sauna, cold plunge and contrast therapy, red light therapy, PEMF grounding mats, energised oxygen, Normatec compression, a functional gym, a pool, a shala, workstations, and a farm kitchen, with daily breathwork, movement, and sound healing classes. Pricing is published and flat: a day pass is $60 for full access, a week pass $120 with unlimited functional classes and community dinners, and a month $200 with priority booking and a nervous system scan. It is open to everyone, no stay required, on WhatsApp at +506 8622 9431. It is not in the Onda directory yet.
Be Smart at Griss Lodge & Spa runs ice bath and sauna sessions at the lodge a minute's walk from Playa Santa Teresa near La Lora Amarilla, 8am to 8pm daily, with a 5.0 Google rating from 23 reviews. Be Smart is a retreat and experience operator, so ask whether the session is guided with breathwork or self serve. Prices were not published at the time of writing and its website was down, so message through the listing.
ACTIVO Fitness Center, 100 metres north of Super Hacienda, sells the cheapest recovery pass in town: $30 for a day of ice baths, a hot bath, and the sauna, $85 for a week, $135 for ten sessions, and $175 for a month, no gym membership required. Hours are 6am to 9pm Monday to Saturday and 6am to noon Sunday. Somos Sweat Den on the House of Somos campus has a cedar sauna, a cold plunge, and a sweat house, with day passes for non guests priced at the desk, 7am to 8:30pm daily. Both are covered in the gyms guide.
The neighbourhood spas
SPA Paraiso Escondido is on Calle Trébol at Playa Carmen, open 10am to 5pm daily, with a 5.0 Google rating from 24 reviews and a Facebook page rather than a website. It does massage and body treatments at prices below the hotel spas, quoted on WhatsApp. Costa Azul Esencial Spa is upstairs at Super Muralla, local 2, open 8am to 4pm Monday to Saturday, with no public reviews yet, which makes it a message first option. Both suit anyone who wants a treatment without the resort mark up and does not need the setting.
How to choose
| Place | Where | Best for | Published prices | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skin & Soul | Plaza Las Palmas | Facials, sugaring, skincare shop | Facials ₡63,000 to ₡135,000, spa day ₡95,000 | Mon to Sat 9:30 to 5, Sun 10:30 to 5 |
| OM Spa | 200 m north of football field | Scrub, wrap, waxing, massage | On request | Daily 10 to 6, Sun to 4 |
| Essenttial | Next to Hotel Santa Teresa, Playa Carmen | Tech facials, hotel guests | On request | Mon to Sat 10 to 6 |
| Aurora | Plaza Royal (confirm) | Facial and massage package, villa visits | On request, 15% off two services | Mon to Sat 10 to 5 or 6 |
| Numu at Nantipa | Nantipa gardens, north beach | Open air and beachfront treatments | On request | Daily 10 to 6 |
| Anamaya | Montezuma | Full menu, resort setting | Massage $80 to $135 | Mon to Fri 8 to 8, weekends 8 to 6 |
| re:center | Jungle north of town | Full contrast therapy and recovery club | $60 day, $120 week, $200 month | Daily, book on WhatsApp |
| Be Smart at Griss Lodge | Near La Lora Amarilla | Guided ice bath and sauna | On request | Daily 8 to 8 |
| ACTIVO | 100 m north of Super Hacienda | Cheapest sauna and ice bath | $30 day, $85 week, $175 month | Mon to Sat 6 to 9, Sun 6 to 12 |
Prices marked on request are quoted on WhatsApp, usually within a few hours. At roughly ₡500 to the dollar, Skin & Soul's ₡63,000 facial is about $125.
Practical notes
Book facials three to five days ahead in high season and the day before now, in late September. The recovery clubs take same day bookings most of the year, and ACTIVO's recovery pass can be bought in the app and used the same afternoon.
Pay in colones at the treatment spas, which price in colones; the recovery clubs price in dollars and take cards. Add 13% tax to any price that does not say it is included. Tipping 10% is appreciated at the treatment spas and not expected at the recovery clubs; the tipping guide covers the norm.
For contrast therapy, the usual routine is 15 minutes in the sauna, two to three minutes in the plunge, repeated two or three times, and it works best in the late afternoon after the surf rather than before it. Drink water, skip it if you have been drinking, and tell the guide if you have a heart condition; the ice baths here run cold.
Nails, lashes, and brows at the same spas are covered in the nail salons and lashes guide. Browse every spa, studio, and wellness business at the /directory/heal hub.
FAQ
How much does a facial cost in Santa Teresa?
Skin & Soul Holistics publishes its 2026 menu: ₡63,000 for a one hour Essential Skin Ritual, ₡75,000 for the Skin Ritual, ₡105,000 for the 90 minute Super Glow, and ₡135,000 for the two hour Soul Sanctuary, plus a ₡95,000 green season spa day. Other spas quote on WhatsApp; expect $90 to $150 for a hotel spa facial.
Where can I do an ice bath and sauna in Santa Teresa?
re:center Wellness Club north of town ($60 day pass, $120 week, $200 month) has infrared sauna, cold plunge, red light, and compression. ACTIVO sells a $30 recovery day pass for its sauna and ice baths. Be Smart runs guided sessions at Griss Lodge, and Somos Sweat Den has a cedar sauna and cold plunge with day passes at the desk.
Is there a day spa in Santa Teresa open to non guests?
Yes. Numu at Nantipa welcomes day visitors to its open air treatment rooms, Anamaya in Montezuma is now open to the public, and OM Spa, Essenttial, Skin & Soul, and Aurora are standalone day spas. Book on WhatsApp a few days ahead in high season; walk ins are rare.
Which spa is best for a couple in Santa Teresa?
Numu at Nantipa for a beachfront or poolside treatment, OM Spa for a scrub and massage afternoon, or Aurora for a facial and massage package at your villa. In Montezuma, Anamaya's resort setting and full menu suit a day trip to the waterfalls. Ask about two person rooms when you book.
How do sauna and ice bath sessions work here?
Most places run 15 minutes of sauna followed by two to three minutes in the plunge, repeated two or three rounds, in the late afternoon after the surf. ACTIVO and re:center are self guided with staff on hand; ask Be Smart whether its sessions are guided. Bring a towel and swimwear, hydrate, and skip it after alcohol.
What is the cheapest sauna and ice bath in Santa Teresa?
ACTIVO's Re-ACT recovery pass at $30 a day, $85 a week, or $175 a month, no gym membership needed. re:center's $60 day pass costs more but includes red light, compression, the gym, the pool, and classes, and its $200 month works out cheaper than ACTIVO's if you use it most days.
