Wellness-seekers have long appreciated the benefits of an invigorating run on a hotel treadmill or a rejuvenating massage in its spa. These days, however, they are increasingly seeking more exclusive, boutique opportunities to tend to their minds and bodies while traveling, allowing for customized self-care retreats and renewed fitness regimes.
These five luxurious oases with incredible resort spas, each with a well-curated range of unique offerings, are a wellness-seeker’s delight.
As always, check for travel guidelines and closures before planning your trip.
Mind, Body, and the Great Outdoors in Maui
At The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua, Spa Director Svetla Doncheva says more guests are coming to the spa these days, including younger guests, to indulge in au courant treatments such as CBD pedicures and hydrafacials with LED light therapy.
They also gravitate to outdoor fitness options such as sunrise yoga overlooking the ocean, a coastal trail hike and a labyrinth meditation walk, which leads to a lava-rock labyrinth along the rugged shoreline. “It’s fun fitness to get there but focuses on your mind as well as the body,” Doncheva says. “The beauty of doing the labyrinth is you’re so close to the water and you’re breathing the ocean air, which has significant benefits.”
On the coastal trail, “it’s exercise, but you get to see the beauty of the area,” she adds. “A lot of people think about fitness as inside classes or running, but for us it’s more about being outdoors and connecting with the earth.”
Meditation and Coastal Inspiration in Amelia Island
The spa at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island takes full advantage of its setting with daily nature walks, unique treatments like the Awakening Bamboo massage, and its Deep Relaxation Meditation session in which participants set personal intensions and create a sandcastle-style mandala. Other options for mindful meditation include the Full Moon Meditation and yoga nidra sessions, a contemplative form of yoga practiced while lying down.
“Guests have found mindful meditation is a good practice to relieve insomnia, anxiety and loneliness,” says Gary Virden, the spa’s director. “With training it can be easily practiced at home. It’s ironic that such a powerful treatment aligned with today’s needs is literally hundreds of years old and so easy to do.”
More contemporary treatments include the CBD Relief & Recovery massage, in which the therapist also consults with the guest to formulate a CBD regimen.
Bliss, Maple Sugar, and More in Montreal
Although The Ritz-Carlton, Montreal boasts a commanding downtown location on the Canadian metropolis’s renowned Sherbrooke Street, nature still inspires much of its serene Spa St. James.
The 5,500-square-foot spa features waterfalls, a relaxation lounge with fireplaces, and 12 treatment rooms where skincare therapists and masseuses employ natural ingredients such as sea salt, organic CBD, and locally produced maple sugar, among others.
The spa’s signature Maple Sugar Massage, for example, uses Canadian maple balm created from organic vegetable oils in a 90-minute treatment that includes a foot massage, body massage with hot stones and a soothing scalp massage.
Another signature 90-minute treatment, the Maple Sugar Experience, uses organic Canadian maple sugar for exfoliation, which softens and brightens skin and stimulates blood flow, before a hydrating body wrap that incorporates clay from Canada’s prairies.
Guests can also revive in the hotel’s indoor saltwater pool, which overlooks the city’s skyline, and customize their workouts in the state-of-the-art fitness center, where private trainers are available by request.
Pickleball, Peloton, and Aquatic Adventures in Phoenix
An $80 million renovation in 2022 increased the already ample wellness opportunities at JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa, a luxury resort that’s home to two championship golf courses.
Fitness-focused guests can stay in a Wellness Suite, offering a tranquil enclave for yoga, stretching, or meditation, or a Peloton Wellness Suite, complete with Peloton bike, gear, and live and on-demand classes.
The fitness center at the expansive, on-site Revive Spa also features Peloton bikes, plus other exercise machines and cardiovascular equipment with Wi-Fi and TV screens. Outside, seasonal yoga classes take place on the 600-square-foot yoga lawn overlooking the bountiful chef’s garden.
Catering to devotees of the fastest growing sport in the United States, the resort further boasts 17 pickleball courts, with coaching available from a full-time certified instructor and a well-stocked pro shop. Players and other guests can either keep their heart rates elevated or cool down afterward in AquaRidge WaterPark, a sprawling series of thrilling waterslides, a lengthy lazy river, and a variety of pools and cabanas designed for active families or serenity-seeking adults.
Fitness Classes and Spa Serenity in Scottsdale
At the JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa, the 32,000-square-foot Jackrabbit Spa focuses on treatments inspired by the desert and ancient traditions, while its lineup of exercise classes deliver unique workouts and mindfulness sessions.
The 60-minute Ayurvedic Herbal Body Treatment, for example, begins with a gentle exfoliation before a warm blend of herbs and oils from India nourish the skin, increasing circulation and relaxation. The Collagen Infused Facial firms and otnes skin with ingredients like hyaluronic acid and marine collagen.
Among the fitness center’s distinctive classes are Restorative Yoga with Guitar, in which live music accompanies guided yoga postures and meditative stretching; guided Sunrise Hikes along the Mummy Mountain Trail; and Slow Flow Yoga, where the experience is enhanced by water resistance in the pool.
Related Articles
