18 Buzzy Hotel Partnerships Paving the Way for *All* Travel To Be Wellness Travel
Part of that uptick may be linked to the way the COVID-19 pandemic has—and continues to—change so much about daily life and perceptions of wellness. A survey conducted this summer by wellness-tech platform MindBody, which aggregated data from thousands of its users, found that over 75 percent of respondents reported wellness to be more important to them than ever, with over 50 percent reporting plans to spend more money on self care over the next six months.
While these results are specific to folks predisposed to value wellness in some way (aka people who already use MindBody), the renewed affinity for wellness is nonetheless notable—and hotels seem to agree, as many are shape-shifting their wellness offerings to match this new demand.
Since the onset of the pandemic, in fact, a number of hotels have struck partnerships with fitness-, nutrition-, and recovery-oriented companies to institute new expert-backed programs designed to help guests maintain healthy habits they adopted during lockdown or launch new ones aligned with future wellness goals.
This new slate of hotel wellness partnerships serves as an invitation to rethink travel as wellness-supportive—whether or not you're actually going to a wellness resort or wellness is the express purpose of your trip. The idea is that a stay away from home shouldn’t just allow you to uphold any newly refined relationship with health or fitness or self care, but to actually enhance it. Below, find our roadmap to the most exciting new hotel wellness partnerships poised to help you de-stress, gain strength, catch more shut-eye, or embrace nature in transporting ways.
The 18 best new hotel wellness partnerships across the country
1. Andaz Scottsdale Resort & Bungalows (Scottsdale, AZ)
If workout equipment has become a starring fixture in your Zoom background, you’ll feel right at home in one of Andaz Scottsdale’s three new Sonoran Wellness Suites (from $1,093 per night), which are decked out with Tonal smart gyms. To cater specifically to those who prefer strength-training in private, these suites feature the full customizable Tonal experience (interactive display and digital-weight technology included), as well as an exercise bench, weight set, and yoga mat. So, it’s easy to achieve a full workout without so much as leaving your suite—but should you want some air, you’ll also find an Atlantic Coast Cruiser bicycle ready to be taken for a spin through the property’s cactus gardens and lemon-tree patches. Upon your return, relax and unwind beside the suite's diffuser, with a handful of house-made lavender-infused almonds.
2. Applewood Manor (Asheville, NC)
Right alongside hiking or walking outside, biking is one of those open-air diversions that really hit its groove during the pandemic, with bicycle sales summiting to new heights. If you, too, joined the two-wheeled crew—or, perhaps, have loved biking for some time now—level up your skills (and views) along mountain trails at Applewood Manor by partaking in the just-launched Peep & Pedal program. Designed by the inn’s owner, Stephen Collins, who is also a former elite amateur competitive cyclist, it features customized bike routes along the Blue Ridge Parkway fit for experienced cyclists (though not suggested for beginners).
For $295 per person, the package includes rental of a 3T Exploro racing bike, as well as an on-ride nutrition pack from Torq USA. Before you take off on your journey, you’ll also enjoy a pre-ride boxed lunch, and upon your return, you’ll be greeted by a sampling of charcuterie and local craft beer.
3. Carmel Valley Ranch (Carmel, CA)
Reconnect with nature in an entirely new way at the Carmel Valley Ranch, which just launched a slate of new equine experiences. And we’re not just talking horseback riding: To create programs that tap into the soothing powers of the animal-people connection, the resort partnered with clinical psychologist Robert G. Magnelli, PhD, whose specialties include equine-assisted psychotherapy and equine-assisted learning.
Through the “Getting to Know Our Herd” program, for example, you can get up-close and personal with horses to learn how they can respond to a person's emotional state—and how you can shift your own energy to change the horses' responses, as well. Or, choose the “Equine & Wine” program to get grounded in the present moment and dissolve tension over quality time with the horses and a glass of vino at sunset.
4. Cavallo Point (Sausalito, CA)
Nestled within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the natural setting of Cavallo Point sets up the resort well for its new stress-melting 6 Pillars of Healthy Living program. Created in partnership with BlueWave Medicine and its founder, integrative-medicine physician Brad Jacobs, MD, MPH, it includes an array of wellness experiences framed around six pillars: active living, healthy eating, restorative sleep, stress reduction, connection, and passion and gratitude. All activities for the program—from outdoor yoga and hypnotherapy to a cacao ceremony and herbal-gardening session—are designed to plunk you outside, in grassy fields and rolling meadows, as often as possible, where you can soak up all the serenity that comes from reconnecting with nature.
5. CIVANA Wellness Resort & Spa (Scottsdale, AZ)
Get acquainted with Ayurveda during a six-day retreat at CIVANA, created in partnership with internal-medicine physician and Ayurvedic expert Deepak Chopra, MD. Twice a month, you can book the new “Chopra Health Retreat,” a package deal centered as much around improving the health of the mind and spirit as that of the body (from $6,100). It includes 15 locally sourced, vegan meals (developed by CIVANA's executive chef Scott Winegard in collaboration with Chopra Global’s chief medical officer, Sheila Patel, MD), as well as twice-daily meditation and yoga, four personalized Ayurvedic spa treatments, and a one-on-one consultation with an Ayurveda-trained physician.
Not ready to commit to a six-night experience? During any stay at CIVANA, you can still access several of the new food offerings, as well as spa experiences developed with Dr. Chopra—like an Ayurveda-inspired body massage by way of Marma Point Therapy (focused on Ayurvedic energy points throughout the body) and a kansa-wand facial massage designed to soothe and release tension from muscles in the face, neck, and shoulders.
6. The Foundry Hotel (Asheville, NC)
After a year-plus of Zoom calls, FaceTimes, and endless cause for doom-scrolling, you might find yourself overdue for a break from technology. The Foundry Hotel's new Digital Detox Adventure Package (from $999 per night) poses exactly that. Thanks to a partnership with Asheville Wellness Tours, the tech-free experience includes a private hike at Wild Cat Rock within the Blue Ridge Mountains on a route that notably has zero cell service. And to brace against the mountain chill on your hike and on the hotel grounds, you'll also receive a classic puffer from mindful outwear brand The Arrivals, which comes equipped with an "Off-the-Grid" pocket designed to block 100-percent of radiation from cell signals. Consider it out-of-office, 2.0.
7. Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills (Los Angeles, CA)
A few years back, the Four Seasons Los Angeles launched its first four wellness-centric rooms—and at the start of this summer, it increased that number to 14, rounding out an entire floor’s worth of on-site wellness spaces. Created in partnership with Delos Living, a wellness consultancy, each room offers circadian rhythm-centric lighting (which simulates the patterns of natural light) and soothing sound machines, alongside Rabbit air-purification systems, Lather bath amenities, Alo Yoga equipment, and the option to participate in guided meditations narrated by integrative-medicine physician Deepak Chopra, MD. Beyond the rooms and suites, the wellness floor includes a private fitness suite that’s home to both Peloton and SoulCycle bikes (among other equipment) and available to reserve in two-hour time slots, as well as a private office with adjustable-height desks and stools to make for a fully customizable work or meeting setup.
8. Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea (Kihei, HI)
A collaboration with Next|Health puts IV therapy right at your fingertips (er, arm) while you’re a guest at the Four Seasons Maui. While IV treatments—by which liquid formulations of vitamins or electrolytes are channeled into the blood—are not for everyone (and should only be done after getting approval from your physician), they can be a helpful way to speed up the body’s absorption of health-supportive nutrients like vitamin C, glutathione (which helps the body produce more antioxidants and facilitates cell growth), and magnesium. All of the above are available via the Four Seasons and Next|Health collab, as are drips of other anti-inflammatory and immunity-boosting nutrients, like antioxidant CoQ10 and peptide Thymosin Alpha-1, from $300 each. They’re all administered by registered nurses in the Four Seasons’ spa, making the experience feel as un-medical as possible—for an IV treatment, that is.
9. French Quarter Inn (Charleston, SC)
Travel and good sleep notoriously don’t mix—but the French Quarter Inn is working to change that by way of a partnership with the sleep app SleepSpace. Each room at the inn now comes equipped with a sleep guide developed by SleepSpace’s founder, cognitive psychologist Daniel Gartenberg, PhD, featuring a set of good-sleep reminders—like a timeline for when to get the most sunlight and when to dim the lights—as well as sleep tips geared specifically toward travelers, like how to beat jet lag by adapting to your new time zone’s schedule as soon as possible. And to help you doze off even more easily when the time comes, the hotel offers free sleep sound machines, sleepytime tea, and a Sound Sleep pillow menu, from which you can choose your ideal pillow from seven different options.
10. Hotel Figueroa (Los Angeles, CA)
At Hotel Figueroa, R&R isn’t just rest and relaxation—but rest and recovery, as the aptly named R&R suite (from $426 per night) is decked out to help guests do both to the fullest. Launched on August 15 (in honor of National Relaxation Day), the suite at the historic Los Angeles property features a customizable pod mattress via a partnership with sleep-fitness company Eight Sleep, which adjusts its temperature to bring on optimal sleep throughout the night. And if you’re sharing the bed with a partner, not to worry: It has two zones that will uniquely manage each of your body's temperature fluctuations.
A week before arrival, you'd also complete a sleep quiz from Pluto Pillow, which custom-builds a pillow based on your preferences that will be ready on the bed upon check-in. During your stay, you can also exercise with the in-room FORME fitness mirror—and then recover both inside and out with Beam hydration powders and a Hyperice recovery station for the legs, hips, and back.
11. The Ivy Hotel (Baltimore, MD)
If you’re taking advantage of WFH flexibility to work from wherever you want, you’d be keen to book The Ivy Hotel's "Weekday Wellness" package (from $801 per night), which includes a 60-minute massage featuring myofascial, trigger-point, and cranial-sacral techniques designed to relieve all those muscles you might typically tense while hunched over a laptop for hours. In your room or suite, you’ll also be greeted by a vegetarian crudité board and Naturopathica stress tea and bath amenities, as well as a mini "bar" stocked with local kombucha and snacks to keep your energy levels high throughout the workday, and an arnica- and Himalayan salt-infused bath truffle for melting away stress at day’s end.
12. Kimpton Nine Zero Hotel (Boston, MA)
At Kimpton Nine Zero, you can hit the water for a very real-seeming virtual row class taught by top-tier athletes filming from waterways around the world—without, of course, leaving the hotel gym. The hotel partnered with Hydrow earlier this year to install one of the company’s live outdoor-reality rowers in the on-site fitness center, free for guests to use. Instead of your usual strength-training regimen, hop on the machine, and you’ll gain access to all the full-body perks of a rowing workout, no water skills necessary.
13. L'Auberge de Sedona (Sedona, AZ)
The sweeping landscape of red-rock buttes, the desert quiet, and the pristine view of the stars all make the small town of Sedona ripe for spiritual endeavors. To lean into that natural vibe, L'Auberge de Sedona is launching a series of new metaphysical programming this fall in partnership with local wellness practitioner Paula Lockwood and her company Sedona Holistic Healing. On the docket are classes on the meaning of different crystals and their use in crystal meditation; an introduction to Reiki and chakra-balancing; and astrology and tarot readings (all of which are free for hotel guests and available weekly). Perhaps the most intriguing of the new offerings, though, are the courses centered around the local Sedona geologic phenomenon of vortices—particularly breathtaking spots in the surrounding rock landscape that are thought to be alive with energy.
14. Paséa Hotel & Spa (Huntington Beach, CA)
Spending some time at this beachfront resort might feel like enough of a balm for burnout as is—but, to up the ante, the hotel launched a dedicated “burnout break” program in August and saw so much interest, it’s been extended through the end of 2021. Book the package (from $500 per night), and you’ll get accommodations in an ocean-view room; a welcome gift including a beach towel, Sun Bum sunscreen, and two jalapeño pineapple margaritas; a 50-minute hot sea stone massage; and a one-month subscription to the Caravan Wellness app (which features 250-plus classes in yoga, meditation, and more) to help maintain your soothed state of mind long after your trip wraps up.
15. Sensei Lāna’i (Lanai City, HI)
As the first dedicated wellness resort on the Four Seasons roster, Sensei Lana'i is the soul-soothing home to a host of longevity-boosting practices aligned in three guided pathways from which you can choose to focus your visit: "Move," "Nourish," and "Rest." To supercharge these offerings with the actionable insights that come from physiological tracking, the resort partnered with health-tech company WHOOP this summer to create a five-night Optimal Wellbeing Program (from $1,335 per night).
A few days before the program starts, you'll receive a WHOOP wearable strap in the mail, with the intent to begin tracking fitness, sleep, and recovery data (like heart-rate variability and sleep respiratory rate, for example), all of which will be accessible through an online portal. Upon arrival at the resort, a Sensei Guide (a trained health practitioner) will conduct your health assessment and work with you to develop an itinerary supporting personalized metrics and goals, splicing in everything from hiking excursions and meditation sessions to spa treatments. And when the retreat wraps up, you'll receive a comprehensive "Guide to Growth" report with tips for upholding your new wellness habits long after departure.
16. Thompson Nashville (Nashville, TN)
Thompson Nashville recently linked up with Invigorate Health to offer IV therapy as part of its new "Boost Your Stay...the Wellness Way" package (from $439 per night). And, again, while IV therapy surely isn’t for everyone, this partnership through the brand's "Hyatt Loves Local" initiative offers a low-stress way to try it out (though it's recommended to get an okay from your doctor first). While at the hotel, you can stop by the Invigorate Health to-go van or request an in-room service, and with either option, you’ll also have access to the company’s “Gulch Gulp,” a cold-pressed juice packed with ginger, kale, and apple.
17. Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club (Dana Point, CA)
A brand-new spa with a clinical, treatment-based approach opened at the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach this past summer in partnership with 111Skin and its founder, Yannis Alexandrides, MD. While you'll find the usual facials and massages on the menu, you'll also see services like cryotherapy and cryofacials, as well as a "dramatic healing facial" up-leveled with 111Skin's high-key (read: incredibly potent) serums designed to penetrate skin and boost collagen production for more bounce. And in case you were wondering, there's a whole bunch of CBD on the menu, too: A separate partnership with Lord Jones brings the anti-inflammatory CBD facial, which comes along with a lymphatic-drainage facial massage. While the spa is open to resort guests daily (with face and body services starting at $250), the spa takes reservations for folks not staying at the resort Mondays through Thursdays.
18. Westin Hotels & Resorts (multiple locations)
Earlier this year, Westin conducted an online survey in collaboration with YouGov, asking 5,181 people how their views on fitness and running shifted during the pandemic. One trend emerged loud and clear: the importance of self care and recovery. More than half of respondents said they’re putting more emphasis on self care now compared to pre-pandemic, while more than a third of people who categorized themselves as runners said they believe run recovery is as important for mental health as it is for physical health. To respond to this particular focus, Westin partnered with run-recovery tech company Hyperice to bring specialized Hypervolt recovery stations to Westin gyms across the country, featuring a handheld percussion massage device that delivers pulsing pressure. Hotel guests can use it free of charge during any stay, for either warming up muscles or assisting with post-run release.
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