Why healthy travelers are choosing fitness retreats over spa vacations

If you favor standard millennial tastes, chances are, you prefer your avocado on toast, you’re attracted to a specific shade of pink, and you’d book a wellness retreat over a spa getaway any day of the week. At the Global Wellness Summit in fall 2017, Well+Good co-founders Alexia Brue and Melisse Gelula shared their research findings on millennial travel habits, and the results, which likely won’t surprise healthy-lifestyle enthusiasts, inspired a new venture for the company.

In a survey of nearly 5,000 Well+Good readers, Brue and Gelula found that 40 percent of respondents would rather go on a fitness retreat with a beloved instructor than head to a five-star resort, Fast Company reports. And although more than half the respondents said they travel several times a year, 91 percent claimed to have never visited a high-end resort.

“Part of what our readers were looking for from us was really what we do across the site: we vet things, we’re curatorial about it,” Melisse Gelula, Well+Good co-founder

The findings became the impetus for a new venture: Well+Good Retreats, which Brue and Gelula said will encompass travel experiences that people care about. Four annual retreats will combine your favorite “fitness headliners” with specific workout modalities. First up? A three-night getaway at Avalon Palm Springs from March 25 to 28, featuring SoulCycle instructor Charlee Atkins and Well+Good Council member Candice Kumai. Co-founders Brue and Gelula will also be on location for the healthy fun.

It’s currently difficult to find retreats that go beyond yoga, but W+G’s editions will tap an array of boutique-fitness style workouts. Furthermore, all will be supplemented by healthy food and woo-woo-wellness–related activities.

“Part of what our readers were looking for from us was really what we do across the site: we vet things, we’re curatorial about it,” Gelula told Fast Company.

Millennials also seem to be stressed about basically everything, and almost all of the time. Since these retreats will be largely all-inclusive, that’s a load off the anxiety wagon: Accommodations, activities, and healthy food are all taken care of for guests, and seen out by trusted experts. Just think of it as the new frontier of spring break.

Quick: Join Well+Good for our first-ever retreat in Palm Springs! Here is the complete itinerary as well as a rundown on the beautiful location and healthy food.