We are excited to launch our new service jet set journey In this series, we turn the best US cities to explore this year into our own playgrounds. This is more than just a travel guide, it’s a way to inspire creativity and wanderlust for a weekend or his weeklong trip. Pack your bags, join us here every week and get your jet set this summer.
We may not be able to “turn off” for summer anymore, but this season is the perfect opportunity to slow down a bit, hit the reset button, and make some time for yourself. What better way to achieve this than by booking a visit to a wellness retreat? There are plenty of options to help you focus and reconnect with yourself, including luxurious massage treatments, nutritious meals, and activities like hiking and forest bathing. Here are some of our favorites.
Lake Austin Spa Resort (Austin, Texas)
Photo: Lake Austin Spa Resort
Located just 32 miles from downtown Austin, this lakefront all-inclusive wellness resort feels much further away than the city itself. Your stay includes all meals, snacks, and non-alcoholic drinks such as fresh juices and smoothies. Access to spa pool and relaxation space. Wellness activities. And chips.
Photo: Lake Austin Spa Resort
Summer is the best time to visit, when you can enjoy the resort’s water sports such as hydrobiking, water skiing, wakeboarding, and kayaking on secluded Lake Austin. Daily programs include lakeside yoga, guided hikes through private trails in the Texas Hill Country, Japanese sword classes, underwater myofascial release to relieve stubborn neck and shoulder stiffness, tarot readings, wine cruises, and more. Contains activities.
Photo: Carly Diaz
At the on-site spa, [ comfort zone ] FACE SPAce is the first of its kind in the United States and utilizes a new specialized therapy that stimulates collagen to make your skin glow. Try a treatment that includes an outdoor cold water bath (or maybe even some fun with friends), followed by a warm and soothing massage for complete relaxation. Then, thoughtfully plated meals such as heirloom tomato salad, whipped ricotta made with local honey, and Texas blackfish are served in the dining room or outside in the breezy patio space.
Mii Amo, Sedona, Arizona
Photo: Douglas Friedman
If you’re looking for an all-inclusive wellness vacation that feels deeply meaningful, head to Sedona’s breathtaking Boynton Canyon. Here, the iconic Spa Mii Amo recently reopened after a two-year, $40 million renovation. It features 23 casitas with private balconies or patios, indoor kiva fireplaces and soaking tubs, as well as a new restaurant called Hummingbird.
Photo: Douglas Friedman
Daily guided meditations and special presentations and ceremonies (such as solstice ceremonies and canyon baths, for example) create the ideal environment to slow down and refocus.
Photo: Douglas Friedman
In addition to the typical massage and facial offerings, the spa offers Mii amo’s unique menu of services, including chakra balancing. Aura photography; a connection ceremony focused on letting go of past hurts and welcoming new beginnings. Inner Quest, which includes special ritual elements such as sweetgrass braiding and cedar/sage oil. and intuitive massage.
Photo: Mii Amaha
Hummingbird’s chef-created menu includes salmon ceviche, duck breast, poulet rouge, gluten-free and vegan options, and a juice bar stocked with smoothies, juices, and wellness tonics.
Photo: K. Hayden
The adjacent Enchantment Resort has additional amenities for you to use as you explore the 600 miles of surrounding trails.
Canyon Ranch, Woodside, California
Photo: Canyon Ranch
About an hour south of San Francisco, secluded among 16 acres of Northern California’s majestic redwoods, lies the all-inclusive Canyon Ranch Woodside. It also has locations in Tucson, Lenox (a Boston suburb), and Las Vegas.
Photo: Canyon Ranch
If you’re interested in forest bathing, this is the ideal wellness getaway. The resort embraces its woodland environment, from 24 luxurious treehouse rooms overlooking the forest to ropes courses and guided meditations under spectacular canopies. Our locally sourced dining menu includes afternoon tapas, colorful salads and fresh salmon, served al fresco or in our cozy dining room.
Photo: Canyon Ranch
Canyon Ranch offers a variety of daily activities to soothe the mind and body, including hiking, kayaking, mountain biking, dancing, and free-flowing abstract painting. Upcoming summer wellness presentations and workshops will focus on themes such as “Wisdom of the Horse and Herd” equine therapy; “Activate your empathy and intuition”; and “Find your purpose”. Spa treatments include Forrest His Aromatherapy Treatment and the Hiker’s Retreat to revitalize your legs after a strenuous hike.
Art of Living Retreat Center, Boone, NC
Photo: Art of Living Retreat Center
Depending on your intentions, you can design your own stay at the Art of Living Retreat Center. Customizable itineraries include silent retreats, wellness cleanses and detoxes, meditation-focused retreats, well-being retreats, and more. This summer, guest faculty will lead sessions on “Healing through Women’s Practices,” “Trusting Our Transformation,” and “Experiencing Divinity.”
Photo: Art of Living Retreat Center
The spa offers Ayurvedic-based treatments, including an eye bath with warm ghee to soothe tired eyes. Clear Breath Support cleanses the sinuses with herbal infused oil. A treatment that calms the nervous system involves pouring warm oil into the ears. Finish off with a soothing body wrap and massage treatment for the ultimate restorative experience.
Photo: Art of Living Retreat Center
Buffet-style meals are inspired by Ayurvedic wisdom and include vegetarian, whole-food options such as Jamaican Jackfruit Stew and Gado-Gado Peanut Sprout Salad. You can enjoy daily yoga sessions, nature walks and fire circles, with additional class options such as pottery and Ayurvedic cooking.
Hemlock Neversink, Neversink, New York
Photo: Sashiton Photo
The newest all-inclusive wellness resort on this list just opened in October 2023. Hemlock Neversink is located on Sullivan’s 230 acres of land in the Catskills, about two hours northwest of New York City. Your stay includes all meals and non-alcoholic beverages, programming, and on-site amenities.
Photo: Clay Banks
The prix-fixe menu at the on-site restaurant, Bittersweet, emphasizes plant-based dishes, including options such as warm enoki mushroom and spinach salad, roasted cabbage and skirt steak.
Photo: Upland Creative
Enjoy spa treatments such as the 90-minute Return to Nature Ritual. Exfoliate with berry sheet and white peat, and moisturize with organic mushroom, helichrysum flower and berry oil. Then float while breathing in birch extract and other scents.
Photo: Sashiton Photo
There are a variety of workshops, yoga and meditation classes, and there’s also a goat sanctuary on-site (you can go on daily goat hikes for animal therapy), tennis courts, and hiking trails. This summer, nationally recognized guest instructors will be teaching classes and guiding Matt’s Pilates and Dance His Cardio workouts in the Honeytone Wooden Movement Building. In the activity building, do a Catskill honey and tea tasting, join a shamanic drumming circle, and do a vision board.
Featured Photo: Lake Austin Spa Resort
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