Trendspotting: wellness properties

During the Golden Age, the weary sought out hot springs for their supposed healing powers; Decades later, travelers focused their entire vacation on relaxation, with guests rounding out bike rides or massages with healthy cuisine and mindfulness techniques. Today, this integrative approach has become even bolder, as pioneering spa and resort brands such as SHA, Six Senses, Canyon Ranch and Miraval are reimagining the concept of wellness.

According to the Global Wellness Institute's 2024 Global Wellness Economy Monitor, the sector reached a whopping $6.3 trillion in 2023 and is expected to grow to nearly $9 trillion by 2028. The study found that the sectors with the strongest annual growth rates from 2019 to 2023 were wellness real estate (18.1 percent); public health, prevention and personalized medicine (15.2 percent); and mental well-being (11.6 percent).

Awareness and interest in promoting one's well-being – physical, emotional and mental – has become so ubiquitous that it is embedded in daily life thanks to scientific and technological advances and social media. Instead of just offering a short, blissful break from everyday life, the hotel industry is responding by encouraging life-changing, positive habits that produce tangible results during and even after the guest's stay.

Consider the fountainthe socially committed members' club founded in 2019 by Sarrah Hallock, Rebecca Parekh and Kane Sarhan. “We were all looking for a solution that didn’t exist yet – a space in New York that integrated holistic wellness under one roof. ” emphasizes Parekh, the CEO of Well, who previously served as COO at Deepak Chopra's Radical Well-Being. Blending Eastern and Western modalities became the trio's mission, and in the 13,000-square-foot New York flagship designed by Miami-based Rose Ink Workshop, members meet with health coaches and take vitamin B shots, bodywork and craniosacral -therapy part.

The expansive model — which evolved post-Covid to welcome members and day spa-goers alike — has proven so successful that the Well has now sprung up at several Auberge Resorts Collection properties, including the Mayflower Inn & Spa in Washington, Connecticut; Hacienda AltaGracia in Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica; and Chileno Bay Resort & Residences in Los Cabos, Mexico, all overseen by Nina Gotlieb, founder and principal of Otherworld Creative based in Brooklyn, New York.

Looking ahead, the Well Bay Harbor Islands, developed with developer Terra Group and designed by local firm Arquitectonica and New York-based Meyer Davis, is slated to open in Miami next summer. Beyond the wellness club, the 66 condominiums, courtyard and rooftop coworking area are a testament to how health-conscious people today want to harmonize all facets of life.

One of the boldest wellness offers in Europe SHAwhich was first shown in Alicante, Spain in 2008 under the direction of Florence-based architect Carlos Giraldi and Pamplona, ​​Spain-based designer Elvira Blanco Montenegro. “From the beginning, we wanted to be innovative and cutting-edge and not focus so much on pampering,” says SHA Vice President Alejandro Bataller.

Just as SHA combines therapies from natural and scientific medicine, it combines “the rigor of a wellness clinic,” says Bataller, with the atmosphere of a luxury resort, aimed at executives, CEOs and athletes who value prevention strategies and optimal performance. Diagnostics and advice lead to health plans that include everything from cognitive stimulation to inner balance, based on the knowledge gained from Healthy Living Academy sessions.

SHA's goal of having a property on every continent has spawned a site in Costa Mujeres, Mexico, designed by local firms Sordo Madeleno and Alejandro Escudero, a country in which SHA's real estate development arm, AB Living Group, is involved Marriott is collaborating to design branded residences and resorts under the SHA Wellness brand.

In 2026, SHA will also launch in the United Arab Emirates on AlJurf, a 25-hectare private island between Dubai and Abu Dhabi dedicated to health and wellness. Designed by Saota Architecture and Design of Cape Town and South Africa, as well as HBA Dubai and HBA Residential, it will feature organic curves, airy pavilions and vertical gardens.

Another lifestyle brand committed to wellness is Kerzner International SIROwhich debuted at One Za'abeel in Dubai earlier this year with a design by locally-based firm LW Design Group. Sport-oriented travelers are encouraged to take part in a training center with dedicated training areas, state-of-the-art, science-backed treatments and tailored, balanced meals. “At SIRO One Za’abeel, we are redefining wellness by incorporating a holistic approach to design and focusing on our guests’ total well-being – physical, mental and emotional,” says Sara Felch, vice president of design and technical services at Kerzner Internationally.

This 360-degree philosophy is also key ZihFita four- to six-day retreat in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, designed by Los Angeles-based event producer J. Ben Bourgeois and Brazilian-American personal trainer Eduardo Penteado as a physical, mental and emotional reset. Yoga classes, workouts, meditation sessions and daily massages are combined with meals made from organic ingredients as well as spiritual cacao ceremonies, temazcal rituals and sound baths inspired by Mexican culture. When it all comes together, they provide “an opportunity to get in touch with our higher selves,” says Bourgeois.

Zeyrek tiled bathroomA centuries-old Turkish bathhouse in Istanbul, recently reopened after a 13-year renovation by KA-BA Architects, returns to the wellness principles of the past. Built in the 1530s by chief architect Mimar Sinan, this historic landmark is now a multifunctional space (including a museum) that preserves its Ottoman architectural heritage in a 30,000-square-foot bathhouse.

Atelier Brückner of Stuggart, Germany, an architectural firm specializing in exhibition design, worked to preserve the hammam's lost tiles, which represented an important part of the site's history and formed the basis for the museum, where tiles are displayed along a narrow strip buildings and extend into an external courtyard. “The entire experience is a valuable cultural offering,” says lead designer Emma Kilday. “You can enjoy your spa day and then learn more about the history of this unique experience and environment.”

The interiors are just as enticing in the new Hudson Valley Rancha 40,000-square-foot mansion in Sloatsburg, New York that was formerly owned by Ukrainian nuns. The East Coast successor to Ranch Malibu—husband and wife Alex and Sue Glasscock's Spanish hacienda-turned-Los Angeles retreat—is this 25-key incarnation, courtesy of New York studio SR Gambrel, which remodeled the ballroom into a gym and added a solarium.

It is an ideal setting for the intimate groups that participate in structured, full-day programs that include hikes, naps, fitness, yoga, daily massages and plant-based foods that create gradual but lasting change. “So many people are looking for a silver bullet. They want a pill or a certain diet and that doesn't work in the long term,” explains Sue. “It’s the little things we do on our wellness journey that lead to success.”

These small steps are the foundation of the estate of sbethe brainchild of SBE Entertainment Group Founder, Chairman and CEO Sam Nazarian. He worked with author, coach and speaker Tony Robbins as well as singer and actor Marc Anthony and event producer and global strategist Richard Attias to develop what the quartet calls a hospitality and residential ecosystem.

It was only in 2006 that Nazarian launched the SLS Hotels brand designed by Philippe Starck (now part of the Accor portfolio). Back then, the masses craved elegant design and a touch of exclusivity, but “over the years, I've seen consumer priorities evolve – from nightlife to lifestyle to a deeper connection to health and longevity,” says Nazarian, whose own metamorphosis helped bring the property to its peak. “Guests are no longer looking for a fleeting escape; They look for meaningful experiences that enrich their lives. The Estate meets this need by combining 5-star luxury with the latest in functional medicine and AI-driven diagnostics.”

By 2030, the property aims to build 15 hotels and residences and 10 urban longevity centers around the world, from St. Kitts to Montreux, Switzerland. In collaboration with Fountain Life, they will also offer customized nutrition and fitness plans in addition to full-body MRI scans and holistic treatments.

“This is not about medical hotels; It's about creating transformative luxury destinations that enable people to live healthier, more vibrant lives. Guests will not only leave feeling relaxed, but also with actionable insights to improve their health,” says Nazarian. “We create spaces where wellness is a lifestyle and not an add-on.”

This article originally appeared in the December 2024 issue of HD.