Luxury Wellness at Resense Dead Sea Spa Jordan

An honest review of the five-star spa at Kempinski Hotel Ishtar

There are so many reasons to visit a Dead Sea spa in Jordan. This unique place is famous for being the lowest place on Earth at 434 metres below sea level. The natural “sea” is so salty you can’t swim in it, only float. Cleopatra was a regular, praising its natural minerals. A popular activity is covering yourself in mud scooped from the bottom as a DIY spa treatment. But I wasn’t in the mood for DIY… I was in the mood to be pampered.

I had spent my first week in Jordan on the go, moving around the country sightseeing. It was all fascinating and wonderful. But after all those steps I needed some time to chill and bliss out.

I went looking for the best spa on the Dead Sea in Jordan and found it at the Spa by Resense, located at the five-star Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea.

At over 10,000 sqm, this location of Resense is one of the biggest spas in the Middle East and describes itself as “luxury wellness.” That sounded perfect so my friend and I booked ourselves into the Kempinski so that we’d be super close and could enjoy the spa to its fullest.

Just looking for the facts? Jump to prices, hours, etc.

This review of Spa by Resense at the Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea is part of my series 100 baths, my search for the world’s best public bathing experiences. Read more and see the list here. My friend and I were guests of Resense spa; the opinions in this review are my own.

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Check-in and First Impressions

You don’t need to stay at the hotel to book a treatment, or spend the day at the Ishtar Baths, their therapeutic waters. You’ll get Kempinski’s famous five-star service from the staff either way. But as hotel guests, we took advantage of the golf cart shuttle to bring us from the lobby to Resense spa, which has its own building within the resort complex. (Yes, the grounds are that big.)

A feeling of calm came over me as soon as we stepped into this place. If you’re having a treatment, they’ll escort you to your room, and you can use the waters afterwards. Or if you just have a Day Spa pass you’ll be whisked straight to the pools area by glass elevator, with its pretty views over the Jordan Dead Sea.

What facilities are included at Spa by Resense?

The Ishtar Baths has multiple pools, steam rooms and sauna, with different spots for lounging, plus an outdoor garden. The facilities include:

• Hydro Pool (a large indoor pool with jets)
• Jacuzzi Pool (a smaller indoor pool with jets)
• Steam Room (35-45 degrees)
• Dry Sauna (72 degrees)
• Dead Sea Pool
• Hot Stone Lounge Chairs
• Outdoor Swimming Pool
• Lounge chairs
• Hammam (only for treatments)

One of the special features is a separate area for women. This includes a private flotation pool, dry sauna, steam room and lounge chairs connected to the changerooms. Women may also use the mixed gender facilities, of course.

Giving the pools a whirl

There’s no specific “circuit” at Resense. You’re welcome to wander and use whatever strikes your fancy. Have I mentioned yet that it’s quite huge? Definitely worth poking around so you don’t miss anything.

Admittedly, we visited during low season. But the place is so spacious we often felt we had it all to ourselves, so it was easy to avoid interrupting other guests (who were mostly young couples).

I’m a fan of letting water jets give me a back massage so I loved the Jacuzzi pool with individual “seats” right in front the glass doors with floor to ceiling views. For me this was perfect relaxation, and quite fun.

As for the larger pool which dominates the space as soon as the elevator opens, I quickly discovered that it’s a bit too deep for me! I’m 5’4’ and it was pretty much up to my neck as the powerful jets swept my body to and fro. It was more amusing than relaxing. But I had no shortage of other options.

The Dead Sea comes to you

What I really wanted to try was the Dead Sea pool.

I had already been floating in the actual Dead Sea on my tour but this was special. Resense Dead Sea spa has two small salt pools where you can lay back and relax in the warm, mineral-rich salt waters. I tried both of them, in the women’s area and the general area, where the Dead Sea pool had a beautiful mosaic to look at while you float. Both times I had the space to myself.

The Dead Sea pool really made me feel like I was in Jordan. It’s also perfect for anyone visiting the Dead Sea who doesn’t have the mobility to make it down to the actual beach but still wants the benefits of a salt soak. (You can book a mud wrap treatment too for the full experience.)

Pool with a view

One of the best features of the Spa by Resense is its views over the Dead Sea. The sun started to set right over the outdoor pool, so even though it was too chilly to want a swim there I set myself up on a lounger and enjoyed the play of colours, and the many birds.

To find myself in a private garden, surrounded by centuries-old lemon and olive trees, watching the sky turn pink and orange was truly my definition of self-care.

Sweat It Out

I’m more of a wet steam person than a dry sauna person, so I went right for that room to heat up. I needed to ask a staff member to start up the steam, but it very quickly filled the room and soon I was dripping with sweat. This is one of my favourite states of being, and I stayed as long as I could before needing to cool off.

There is one cooler pool in the mixed gender section but it’s not what as a Canadian I would call a cold pool. So if you want to practice hydrotherapy with hot+cold+relax, you can grab a cold shower as I did!

Relax and Recharge

I’ve experienced hot stone massage, and I’ve experienced heated stone floors, but I’ve never before experienced a hot marble lounge chair.

Resense calls these Tepidarium – like the underfloor heating systems in Roman Baths. These hot marble lounge chairs are meant to provide constant, radiant heat to the whole body and were so, so good. My friend and I lay back and let the heat do its work. I could easily have fallen asleep there.

We eventually moved to the pool-side loungers so we could read our books and order some tea. But I must say I still dream of the Tepidarium!

Is this five-star dead sea spa worth it?

Spa by Resense prides itself on how big it is. Which is indeed impressive. But I would say what makes this place special is the attentive staff, its women-only zones, outdoor garden views over the Dead Sea and the quality of the treatments.

Yes! I actually had a treatment this time. Regular readers will know my mission is to review baths, and not spa treatments. But I’m so happy I booked a massage here. The treatment rooms are gorgeous and the attendant was exceptionally skilled. (I’ve also never had fresh flowers placed on the floor beneath my head before to look at while my back is being worked on.) This truly was luxury wellness.

For improvements I would have enjoyed another space to lounge and read that wasn’t beside the heavily chlorinated indoor pool. I also always moan about the lack of large robes everywhere. They did offer us larger robes which were super cozy royal purple but still not that big. And I wish I was taller so I could have truly enjoyed the main whirlpool — although it was an “adventure”!

In the end, we liked Spa by Resense so much we went twice. We loved how quiet and chill it was, that we could stay as long as we wanted, and the many ways to get warm. After a week of hiking around Petra and camping in the desert it was the ultimate way to relax, recharge and get ready for the long flights home.

There are many wonders in Jordan but dare I say Spa by Resense at the Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea is up there with the best of them!

Know Before You Go

My last visit was November 2023. Always check their website for latest info and promotions.

Where: Spa by Resence is located beside the Kempinski Hotel, which doesn’t seem to have a street address! Just ask for Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea. We travelled by Uber from Madaba, south of Amman, for $30CDN. Their number is +41 22 316 03 80.

When: Open Daily from 9am to 8pm.

What to bring? All you really need is a swimsuit. Robes, unlimited towels, flipflops, combination locker are all provided. Recommend a sunhat and sunglasses in summer if you’re going to lounge outside. There is free wi-fi. A plastic bag for your wet suit is provided in your locker. Shampoo and conditioner are provided in the showers but if you want more or specific beauty products, bring your own.

How Much: Hotel guests can access the facilitates for 19 JD ($36 CDN) Sunday to Wednesday and 38 JD ($72 CDN) on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It’s also included in spa treatments. Non-guests can book a Day Spa visit for 68 JD ($130) but I highly recommend getting a treatment—massage, facial, scrub, etc.—which comes with free access.