The spa's setting is uniquely charming, designed to resemble an 18th century Tokugawa Japanese village with its own thundering waterfalls, creek, and fog-like mist. Open your skin's pores and float away your cares in a soothing hot spring; rejuvenate your body in a stimulating mineral bath; and enjoy a vigorous hydro-massage in the main waterfall basin. Then move on to a dry-heat sauna to sweat out the toxins, and from there to your choice of classic massage, reflexology, aromatherapy, or body scrub.

In even the most expensive spas worldwide (and some overhyped spas owned by foreigners in the Philippines), the decor ends at the reception area. So you're really paying US$ 200 or more to spend 1-2 hours in a room smaller than a prison cell, and not much better furnished. How smart is that? Our Mogambo Springs is fully immersive, from the extensive Japanese-like gardens with towering banyan trees and swaying bamboo reeds, to the rustic yet sophisticated Japanese-inspired decor in every treatment room.