In a world dictated by urgency, a new breed of luxury retreats is urging travellers to slow down and reconnect with themselves. Some of the experiences they offer include activities indulged in as a child but forgotten in the rush of adulthood. Stargazing, for instance — a joy our forever lit-up cities have robbed us of.
There are places, though, that are drawing people back to this celestial experience, with added indulgences. Among them is Lake Tekapo in New Zealand, where you can literally soak in the stars. All you need to do is slip into a hot pool under an uninterrupted starlit sky.
However, if it is an adrenaline rush that you seek alongside introspection, there is paragliding over the Gulf Stream. This, too, is a meditative experience. And if you don’t want to venture out of the country, there are private yoga sessions on secluded ghats along the Ganges guided by rhythm composed exclusively for you.
Wellness has no one mantra. Across the world, retreats offer varying solutions. What has people seeking them out, though, is largely common: The need for clarity and mindfulness that can help navigate fast-paced lives, say wellness professionals at Haridwar’s Ekaanta: Retreat, which offers personalised rhythm for yog nidra, rock meditation, forest bathing, and private access to the Ganges.
Ultra-high-net-worth individuals now allocate about 10 per cent of their spending to health and wellness, according to the Kotak Private Luxury Index 2025. These are not just people from a certain mature age group, says Aniket Sarkar, general manager at Ananda in the Himalayas, a wellness retreat in Uttarakhand where programmes tailormade to individual needs integrate Ayurveda and traditional Chinese treatment. Younger travellers are also checking into wellness retreats. The burnout recovery, neuroscience-led mindfulness, reflective sessions, and silence window packages at Ananda cost up to ₹1.5 lakh per person. A full buyout of the property for exclusive sessions costs upwards of ₹20 lakh.
In sun-kissed southern Goa, Amaraanth, which has collaborated on London-based wellness programme, The HVN Knightsbridge, offers Shinrin-yoku (forest bathing), a Japanese practice of mindfully immersing oneself in natural surroundings, besides other wellness therapies. Its founder, Shradha Binani, says a two-night, three-day stay in a Signature Suite, inclusive of meals and wellness therapies, typically costs around ₹1.5 lakh, but could go higher, depending on the customisations involved. Across retreats within India and in the neighbourhood, a two-hour wellness session can touch ₹20,000, while longer immersive programmes run into several lakhs.
At Sri Lanka’s Cinnamon Life, meanwhile, wellness rituals draw on traditional extraction techniques, with Ceylon cinnamon subtly infused into treatments. “Each of the five elements — air, fire, wood, metal, and Earth — is reflected through temperature, texture, fragrance, and technique, allowing guests to experience Sri Lanka through all senses,” says Padmi Fernando, director of sales and marketing.
Six Senses, a global luxury resort chain, has alchemy bars, where guests blend their own skincare products with premium energy oils and traditional Ayurvedic blends. At its Barwara property, the treatments, such as Tiger’s Eye, are inspired by the local heritage of Rajasthan and are exclusive to the Fort.
An alchemy bar at Six Senses, Bhutan | PHOTO: SIX SENSES
A growing view is that the quest for wellness is now moving away from destination-led retreats and beyond enclosed treatment rooms to properties where wellness is woven into the stay. This could lead into quiet architectural spaces, curated dining, storytelling-led experiences, and an unhurried pace that allows guests to engage deeply with both themselves and the destination, according to a spokesperson at Narendra Bhawan, Bikaner, where the regeneration programmes incorporate freshly infused house-distilled sandalwood oils and customised Bach flower remedies. Guests can pick rare botanicals and precious oils, such as baobab, hemp, or evening primrose.
Work a treat
Vintage seaweed baths
Long before wellness became fashionable, Irish communities turned to the sea for healing. Along the coast of Waterford, seaweed baths were believed to ease aches and restore vitality. Today, luxury wellness centres in Ireland revive this tradition with tubs filled with fresh seawater and hand-harvested seaweed from the Atlantic. Mineral-rich and deeply calming.
Wrapped in chocolate
Chocolate therapy takes indulgence into the wellness space. Offered at retreats across the US, Mexico, Switzerland and Europe, treatments range from milk-and-cocoa baths to full-body chocolate wraps. Known for moisturising and antioxidant properties, the sensorial ritual promises relaxation as much as skincare.
Water therapy on a yacht
In Dubai, wellness comes with spectacle. Pilates sessions aboard yachts replace studio walls with open sea views, while meditation and yoga take place at soaring infinity pools. Floating water therapy sessions offer a quieter experience, with beds arranged across pools where the gentle movement of water becomes part of the healing process.
 "Soul journeys: Wellness retreats that pamper the body and mind beckon")
