World’s first underwater yoga experience • Hualalai Island Resort, Maldives • 1 hour • US$120 (€97, £85) Yogis have rolled out their mats 5.8 metres below the sea’s surface to take part in what’s believed to be the world’s first underwater yoga session.
Hurawalhi Island Resort in the Maldives transformed its all-glass undersea restaurant into a yoga studio for a 1-hour vinyasa class which saw participants practising their downward facing dog with the dolphins and tree poses with the turtles.
The class was led by Jessica Olie, a fitness specialist and author of #letsstartyoga – an e-book providing the tools and knowledge to practice yoga safely and effectively. While the session with Olie was a one-off, underwater yoga is still available with a local instructor.
An underwater restaurant was transformed into a yoga studio
Spa membership at Shangri-la Manila
• Chi, The Spa at Edsa Shangri-La, Manila • PHP15,000-100,000 (US$290-1,920)
Barry White
To encourage secondary spend and boost overall business, Chi, The Spa at Edsa Shangri-La in Manila has introduced a membership scheme. The four tiers range from PHP15,000-100,000 (US$290-1,920, €230-1,560, £210-1,370) with PHP16,500-130,000 (US$320-2,500, €260-2,030, £230-1,780) worth of spa credits, plus extra hotel and wellness benefits. The credits can be used on any purchase in the spa, including Kerstin Florian and Biologique Recherche treatments and products.
Barry White, of White Living spa consultancy, created the scheme and says there’s an option to roll it out across multiple Chi, The Spas in the future.
He feels the benefits are threefold. “It’s designed in recognition of loyal guests; to give an easy way to pay for services; and to remove barriers to purchase to encourage secondary spend,” he says.
Prior to setting up White Living in 2017, White was global director of spa operations for Langham Hotel’s Chuan Spa for eight years, overseeing 14 sites.
The scheme rewards customer loyalty and encourages secondary spend
Spa treatments for menopause and PMT • 50 minutes • Varies per operator “Menopause and periods seems to be particularly difficult subjects for us to talk about, yet 50 per cent of our population has, had or will have them… To normalise them with treatments and therapies seems a great introduction to dispelling the taboo,” says Emma Webber, co-founder of skincare brand the Natural Spa Factory.
The UK-based company, which supplies more than 200 spas, has launched the I Am Woman treatment collection for periods, pregnancy and menopause.
Pause:Me includes the application of an iced collagen mask to cool hot-flushed, menopausal skin, as well as essential oils and botanical ingredients to soothe, balance and restore a sense of calm. While Woman:Kind aims to tackle menstruation symptoms with a self-heating wrap for the abdomen and lower back and a skin-loving facial to balance hormonal skin.
The I Am Woman collection aims to break taboos
Genetics & meditation at Villa La Coste
• Villa La Coste, Provence, France • €1,270 (£1,100, US$1,550) per night
Industry consultant Greg Payne curated the specialist wellness programmes for the hotel
Biomarker tests are carried out pre-arrival for Bodhimaya’s rest and restore retreat at boutique hotel Villa La Coste, Provence to customise a guest’s experience. The programme includes two daily sessions of both meditation and yoga, science-based gut-healthy menus and nutritional consultations and can focus on anything from weight-loss and body cleansing to release from stress, or burnout or simply resting.
The Bodhimaya retreat, which runs in April and September, ranges from a four- to 10-night stay and is one of seven specialist programmes curated by spa consultant Greg Payne for the idyllic hillside hideaway. He’s intentionally picked experts who “don’t do the hotel circuit”.
Payne says Villa La Coste, with its vineyard surroundings and world-famous art installations, is the perfect setting for people to “press the pause button and to have a chance to reset… to process treatments and [ultimately] shift perspectives”.
The site is an ideal wellness getaway
Healing breathwork retreat • Two Bunch Palms, California, USA • US$2,500 (€2,030, £1,770) for a single room Breathe. Soften. Repeat. This is the mantra of Ashley Neese, who’s set to lead The Softening – a ‘deep dive breathwork’ retreat at Two Bunch Palms, California this month. “Because of its accessibility and effectiveness, breathwork is quickly on the rise in wellness,” says Neese. “Over the last decade, it’s become an increasingly popular method of natural healing for anxiety, depression, PTSD, trauma and chronic physical pain.”
During four, 2-hour sessions, participants will be gently guided through breathing techniques, somatic meditation and group work to strengthen their capacity to be in the moment, access dormant areas of the nervous system and “soften into healing”.
The sessions will take place in Two Bunch Palm’s beautiful Celestial Dome, while soaking in the natural hot springs onsite is encouraged and the solitude of the surrounding desert provides the ideal backdrop.
Neese is a breathwork teacher, energy medicine practitioner and spiritual guide who works with clients all over the world, including a number of celebrities.
Breathwork is becoming more popular says Neese
Eat With Six Senses
• Six Senses’ 11 resorts around the world
Dr Steven Gundry
Choosing ingredients and food preparation methods that offer better digestion and absorption for a healthy microbiome is just one element of the new Eat With Six Senses programme. Chefs will create hearty and healthy menus and avoid things like flavour enhancers, lectins, lactose, gluten and sugar. Additionally, each resort has its own organic vegetable garden and sources other ingredients locally, ethically and sustainably.
“Guests not only eat well, they feel better,” says cardiac surgeon Dr Steven Gundry, founder of The Center for Restorative Medicine and Six Senses Wellness Board specialist. “It will create a culture of health and wellness through healthier meal choices… and will help them make positive, lasting life adjustments.”
Meals aid digestion for a healthy microbiome
Lunar therapies • Rosewood San Miguel de Allende, Mexico • 90 minutes • US$140 (€114, £100) Treatments focusing on moon cycles, which are believed by many to affect us both physically and mentally, are rising in popularity Spa Business has noted.
In Central Mexico, the Otomi natives worshipped the moon god Metzli, convinced that their people’s individual levels of energies were deeply intertwined with lunar activity. Taking inspiration from this, Sense Spa at Rosewood San Miguel de Allende has introduced a Cures from Metzli treatment to alleviate physical pain, mental stress and body ailments. The experience draws on ancient herbal remedies which are applied through different types of healing massages – up to four variations are available depending on the current moon phase.
Other lunar-inspired treatments include Spirit of the New Moon at Mii Amo, USA; Tilem – Nurture of the Dark Moon at Oazi Spa Villas, Indonesia; and four seasonal signature moon therapies at Marigot Bay Resort, St Lucia.
Lunar therapies are trending in spas
Body Age Challenge
• Gainsborough Bath Spa, UK • £35 (US$49, €40)
Heba Al-Zuhair
We all know our real age – but what about our body’s age which reflects how we look after ourselves? The gap between our chronological age and biological age can be surprisingly large, spurring people on to make lifestyle changes. With this in mind, Heba Al-Zuhair, a nutritionist and health scientist and weight-loss specialist, held a Body Age Challenge session at Gainsborough Bath Spa, UK. She calculated participant’s true body ages and followed up with appropriate lifestyle recommendations.
The session is part of a series of programmes Gainsborough Bath Spa is hosting to position itself as a wellness destination and to attract new clients.
Plant-based menu • Blythswood Square, Glasgow, UK • 55 minutes • £87 (US$122, €100) Spa Business is picking up on a growing trend for plant-based treatments worldwide. Six Senses Spa at Puente Romano, Spain has collaborated with ayurvedic brand Subtle Energies on a collection of vegan-friendly options, while Mandarin Oriental in New York, US offers Rawceutical’s Force of Nature Facial incorporating pure, active cold-press plant extracts.
Taking things further, Blythswood Square’s spa in Glasgow, UK, has introduced an entire menu using only British natural and organic ingredients. Group spa director Leon Trayling, who developed the menu, says: “We felt it was important to go completely natural, embracing the powerful results of plant-based products which contain no hidden ‘nasties’... Using only locally-sourced brands and products means we can keep a close eye on exactly which ingredients are being used in our spa treatments.”
Suppliers at Blythswood include Scottish seaweed brand Ishga, Ila and Made for Life. There’s a wide range of therapies with specialist offers including a bespoke package for mums to be and a Cancer Touch Therapy treatment.
Seaweed baths feature on the plant-based menu at Blythswood Square
The Global Wellness Institute (GWI) has released promising new research on the wellness real
estate market at its third-annual Wellness Real Estate & Communities Symposium in
Manhattan.
Paul Hawco, a seasoned figure in the international wellness industry, has assumed the role of
executive director – integrated wellbeing at independent, hospitality group Banyan Group.
The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee in the southeastern US state of Georgia is celebrating a
new milestone after unveiling its newly renovated 27,000sq ft destination spa.
Art’otel, Radisson’s contemporary art-inspired lifestyle hotel brand, has strengthened its
presence in London with a new hotel in Hoxton fusing art, design and hospitality.
Luxury hotel brand Aman, widely known for its strong spa focus, has just launched its much-
talked-about sister brand Janu in Tokyo – complete with a 4,000sq m urban wellness retreat.
Equinox, has teamed up with health platform, Function Health, to offer 100 comprehensive
laboratory tests, giving members vital insights into their internal health.
Spanish wellness brand SHA Wellness Clinic is busy preparing to bolster its wellness portfolio in
2026 with a hyper-exclusive island wellness enclave in AlJurf, UAE.
The historic Breakers Hotel in Long Beach, California, is set to reopen in mid-2024 as a
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts property after a significant restoration and redevelopment project.
The Bannatyne Group says it has officially bounced back from the pandemic, with both turnover
and profits restored to pre-2020 levels in 2023, according to its year-end results.
Kerzner International has signed deals to operate two new Siro recovery hotels in Mexico and
Saudi Arabia, following the launch of the inaugural Siro property in Dubai this February.
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Myrtha Wellness Myrtha Pools was founded in 1961 in Italy by the engineer Giorgio Colletto and through research and [more...]
