In a world that never quite switches off, wellness travel has become one of the most requested types of holiday we plan. Our clients aren’t just looking for somewhere beautiful anymore, they want to properly disconnect, away from phones, notifications and the constant noise of everyday life, and come home feeling genuinely better: rested, restored and reconnected with themselves. And increasingly, they want something tailored to them, whether that’s gentle yoga and Pilates, structured Tai Chi or a fully personalised programme built entirely around them.
The properties we love most are those combining ancient healing wisdom with the very latest advances in science, nutrition and personalised medicine; places where transformation is genuinely possible, not just aspirational.
We were recently asked to contribute to a piece for our friends at Circle Square on exactly this subject, and it got us thinking: our clients and audience deserve the full picture too. Choosing just ten from the many we admire was no easy task. What we’ve tried to do is reflect the real breadth of what wellness travel can look like, from the Himalayan foothills of India and the science-led precision of Switzerland, to an intimate French retreat on the Côte d’Azur, the ancient hills of the Greek Peloponnese and the turquoise waters of the Maldives.
Ten very different experiences, spanning destinations near and far, united by one thing – the certainty that you will leave feeling transformed.
These are places our team know, love and recommend with genuine confidence. We hope they inspire you.
1) Ananda in the Himalayas, India
For wellness rooted in something ancient and profound, nothing quite matches Ananda. Set in the tranquil Himalayan foothills near Rishikesh, overlooking the sacred Ganges, this is the spiritual home of yoga and Ayurveda, and it shows in every detail.
- Ranked the No.1 Destination Spa in the World by Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Travel Awards
- Personalised programmes built around Ayurveda, yoga and Vedanta, guided by expert doctors and wellness consultants, with immersive stays from 5 to 21 nights for genuine, lasting transformation
- A setting like nowhere else – Himalayan foothills, sacred rivers and centuries of holistic tradition – designed for deep relaxation and spiritual reconnection
Ananda’s founders describe it as a spiritual pathway to harmony between body, mind and soul, and it’s every bit as transformative as that sounds. It also works beautifully as part of a wider Indian adventure, pairing perfectly with time in Delhi, Agra or Rajasthan either side of your stay.
2) Clinique La Prairie, Montreux, Switzerland
For those drawn to the science of longevity as much as the art of relaxation, Clinique La Prairie is in a category of its own. Pioneering health optimisation and healthy ageing since 1931, on the shores of Lake Geneva with the Alps as a backdrop, it remains one of the world’s most respected names in medical wellness.
- Built around four pillars – medical care, wellness, nutrition and movement – with more than 50 specialist doctors and healthcare professionals on-site
- Signature programmes include Revitalisation, Master Detox, Life Reset, Brain Potential and Healthy Weight, each tailored through comprehensive diagnostics and the latest scientific research
- Elegant lakeside accommodation blends genuine medical expertise with true luxury hospitality, so guests never feel like patients
Nearly a century of pedigree sits behind every treatment here, and it works beautifully either as a dedicated standalone break or woven into a wider lakes and alpine journey through Switzerland.
3) SHA Wellness Clinic, Spain
For a scientific, results-driven approach to wellness, SHA is genuinely in a league of its own. Located on Spain’s stunning Costa Blanca, it has built its reputation on clinical credibility as much as luxury, a life-transforming experience designed to help guests achieve and sustain optimal health.
- The proprietary SHA Method blends holistic disciplines with advanced functional and preventive medicine, genetics, regenerative medicine and gut health
- Programmes cover detox, weight management, anti-ageing and stress recovery, using treatments like biohacking, cryotherapy and personalised nutrition
- A genuine focus on measurable, long-term results, not just how guests feel while they’re there, but how they feel months after they leave
SHA’s own philosophy is about more than extending life expectancy, it’s about the quality of those years too – physical, mental and emotional wellbeing all working in harmony. It makes a brilliant standalone break or a compelling addition to a wider Costa Blanca or Alicante getaway.
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A word on Six Senses
Six Senses has built its entire hospitality identity around what it calls Integrated Wellness, blending high-tech science with high-touch, ancient healing traditions. Rather than treating the spa as an afterthought, wellness runs through every part of the stay, from sleep architecture and nutrition to biohacking and personalised diagnostics.
With properties spanning remote island escapes to dedicated retreats and even city hotels, there’s a Six Senses for almost every kind of traveller.
Three of our favourites made our top ten, but there are so many more across the world worth exploring too…
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4) Six Senses Douro Valley, Portugal
Portugal’s Douro Valley is one of the most beautiful wine regions in the world, a landscape of vine-covered rolling hills, the River Douro winding through ancient terraces and centuries of history.
Set in a beautifully restored 19th-century manor house dating back to the time of King Afonso V, Six Senses transformed this historic estate in 2015 into a luxury wellness retreat that feels completely at one with its extraordinary surroundings.
- A large spa with treatment rooms and hydrotherapy sits at the heart of the property, alongside yoga, fitness and specialist wellness retreats
- Renowned for its sleep programmes, with handmade organic wool mattresses, temperature-regulating bedding and personalised minibars, rest is treated as a discipline in its own right here
- Local grapes and wine extracts feature in treatments, with sommelier-led tastings and farm-to-table dining reflecting the region’s extraordinary produce
Sustainability is central to the Six Senses philosophy, and here it feels entirely natural rather than performative; rooms and suites use authentic materials gathered from the valley, some with wooden bridges leading to secret gardens, and ground floor rooms come with generous outside space and private hot tubs. Porto and the region’s charming heritage villages are close by for those who want to explore further.
For those who want their wellness rooted in history, landscape and exceptional wine and food alongside genuine restoration, Douro Valley is hard to beat.
“The Douro Valley has everything – extraordinary scenery, and incredible food and wine – and Six Senses wraps the most thoughtful wellness experience around all of it. It’s one of those places I find myself recommending again and again” – Sara Hearne, Beaver Travel
5) Six Senses Ninh Van Bay, Vietnam
Reached only by boat, Six Senses Ninh Van Bay feels like your own private island, dramatic rock formations, a white sand beach and towering mountains, all looking out over the East Vietnam Sea.
Sally from our team has visited and can vouch for just how special it is: “It’s barefoot luxury in the truest sense, remote but with plenty to do, and the beach is gorgeous. The service and food were fantastic, helped along by their own massive organic gardens, and having your own butler makes it feel properly special.”
- Beachfront, overwater and rock-nestled villas set into one of Vietnam’s most dramatic coastal landscapes
- The hilltop spa uses biomarker tracking to design a personalised journey of treatments, fitness and wellness activities, blending Eastern preventative principles with high-tech Western methods
- A working herbal garden supplies ingredients for spa treatments and the Alchemy Bar, where guests can blend their own botanicals
It’s the kind of place that makes you pinch yourself, genuinely remote, genuinely restorative, and unlike anywhere else in Vietnam.
6) Six Senses La Sagesse, Grenada
In the Caribbean, Six Senses brings the same philosophy to a very different landscape – tropical, laid-back and rich with island culture.
- Reflects Six Senses’ core commitment to personalised wellness, sustainability and eco-luxury
- Programmes lean into sleep, detox, longevity and mindfulness, tailored to each guest
- Local Caribbean influences are woven throughout, nature-led wellbeing that feels rooted in the island rather than imported onto it.
Two very different corners of the world, one consistent promise, and proof that wherever in the world you find a Six Senses, from the Maldives to Bhutan to the heart of London, that same thoughtful, integrated approach to wellbeing follows.
7) The BodyHoliday, St Lucia
Sally has experienced The BodyHoliday first hand, and her enthusiasm says it all. A pioneer in wellness hospitality for over 30 years, it sits on Cariblue’s crescent beach on St Lucia’s northwest tip, surrounded by 32 acres of lush tropical gardens.
“It’s an all-inclusive that focuses on wellness, but you can do as much or as little as you like. It’s a beautiful setting, and you get a spa treatment included every day. There are so many activities, fitness, yoga, water sports and more, but equally you can simply eat well, relax and restore. It’s also brilliant for solo travellers – it’s set up in a way that makes it really easy to meet like-minded people” — Sally Wallis, Beaver Travel
- Built around four pillars – relaxation, restorative beauty, exercise and diet – with a customised 50-minute spa treatment included every day of your stay
- Activities from morning hikes and sailing to yoga, Pilates and archery, all included within the price
- Six distinct restaurants, including Tao, an award-winning fusion spot featured in Condé Nast Traveller, and the farm-to-table I-Tal for a spectacular vegan feast
What makes it truly special is the freedom on offer, whether that’s being gently massaged with soothing oils, finding stillness in meditation, abseiling down a river gorge or simply reading a novel on a sun lounger with a cooling drink, every version of your stay is equally well catered for.
A brilliantly designed monthly themed programme, from dedicated yoga weeks to sailing masterclasses led by Olympic champions, means you can time your visit to suit exactly what you’re after.
“Give us your body for a week and we’ll give you back your mind” – It’s a bold promise, and one The BodyHoliday genuinely delivers on.
8) Lily of the Valley, Saint-Tropez, France
There are hotels with spas, and then there is Lily of the Valley. This Philippe Starck-designed, five-star property, on a protected coastal estate minutes from Saint-Tropez, has built its entire identity around wellness rather than treating it as an add-on.
- The 2,000 sqm Shape Club offers four structured programmes – Better Ageing, Sport, Detox and Weight Loss – over stays of four to 14 days, with nutrition support from nutritionist Jacques Fricker designed for results that last long after you leave
- Six kilometres of wild sand at Plage de Gigaro sit below the hotel, with sailing, paddleboard yoga and coastal running, while a Nordic circuit above brings sauna, steam room and cold plunge
- Accommodation ranges from 44 rooms and suites to seven pool suites and four extraordinary villas, including two newly opened five-bedroom villas with private chef and villa manager
Chef Vincent Maillard’s restaurant, Vista, serves a Mediterranean menu built on seasonal ingredients from local producers, while the acclaimed Italian restaurant at the beach stays open all year round, so the wellness never comes at the expense of genuinely good food.
Lily of the Valley is for anyone who wants a holiday that changes something, not through deprivation, but through exceptional surroundings, expert guidance and the simple power of slowing down somewhere truly beautiful.
9) Joali Being, Maldives
The Maldives has long been synonymous with natural beauty, but Joali Being builds something altogether more ambitious around it. This is not a luxury resort with a spa, it’s a dedicated wellbeing island on Bodufushi Island, Raa Atoll, conceived from the ground up around a single purpose: joyful transformation. The philosophy here is called Weightlessness, a sense of energy, freedom, lightness and wonder the resort believes is available to every guest willing to pursue it.
- Four pillars – Mind, Skin, Microbiome and Energy – underpin bespoke programmes incorporating diagnostics, sound healing, hydrotherapy and microbiome-focused nutrition
- Extraordinary facilities include hydrotherapy halls, hammam, salt rooms and dedicated sound therapy spaces, guided by an expert team of in-house consultants who lead guests through personalised programmes of self-discovery and renewal
- Genuinely suited to multigenerational travel, with a dedicated B’Kidult zone, one of the very few high-end wellness destinations where grandparents, parents and children can all find something meaningful together
Nutrition is central throughout, with cuisine designed to support the wellbeing journey rather than simply satisfy appetite, and all 68 biophilic accommodations include private pools and private butler service, with beach and overwater options available.
For those who want to combine the Maldives’ unrivalled setting with wellness that genuinely goes beyond the surface, Joali Being is in a category of its own.
10) Euphoria Retreat, Greece
Recognised as one of Europe’s leading wellbeing destination spa hotels, Euphoria Retreat is set in the wild, mythical landscape of the Greek Peloponnese, and feels different the moment you arrive. The approach here is layered and integrative in a way that sets it apart from the standard spa hotel. Byzantine-inspired architecture houses a spa concept drawing on traditional Chinese medicine, Taoism and Greek hippocratic medicine, three ancient traditions brought together in one of the most genuinely distinctive wellness philosophies anywhere in the world.
- Personalised diagnostic testing gives every guest a truly individual starting point, alongside programmes targeting detox, stress, longevity and emotional wellbeing
- Extraordinary spa facilities include thermal areas, hammam and Byzantine-inspired pools, paired with a thoughtful 3GL nutritional concept that supports healing without sacrificing pleasure
- Structured around guidelines rather than rules, guests can come for genuine transformation or simply for exceptional massages and food, breathing Mediterranean air alive with the scent of orange and pine trees
The Peloponnese setting does a great deal of the work too. The purity of light, the ancient landscape, the sense of being somewhere with genuine mythological and historical weight – all of it becomes part of the experience in a way a resort in a less resonant location simply couldn’t replicate. Euphoria is for those who want their wellness to mean something, somewhere that genuinely changes perspective and sends you home different.
In need of a little escape? Whichever kind of wellness holiday calls to you – ancient tradition, cutting-edge science, total remoteness or something entirely personal – our team would love to talk you through these destinations and plenty of others besides. Get in touch to arrange a chat, and let’s find the right escape for you.
