World Spa Awards 2026: here are the Nordics' award-winning spas

Scandiweekends redaktion · 6 October 2026

World Spa Awards has announced winners in the spa and wellness industry for the twelfth consecutive year. In addition to the global categories, awards are given out country by country, and in the four Nordic countries covered by Scandiweekend, there were five winners: a hotel spa in each country plus a resort spa in Norway.

The list is eclectic in a good way. Here, you'll find a Japanese-inspired bathhouse, a mountain spa at 800 meters elevation, a restored art deco bath, a spa hotel from the 1800s, and a newly opened luxury hotel that has built its spa around the Finnish sauna. The common thread is that all can be visited over a weekend.

How the award works

World Spa Awards is operated by the same organization behind World Travel Awards. It is free to nominate oneself, and nominations can come from both the industry and the public. Winners are then determined through an open online voting process in which both industry professionals and travelers vote, and the nominees are offered the chance to purchase a promotional package to gather votes.

This means that the award says more about how popular and well-known a spa is – and how actively it campaigns – than an anonymous review of the sort that the Michelin Guide conducts, for example. An award is thus a good indication, but not the whole picture. It's also worth noting that three of the five Nordic winners are owned by the same hotel group, Nordic Hotels & Resorts.

Sweden: Yasuragi, Stockholm

Yasuragi in Hasseludden, about 20 minutes from central Stockholm, won the title of Sweden's best hotel spa – according to the owner for the seventh time. The building was designed by Japanese architect Yoji Kasajima in the early 1970s as a conference center, in concrete and wood and adapted to the terrain. It became a hotel only in 1997, and the Japanese concept evolved from the architecture rather than the other way around.

The heart of the spa is a bathhouse of about 1,200 square meters inspired by an onsen: cleansing rituals first, then warm and cold pools, salt vapor, and outdoor baths in several levels with views of the archipelago. Guests wear yukata throughout their stay, and the days are filled with qigong, yoga, and meditation.

Norway: Norefjell Ski & Spa – best resort spa

Norefjell Ski & Spa is located at about 800 meters elevation, under two hours by car from Oslo, and has won the category of Norway's best resort spa nine times since it was introduced in 2017. The spa area is situated at the top of the hotel with warm hot tubs both indoors and outdoors, Finnish sauna, infrared sauna, warm and cold pools, and regular aufguss sessions. The spa is for guests over 18 years old, and entry must be booked in advance.

The location also has history: it was the site of the downhill and giant slalom during the Winter Olympics in 1952. In winter, you can ski directly from the door, while the rest of the year hiking trails begin at the hotel.

Norway: Vestkantbadet at Sommerro – best hotel spa

Vestkantbadet opened in 1932 as a bathhouse for the Frogner district in Oslo, designed in art deco style by Andreas Bjerke and Georg Eliassen. After a five-year renovation, it reopened in 2023 as part of Sommerro, the hotel in the former headquarters of Oslo Lysverker's power station. The original tiles, changing rooms, and Per Krohg's large mosaic are retained, complemented by cold baths, an infrared sauna, and treatment rooms – and a pool and sauna with views of the Oslofjord on the roof.

The category of Norway's best hotel spa is only two years old, and this is Vestkantbadet's first win.

Denmark: Kurhotel Skodsborg

Denmark's best hotel spa was Kurhotel Skodsborg, located by the Øresund just north of Copenhagen. You can reach it in about 20 minutes by train from Copenhagen Central Station, followed by a short walk from Skodsborg station. The spa hotel has hosted guests since 1898, and the spa is still built around water, light, and air.

In the center of the spa is a hydropool spanning 100 square meters, and around it are saunas, a salt cave, steam bath, outdoor jacuzzi, cold baths, and a 21-meter long swimming pool. Those who wish can finish with a dip in the Øresund. The spa is mobile-free and open to guests from 15 years old, and it is possible to book day visits even without staying at the hotel.

Finland: Waldorf Astoria Helsinki

In Finland, the award went to Waldorf Astoria Helsinki, located in the Kronohagen district near the Market Square and Cathedral. The hotel opened as The Hotel Maria in a collection of historic buildings from the late 1800s and early 1900s, and became the first Waldorf Astoria hotel in the Nordics in 2025.

The spa is built around the Finnish sauna tradition, with the transition between heat, steam, and cold at the center: Finnish sauna, steam bath, an experience pool with music underneath the water, cold baths, and a cold bucket shower. Between sessions, guests relax in a glass-roofed atrium with day beds and a fireplace. Here, outsiders can also book day visits.

How to choose

If you want to combine spa with a city weekend, Vestkantbadet, Waldorf Astoria Helsinki, and Kurhotel Skodsborg are the most conveniently located – all are accessible without a car from the city center. Yasuragi is a destination in itself where the entire stay revolves around the bath, and Norefjell is for those who want mountains, outdoor life, and saunas in the same weekend. Regardless of choice, it pays to book spa entrance or treatments in advance, especially on Saturdays.

See the price as a tip rather than a judgment – but all five are worth the trip. Choose city spas in Oslo, Copenhagen, or Helsinki if you want to combine baths with the city, Yasuragi for an entire day in yukata, and Norefjell if you want the mountains outside your window between sauna sessions.

Foto: Francisco Nogueira / Sommerro

The information is based on World Spa Awards winners list 2026 and description of how the award works, Nordic Hotels & Resorts press release (September 30, 2026) as well as the hotels' own websites: Yasuragi, Norefjell Ski & Spa, Sommerro, Kurhotel Skodsborg, and Waldorf Astoria Helsinki.