As travel trends go, the rise of sleep vacations is the stuff our dreams are made of. Given the compounding stress of the world, enough to send anyone spiraling toward insomnia, the latest spin in wellness is slumber parties.
According to the experts, one-third of us aren’t getting enough sleep — and don’t even get us started on traveling with unsettled kids or the jetlag from crossing multiple time zones — and the fallout has negative impacts on your work, beauty, health and mood. “The routine loss of sleep is akin to having multiple desserts every night, or never working out,” says neurologist Jeffrey Durmer, sleep advisor to adaptogenic beverage brand MUD\WTR, which recently introduced a calming evening formula. Contrary to popular playground wisdom: If you don’t snooze, you lose.
With March highlightly National Sleep Awareness, what better time than now to book a trip to a dreamy destination or check into a luxury hotel dedicated to putting the rest back in R&R. From shuteye-themed vacation packages and workshops to on-property and in-room programming, spa treatments and beds and suites outfitted with the latest and greatest zzz-fostering tech and accessories, get set to reset your circadian rhythms and float off to the land of nod.
Sleep Itinerary
Six Senses Ibiza, Spain
Opened last July, this sustainable Spanish island wellness resort, like others in the portfolio, takes a multi-pronged approach to wellness and transformation, creating distinct retreats that tackle different problem areas and aim to give guests tools and techniques to take home in order to stay the course. Available in three-, five- or seven-night increments, the Sleep itinerary falls under the purview of the on-site Sleep Doctor who oversees an intake screening, personalized consultation, and a wrap-up, basing much of his advice on the data pulled from your provided sleep tracker. Also on the schedule is yoga nidra (aka yogic sleep) or pranayama, personal training or Pilates, a dreamcatcher massage, and cryotherapy. The longer you stay, the more of those sessions you get. There’s also an included bag of sleep-inducing lotions, potions, and accouterments. In addition to the year-round retreats, the property takes its world war ZZZZ up a notch May 6-10 when it hosts “Solving the Mystery of Your Sleep With Dr. Michael Breus.” Attendees will learn to use their personal chronotype to identify their optimized sleep schedule as well as the best diets and daily activities to prime their bodies and minds for sound snoozes.
Rest & Recovery Suite
Hotel Figueroa, Los Angeles, CA
Once you settle into The Rest & Recovery Suite — a decked-out den of zen on the 12th floor of this century-old boutique hotel, high above the hustle and bustle of downtown LA, we don’t foresee that do not disturb sign coming off the door anytime soon. The suite was assembled as a thoughtful response to the havoc the last two-plus years has wreaked on our collective psyches, bodies, and bedtimes and no detail was overlooked. For starters, Fig next-leveled the pillow menu by partnering with local, woman-owned Pluto Pillow. In advance of your trip, you fill out a questionnaire and the company builds a custom pillow based on your sleeping habits and body stats, which is yours to keep. It will be waiting for you atop the Eight Sleep dual-zoned Pod thermo-regulated mattress. Tire yourself out in front of the FORME workout mirror and then treat your muscles to a restorative massage with provided Hyperice recovery tools including leg sleeves. Wake up with supplements from Beam, which will give you the energy boost you need to join a Pilates or yoga class on the outdoor terrace or swim a few laps in the infamous coffin-shaped pool.
Celestial Circadian Spa Ritual
Arizona Biltmore, A Waldorf Astoria Resort, Phoenix AR
This Phoenix landmark with its Frank Lloyd Wright pizazz — the consulting architect almost 100 years ago — recently rose from the ashes courtesy of a $70 million glow-up. Devoted to ultimate relaxation and rejuvenation at the Sonoran Desert-inspired Tierra Luna Spa their two-hour Celestial Circadian Ritual is all about promoting restful sleep. The treatment begins with a warm magnesium body scrub before it moves on to a tension-relieving soak in lightly-fragranced magnesium saltwater. It concludes with a full-body essential oil massage focused on acupuncture points connected to relaxation to induce an uninterrupted sleep.
Insomnia Management Retreat
YO1 Youvan Health Resort, Catskills, NY
Nestled on 1,300 serene acres in the Sullivan Catskills, this lakeview health-focused hideaway (its name means youthful in Sanskrit) starts working its antidotal magic the instant you walk through the door. But it’s the focus on in-depth programs to treat disorders like anxiety, infertility, and insomnia that take the harmonic healing up a notch. Offered all year-round, the four-day insomnia management-intensive focuses on eastern remedies and treatments to cure your sleep issues. The program starts with a wellness consultation and includes daily acupuncture, dosha-balancing Ayurvedic techniques, aromatherapy, shiro-pada abhyangam (translation: head massage) meditation, cleansing, and fatigue-reducing yoga styles like trataka or nidra.
Sleep Concierge
The Cadogan, A Belmond Hotel, London, UK
God save the Queen … bed. This chic stay in Chelsea responded to the issue of pandemic-related insomnia by partnering with Harley Street hypnotherapist Malminder Gil to introduce The Sleep Concierge program. This includes access to a meditative recording recorded by Gill, a variety of pillow choices, weighted blankets, scented pillow mist, and bedtime tea service. Guests can also book a one-on-one hypnotherapy session with Gill to reclaim their sleep.
Sleep Matters
Langham Hotels, Global
The luxury boutique hotel group will launch their Sleep Matters initiative throughout all global properties to mark World Sleep Day (March 18). Designed in collaboration with the World Sleep Society, components include a brochure with tips and tricks, a special edition of the Society’s Healthier Sleep magazine with articles aimed at travelers, a calmative Spotify playlist, and a turndown kit that contains herbal tea, earplugs, cushioned mask, and sleep tips flashcards. In US Langham outposts, the kit will also have a sample of a drug-free sleep aid beverage by Som Sleep. Guests can also borrow hibernation helpers like fitness balls, weighted blankets, white noise machines and lavender bath products. In addition, all Langham properties that feature a Chuan Spa (Melbourne, Jakarta, Chicago), restless souls can receive ear auricular therapy, a form of acupressure that stimulates ear points related to sleep dysfunction or partake in the in-room bath menu featuring Chuan’s line of seasonal essential oils.
Mountain Melatonin
Mountain Trek Fitness Retreat & Health Spa, Canada
There may be nothing more restorative than putting down the phone, avoiding screens and heading into the great outdoors. One of the best places to do that if you’re an alpine aficionado is the Canadian province of British Columbia. This all-inclusive fitness and wellness haven promises to elevate (both figuratively and literally) your melatonin levels through a week of fresh mountain air, wilderness hiking (usually three hours a day), forest bathing and therapeutic yoga, and hot tubbing before retiring to a lodge decked out with nature sound machines, blackout curtains and relaxing, clearing Himalayan salt lamps. The exercise is complemented by workshops covering sleep health, stress management, and metabolism.
Sleep On It
Provenance Hotels, USA
From the Pacific Northwest to Boston, Provenance’s stylized boutique hotels, many of which are plopped down in the middle of noisy cities, will all offer the new Signature Sleep Experience. It bundles plush robes with Simmons Black Label pillow-top mattresses and EnduroTECH environmentally responsible mattress frames outfitted with Mascioni sheets. The Wayfarer Rooms at The Old No. 77 in New Orleans are perfectly suited to the particularly light-sensitive patron as their windowless layout keeps things extra dark. We hear feasting on comforting Caribbean-Crescent City cuisine at Top Chef runner-up Nina Compton’s on-site Compére Lapin induces memorable food comas as well. And if all of that fails you can appeal to a higher power by borrowing a book from their multi-faith spiritual lending library and praying for a good night’s rest and late checkout.
Royal Sleep Treatment
Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa, France
If the vineyard views of future bubbly lining the surrounding hills isn’t enough to induce sweet dreams, the 46-room contemporary wine country retreat in Champagne, 45 minutes from Paris, has a new plan B. Created in conjunction with the French beauty brand Aime, the Royal Sleep Experience starts with the company’s Sleep & Glow set which contains essential oil spray and melatonin drops. Each evening, the staff will prep the chambers with sleeping mist, closed curtains, turned-down beds, house-made herbal tea, sweet and petite nibbles, and a satin eye mask. A screen-free Morphée meditation device puts 210 guided meditations and sophrology sessions at your fingertips. The package also includes a candle massage and dinner at Le Bellevue with a dedicated menu and the Sleeping Beauty mocktail (fresh cucumber, mint, cranberry, hibiscus and black currant).
Sleep Cocoons
Equinox Hotel, New York City, NY
As an extension of the same-named global gym giant, this Hudson Yards hotel knows a little something about sleep’s key role in fitness recovery and your overall health. To that end, the heavily soundproofed rooms here were designed to be ideal sleep cocoons. Each is equipped with the proprietary Sleep System — a handmade natural-materials mattress covered in lux silk and Egyptian cotton pillows, duvets, and linens and sitting atop wooden slats for increased air filtration — and with Dark.Quiet.Cool mode. Push the button and the lights soften, the blackout blinds lower and the thermostat sets to 68 degrees, the optimal sleeping temperature according to numerous scientific studies. Furthering your quest to sleep like a log, the rooms are stocked with CBD creams, Grown Alchemist shampoos and body washes in AM and PM formulas, and custom Power Down tea that contains tranquilizing valerian root, lavender, and chamomile. And if you are still having a hard time riding the rainbow to dreamland, try flowing through the PM stretching and breathwork ritual or booking some time on the spa’s Wave Table, a high tech bed that tricks your body and mind into thinking a 30-minute nap equals three hours of sleep.
Deep Sleep Nap Massage
Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis, MO
Gateway City checklist: see the Arch. Devour some ribs. Enjoy a live blues band. Get pampered at the spa at the Four Seasons where the recently introduced Deep Sleep Restorative Massage aims to release pent-up stress, increase circulation, calm the mind, and end tossing and turning. Gentle rocking, long firm strokes along energy pathways, and an extra-long foot rub are accompanied by the calming scents of lavender and blue chamomile. Once you’re all good and relaxed, they’ll tuck you into a weighted blanket for a 20-minute power nap enhanced by listening to delta wave-stimulating tones. To help recapture that refreshed feeling later, you’ll be sent home with pillow mist and eucalyptus salt soak.
Sleepy Snacks
JW Marriott, Orlando Bonnet Creek, FL
You’d think long days spent in long lines at Florida’s myriad theme parks would tucker the whole family out but it can take little minds an even longer time to come down from the vacation high. For them, and for the sanity of their parents, this Marriott resort and spa unveiled four massive family suites that have several helpful sleep solutions contained within. There are chalkboard walls where they can get out the last of their creative energy and process the day as well as a book nook for bedtime stories. The executive chef came up with the Sleepy Snack in-room dining menu. Each dish is made with ingredients recommended by the Sleep Foundation for their relaxation and sleep-promoting tendencies like rosemary-roasted cashews, yogurt smoothies, and fruit skewers. And finally, when it comes time to climb into the cool bunk beds and say “night, night,” mommy’s little helper, a Skip Hop Moonlight & Melodies Nightlight Soother Owl can take over lulling duties.
