Wellness looks different to every traveler. For some, a yoga retreat in Bali is the key to renewed mental clarity, while for others, it’s a week spent learning how to cook healthy meals and focusing on physical health. It could be completely unplugging or using the latest technology to achieve healthier skin. In the end, a cookie cutter style wellness retreat is not what the modern traveler is looking for now.
Spa getaways and yoga retreats have defined wellness travel for decades. Guests would go to an all-inclusive resort and work with a fitness trainer, attend meditation and nutrition classes, and enjoy spa treatments. This style of wellness travel continues to be popular today, but after self-reflection from a year of being cooped up at home, guests expect more personalization and nuance from a getaway that promises to restore our mental and physical health.
The growth of wellness travel was twice the average of overall tourism at the beginning of 2020. It’s clear that travelers want journeys that are not just about the destination. The following two properties offer personalized experiences yet couldn’t be more different from each other.
Lake Austin Spa & Resort
Located outside of Austin in the Texas Hill Country, this 40-room resort is set on 19 acres along the shores of the lake. Lake Austin Spa Resort approaches each individual’s wellness with a multi-faceted plan. Guests are encouraged to disengage from their mobile devices and leave their phones in their rooms. First is the technology detox and then the physical and mental detox. With spa treatments such as full-body scrubs and indulgent vegetable forward cuisine at the resort’s restaurant, it doesn’t take long to shake off tensions and begin to relax. Being lakeside allows guests to choose from a long list of aquatic activities from enjoying a scenic boat ride to working up a sweat hydro-biking.
Amankora
Comprising several lodges across Bhutan, this resort system caters specifically to spiritual wellness. Amankora offers an exclusive seven-night journey that begins by exploring mountains dotted with temples en route to the first night at Amankora Thimphu. Continue with an invigorating walk across one of Bhutan’s oldest cantilever bridges and a visit to a fortress monastery, ending amid serene rice terraces at Amankora Punakha. Next, hike alongside the River Mo and enjoy a picnic by River Puna, before visiting Punakha’s 15th century Chimi fertility temple. As you wind through the Wang and Paro river valleys to Amankora Paro, explore nearby ruins and holy religious monuments and enjoy authentic cultural experiences. Complete the journey by hiking to revered Tiger’s Nest, perched on a cliff 3000 feet above the valley floor, before enjoying a 60-minute treatment in the spa. Open to tourists this month, travelers can also visit monasteries and hike to cliffside temples.
The Spring season showcases the renewal and growth happening around us in nature. Let’s take that as a hint from Mother Nature to focus on wellness and renewal within us.
Helen Jordan is the owner of Jordan Luxury Travel, an independent affiliate of Brownell Travel, a member of Virtuoso. She can be reached at 602-692-9379 or [email protected].
