Words by Shari Mycek, Deanne Kaczerski, and Becca Hensley; each hotel is being equally honored in no particular order.
You always remember your first time. Mine came on a private island in Fiji’s outer Yasawa islands. I’d flown halfway around the world only to meet my first cyclone. While guests were kept safe inside — the rain pelting, wind gusting — everything I intended to do on this castaway, South Pacific island was canceled: the snorkeling, the private beach excursions, the romantic, torchlit dinners in the sand.
My saving grace became the thatched-roof massage bure. There, I melted into the hands of Torika, who delivered my first-ever, lomilomi massage. Traditional to the Hawaiian and South Pacific islands, lomilomi features rhythmic long massage strokes — a symphony of choreographed movements. Every day I awoke to rain. And every day, I retreated to the thatched-roof massage bure — adding to my lomilomi experience a facial, body scrub, and cocooning wrap in coconut oil and banana leaves.
In the many decades since, I have held that rainy, Fijian island close to my heart for it was there, in the void of sunshine and expectation, I came to know the value and beauty of self-care. The experience ultimately prompted me to carve out time, annually, for wellness travel. And more often than not (to the chagrin of my partner), for solo wellness travel. This year was no exception.
Following, the Very Best Wellness Resorts for 2025.
Sensei Porcupine Creek, California
After passing through the electronic gate in Palm Springs’ upscale Rancho Mirage neighborhood, sculpture — in the form of brightly colored numbers from one to nine to zero (yes, in that order) — tower in greeting. Created by pop artist Robert Indiana, the installation represents each decade of our lives — our 20s…50s…90s… then, dramatically ends with zero — prompting viewers to reflect on how they wish to live out each life chapter. The brainchild of billionaire Larry Ellison and Dr. David Agus, Sensei Porcupine Creek opened in 2022 as a full-on, 230-acre wellness retreat. Every fiber of Sensei’s being, from the Japanese-inspired rooms complete with teak furnishings, orchids, exquisite art, and deep-soaking tubs to the exclusive-to-guests Nobu restaurant to the mindful, programming, customized for each guest, speaks of wellness and lifestyle changes. Days are spent hiking (new excursions launch January 2025), practicing 1:1 yoga, and experiencing spa treatments (try the Gua Sha Uplifting Facial with Christina, combining centuries-old gua sha massage with cold cryotherapy globes) and high-tech modalities like thermal body mapping. We also love the in-room Dyson hair dryers and heated Japanese Toto toilets.
The Peninsula Hong Kong
I first visited this lavish cocooning spa 20 years ago, as one of three spa writers invited to report on its grand opening. In a full-circle moment, I returned this year to find a still-exquisite and constantly evolving spa experience. No longer an ESPA spa, treatments now feature Voya, an organic, hand-harvested seaweed line from Ireland, and Margy’s Monte Carlo, a coveted anti-aging program created by famed beauty expert Margie Lombard, using rare active and Swiss ingredients. New in 2024: the unique signature Han Therapy Seasonal Treatment Series experience based on traditional Chinese Medicine that incorporates authentic meridian massage techniques (meridian touch points), Chinese herb-based oils, dry and oil meridian massage, hot white jade stones, gua sha facial, and scalp massage with bojin stick. Enter the spa on the seventh floor before being whisked to the ninth-floor thermae for a pre-treatment crystal steam and sauna overlooking Victoria Harbor. Treatment rooms offer the same stunning (water view) and culminate under beaded curtains with fresh-brewed ginger tea.
Palmaïa – The House of AïA, Rivera Maya, Mexico
Conceived by founder Alex Ferri to give people options and inspire them to better health on every level, this extraordinary wellness enclave goes beyond having merely a dedicated spa. In fact, the entire resort, envisioned as a bastion of wellness and experimentation, a place built to bolster self-awareness, initiate shifts, and gently harmonize guests’ minds, bodies and spirits and launch, sits amid lush jungle on one on of the area’s best private beaches. All inclusive, luxurious, casually chic, and plant based, it triumphs with multiple restaurants, a penchant for music, and a range of daily spirit-building activities (from pranayama to gratitude ceremonies to painting to meetings with the onsite intuitive healer). With helpful guides known as “architects of life,” what else would you expect?
Terme di Saturnia, Italy
In the lesser-traveled Maremma, the part of Tuscany that edges the western coast, Terme di Saturnia’s mother spring has been soothing bathers for at least 3,000 years. A favorite hotspot for the ancient Etruscans, today’s oasis continues to draw regional travelers, a reality that imparts a distinctly modern-Tuscan — rather than global — ambiance, a delightful characteristic in an increasingly homogenous world of travel. Famous for its healing and scientifically acclaimed water, rich in minerals, as well as a unique bioplankton, the massive, spring-fed pool serves as the heart of the hotel. Its spa, replete with treatments using Terme di Saturnia’s own high-performance line, also offers medspa rituals, detox (and other longer stay) programs, and naturopathic options. Field-to-plate gastronomy the Italian way, local wines, daily hikes, golf, yoga, (and more) round out seriously transformative stays.
LeFay Resort & Spa, Lake Garda, Italy
Carved into the mountains above the waters of Lake Garda, the Lefay Resort & Spa is a haven of wellness, seclusion, and sustainable luxury. Luxuriate in your robe during breakfast on the terrace before heading to the signature Lefay SPA, an exclusive sanctuary offering spa treatments blending ancient healing practices with contemporary wellness techniques, multiple hydrotherapy options, saunas, steam rooms, and a meditation room. For the most decadent stay, reserve a Sky Suite featuring unparalleled views of the lake, a private terrace and hot tub, and an in-room sauna.
Euphoria Retreat, Greece
It was following an intensive week-long stay at Golden Door Spa (on our 2024 Very Best list and still one of our faves), that Marina Efraimaglou returned home to Greece to open her own holistic spa, Euphoria Retreat. Her decision put southern Greece on the modern global wellness map. Located on the exquisite Peloponnese peninsula, Euphoria Retreat — surrounded by pine forests and olive groves — offers inspiration for those seeking to change, transform, and connect with their spiritual self. Wellness options are expansive, marrying east with west; ancient Hellenic medicine with traditional Chinese medicine, and science with naturalism. New this year: the much-talked-about launch of 360-degree Euphoria Methodos Advanced Medical Programs, using scientifically proven cellular therapy — working from the inside out — to transform health naturally and increase longevity. All of Euphoria’s wellness programs are personalized, and led by an onsite team of physicians, nutritionists, therapists, and fitness instructors. The journey begins with a dip into the indoor sphere pool, surrounded by cocooning Byzantine domes with in-water benches and hydrotherapy jets; followed by a dive into the 13-foot water well. Soothing marine sounds play softly under the water, enveloping you in a womb-like sensation.
We Care Spa, California
This exclusive desert detox spa, a favorite of Hollywood A-listers Gwen Stefani, Heidi Klum, and Gisele Bundchen to name a few made our 2024 Very Best list. And we are keeping it for another round because — quite simply — it is life changing. There is no caffeine, alcohol, or even solid food — just oodles of clear liquids, hot broths, and smoothies to sip throughout the day— and miraculously, you never feel hungry. At least I never did. Colonics are part of the daily regimen, along with beautiful sound baths, yoga, infrared sauna, and more than 40 medically supported spa treatments using ingredients like castor oil and magnesium. Expect weight loss (one to three pounds per day), clearer skin and eyes (my eye color changed from blue to turquoise), but mostly to leave the desert with a clearer mind and enhanced skill set for living and living a more balanced lifestyle once home. New this season: Jim Root, a top spa industry executive, recently joined We Care Spa as managing director. His career spans 47 years and includes leadership roles at prestigious spa resorts including Rancho La Puerta, Enchantment Group with Miiamo, Sea Island Company, Miraval, and Meadowood Napa Valley.
The Retreat at Blue Lagoon, Iceland
An invitation to wellness and repose pocketed amid an ancient lava field edging the Blue Lagoon, The Retreat triumphs as an upscale hideaway, complete with its own labyrinth of lagoons, stylish rooms, and a subterranean spa that stands out as a reason to visit in itself. Guests soak in the milky-blue, mineral-rich water, repose in the sauna, indulge in water massages, and partake of my favorite indulgence: the Ritual, an in-spa DIY treatment that utilizes The Retreat’s most healing products: a lava scrub (drawn from the terrain), a silica face and body mask, and a grand finale, green algae slathering.
Featured image by Chris Simpson, courtesy of Sensei Porcupine Creek.
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