Top 10 Wellness Hotels & Resorts in the World
Sunrise yoga, sweat sessions in a sauna, sound bath meditations, and healing rituals may not be activities typically associated with couples trips. Still, more travelers are choosing wellness hotels and resorts for birthday trips, honeymoons, and anniversary getaways—in fact, it's one of the biggest travel trends we're seeing.
Wellness hotels and resorts can be found all over the globe, ranging from six-room boutique hotel concepts to larger scale corporate programming. Brands like Six Senses and Miraval Resorts & Spas are investing big time in both tried-and-true hallmarks of wellness with an emphasis on cutting-edge technology. Though many wellness resorts encourage healthy eating and digital detoxes, it's not all about calorie counting and depriving yourself. On the contrary, some of the best wellness hotels have restaurants by celebrity chefs and offer wine tastings as well as relaxation. Read on for our picks for the best wellness hotels and resorts, whether you're seeking a scientific or spiritual approach.
The Top Wellness Hotels and Resorts in the World
We've explored all types of wellness hotels and properties around the world to narrow down the ideal option for your getaway. Read on for our travel editor's top picks for every style of experience.
- Best Overall Wellness Hotel: Forestis, Italy
- Best for Luxury: COMO Parrot Cay, Turks and Caicos
- Best All-Inclusive Wellness Resort: Miraval Berkshires, Massachusetts
- Best Beach Wellness Resort: JOALI BEING, Maldives
- Best Urban Wellness Hotel: Aman New York, NY
- Best Wine Country Wellness Resort: Six Senses Douro Valley, Portugal
- Best for Spiritual Seekers: Buahan, a Banyan Tree Escape, Bali
- Best for Hydrotherapy: The Retreat at the Blue Lagoon, Iceland
- Best Medical Spa Resort: Sensei Porcupine Creek, California
- Best for Cultural Immersion: Royal Mansour Marrakech, Morocco
Forestis, Italy
This modern spa retreat in the Dolomites was actually born in 1912 as a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients built by the Habsburgs, back when this northeastern corner of Italy was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. It was given a new life by local hoteliers Stefan Hinteregger and his partner Teresa Unterthiner, who restored the historic chalet and added three sleek glass-and-wood towers inspired by trees in the forest. Spread out over 21,528 square feet, the spa features four saunas, an indoor/outdoor pool, plenty of places to lounge, and a room dedicated to wyda, an ancient Celtic form of yoga. Spa treatments incorporate herbs, berries, bark and pine needles from the surrounding forest. Tasting menus, using locally grown and foraged ingredients, are served in the elegant, amphitheater-esque restaurant.
Palmschoss 22, 39042 Brixen, Dolomites, Italy
5.0 Star Rating | Read Reviews
COMO Parrot Cay, Turks and Caicos
Set on a private island, this barefoot chic all-inclusive resort in Turks and Caicos draws wellness worshippers, including Donna Karan and Bruce Willis, who have villas on the island. The holistic wellness programming includes sunrise beach meditation walks, yoga and Pilates lessons, pranayama breath classes, and ayurvedic talks with an Indian doctor. Massages and facials incorporate products from COMO Shambalah's own skincare line. Guests rave about the relaxing island setting and the staff, especially the attentive butlers.
Parrot Cay, Turks and Caicos Islands
4.5 Star Rating | Read Reviews
Miraval Berkshires, Massachusetts
Miraval established itself as a leader in the wellness space with its first two resorts in Arizona and Texas, so when the brand opened a property in the Berkshires, about midway between New York City and Boston, it was a boon for East Coasters. The resort is all-inclusive, except for alcoholic beverages, and follows the principles of mindful eating, so you can expect healthy farm-to-table dishes and plenty of options for diners with dietary restrictions. Seasonal on-property activities include aerial yoga, equine therapy, beekeeping classes, snowshoeing, and ski archery. There are also hiking trails ranging from easy to advanced.
5 Lee Road, Lenox, Massachusetts 01240
4.5 Star Rating | Read Reviews
JOALI BEING, Maldives
Before even arriving at this wellness-focused resort on a private island in the Maldives, you receive a lifestyle assessment questionnaire, which one of the resort's specialists goes over with you when you check in. You then receive a program that focuses on one of four pillars (mind, microbiome, skin, or energy), with more than 50 treatments, including Japanese watsu, hammam treatments, and cryotherapy in addition to activities like yoga on an open-air bamboo pavilion, sound bath meditations, and herbology workshops where you can make your own perfume. Though you could fill your schedule with treatments and activities, make sure you save some time to snorkel off the back of your overwater villa and relax on the hammock floating in the sea.
Bodufushi Island, Raa Atoll, Maldives
5.0 Star Rating | Read Reviews
Aman New York
You might not expect to find a wellness hotel in a city as frenetic as New York, but Aman takes wellness seriously and it shows. It starts with the design by Jean-Michel Gathy of Denniston Architects, who imbued the historic Crown Building with a Japanese-influenced minimalist style that puts you immediately into a zen state of mind. The sprawling spa is spread over three floors, with a 65-foot indoor pool flanked by poolside chairs and fireplaces, and offers a range of Eastern and Western treatments, including tailored massages by a Tibetan healer, IV treatments, acupuncture, scrubs, and massages.
730 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10019
3.5 Star Rating | Read Reviews
Six Senses Douro Valley, Portugal
The Six Senses brand is known for spa resorts in exotic locations throughout Asia, but their first European resort is still one of the best. Located in Portugal's scenic Douro Valley wine region, the property occupies a restored 19th-century quinta (wine estate) with organic vegetable gardens and a massive spa with ten treatment rooms, saunas, an indoor pool with hydrotherapy jets and underwater music, a yoga and Pilates pavilion, and and Alchemy Bar, where you can take a workshop to learn how to make soothing balms with essential oils.
Quinta de Vale Abraão, Samodães, 5100-758 Lamego, Portugal
5.0 Star Rating | Read Reviews
Buahan, a Banyan Tree Escape, Bali
Spiritual seekers have long flocked to Bali to visit the island's Hindu temples and learn about Eastern philosophy, and this new adults only resort in the jungle near Ubud has become the buzziest place to do so. Modeled on traditional Balinese dwellings called balés, villas lack walls and doors—only gauzy mosquito nets separate you from the natural surroundings, encouraging you to become one with nature. To help you along on your journey, the Toja Spa offers shamanic healing rituals and treatments incorporating medicinal herbs grown on the property. Time your visit correctly and you can align your chakras while practicing yoga under the full moon.
Banjar Selat, Buahan Kaja, Payangan, Gianyar, Bali 80572, Indonesia
5.0 Star Rating | Read Reviews
The Retreat at the Blue Lagoon, Iceland
Iceland's geothermal Blue Lagoon is famous for its healing properties and guests at this five-star luxury hotel get round-the-clock access to part of the Blue Lagoon that's reserved exclusively for guests. The spa's hallmark is the Blue Lagoon Ritual, in which you move through a series of rooms and apply skincare made with silica, algae, and minerals found in the lagoon's mineral-rich waters, which exfoliate, nourish, and moisturize your skin. Add to that an in-water massage for a completely unique experience you won't find anywhere else and you've got the makings of a memorable wellness-focused stay.
Nordurljosavegi 11, Grindavik 240, Iceland
4.5 Star Rating | Read Reviews
Sensei Porcupine Creek, California
This new resort set on a sprawling California desert estate owned by tech billionaire Larry Ellison is making waves in the hospitality scene. It's the second Sensei resort (the first is on the Hawaiian island of Lanai) created in collaboration with oncologist and scientist Dr. David Agus and it approaches wellness from a data-driven perspective that aims to help guests optimize their lives. Medical experts craft bespoke programs based on fitness assessments, blood tests, and mindset analyses in order to help you meet your goals. But it's also got plenty of fun recreational activities, like golf and tennis, as well as a Nobu restaurant and sushi bar.
42765 Dunes View Road, Rancho Mirage, California 92270
5.0 Star Rating | Read Reviews
Royal Mansour Marrakech, Morocco
The focus isn't exclusively on wellness at this ultra-luxurious member of the Leading Hotels of the World founded by King Mohammed IV, but it's definitely the best place to indulge in a Moroccan hammam treatment. The property is famous for its massive, all white spa, which is adorned with wooden lattices carved with traditional Arabic motifs. Unlike at typical Moroccan hammams, where people wash communally in group rooms, the Royal Mansour offers private hammam treatments for guests who prefer not to bare it all in front of a bunch of strangers. The ritual is deeply relaxing and exfoliating thanks to the use of black soap and a body wrap made with natural ingredients like roses, saffron, and clay from the Atlas Mountains. A hammam treatment is a cultural experience as well as a must-try wellness experience.
Rue Abou El Abbas Sebti, 40 000, Marrakech, Morocco
4.5 Star Rating | Read Reviews