Peace is priceless. Privacy, silence, and soul-level restoration can change your life—and your stress levels. I don’t need a weekend in Palm Springs, getting colonics next to a Marvel movie star while they discuss their morning juice order, and I certainly won’t find relaxation making poolside small talk with people I already avoid in L.A. and New York. On vacation, I don’t want to feel like I need a fresh blowout and a matching caftan just to order a cup of tea.
When resetting, I’d like to sit with my estrogen patch showing and no one bats an eye. I want to be alone, pampered, and perhaps unrecognizable in the best way. I do not want to spend a thousand dollars on a mediocre body scrub just because it went viral on TikTok. I need somewhere to breathe!
Once you find that place, your place—whether it is an hour away or eighteen by plane, everything changes. These are the places that spoil you without spectacle, which feel sacred and heady. This is not about trend-chasing or curated healing journeys sponsored by an electrolyte brand. This is about real restoration, and quiet magic—spas, resorts, and longevity destinations where the service is so intuitive it borders on telepathic, and the wellness offerings are built for people who actually know the difference between lymphatic drainage and lip service.
These are our favorite spots worldwide. Whether you go for a week or a few hours, these sanctuaries offer a rare kind of renewal that stays with you long after you’ve left.
Hôtel Lily of the Valley, La Croix-Valmer
Even my most discerning beauty-world friends will pause for a moment, their expressions softening as they say, almost reverently, “Oh, Lily of the Valley…it’s really, really nice.” The majority of this heavenly all-year sanctuary’s loyal clients are international, drawn by views of the Mediterranean in La Croix-Valmer, just 45 minutes from Saint-Tropez (and, likely, the results). Lily of the Valley’s The Shape Club spa offers curated body scrubs infused with offerings like wild green luffa and immortelle flower (are you kidding me? pure joy). There are also sensorial mud wraps steeped in purifying ginger, lemon, and rose, and several profoundly grounding massages such as the Chi Nei Tsang abdominal massage, which detoxifies, heals, and restores. There’s also therapeutic cupping, acupuncture, acupressure, and an array of facials—including one from Biologique Recherche.
Beniya Mukayu Spa Entei at Yamashiro Onsen, Japan
Amid the quiet, timeless beauty of Ishikawa’s moss-draped forest gardens, Beniya Mukayu’s Spa Entei emerges as a gem within Japan’s tradition of ryokans, traditional Japanede inns that typically feature onsens, or hot spring baths. This one is an exceptionally intimate, family-owned retreat, with just 16 rooms, offering a rare, modern take on traditional Japanese hospitality, designed by acclaimed architect Kiyoshi Sey Takeyama. Spa Entei’s signature Yakushiyama treatments blend hot spring water with medicinal herbs, tailored to each guest’s body. Offering seasonal and local cuisine, tranquil surroundings, and a therapeutic approach that marries ancient wisdom with contemporary wellness, this boutique ryokan lends an experience of profound relaxation and rejuvenation.
Chenot Palace Weggis, Switzerland
Watching the magnificent Alps jut out of the still, clear waters—the view here alone feels like medicine. Chenot Palace’s approach to its Advanced Detox Programme isn’t your average American juice, massage, and sauna scenario; it’s a five-pillar program where cutting-edge diagnostics intelligently meet centuries-old Eastern medicine, all under a cloud of divine alpine air. At Chenot, you’ll eat just enough (850 calories, to be exact) a day: the aim here is to send your cells into autophagy (the body’s natural deep-clean mode that turns sluggish systems into peak cell-renewing performance).
Each of the detox treatment steps is layered, starting with a detailed diagnostic assessment to map your physical and energetic state. Traditional Chinese Medicine follows—acupuncture and laser therapy designed to restore energy flow and reduce stress. Next comes Chenot’s hydro-phyto-jet sequence: mineral-rich muds, thermal contrasts, and hydro-jets that awaken circulation and resilience. Hydro-aromatherapy raises the body temperature while filling the air with healing essential oils, energetic massages rebalance the nervous system and eases tension. (Depending on the time of year, you might even be privy to an Ivan Pol Beauty Sandwich facial.) With the addition of technology like red-light therapies, the programs guide the body back to equilibrium. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience—and for those lucky enough to return regularly, we totally see why.
Mii amo, Arizona
If you’re ready to raise your consciousness with a side of deep-tissue luxury, check into Mii Amo, Sedona’s crown jewel tucked in the energetic cradle of Boynton Canyon. Super intimate—with 23 casitas and a new and sleek two-year renovation behind it—the Mii Amo retreat blends your need for luxury with a higher purpose to bring your most elevated mind and body moments to fruition.
Think: guided meditations, past life regressions, soul-conscious ceremonial journeys, and healing energy work, balanced with canyon hikes and Pilates (if your third eye needs a break). The grounds are as breathtaking as the treatments, and yes, you’ll want to stay far longer than the four-, seven- and 10-day offerings.
SHA Wellness Clinic Mexico
The SHA Longevity Resort in Mexico sits on a secluded stretch of Costa Mujeres, where the sun, sea, and silence work in tandem, inviting a kind of surrender. But SHA is far more than just a beautiful place to exhale. It’s one of the world’s most forward-thinking longevity resorts, with nearly two decades of experience in the high art—and science—of helping people feel better, longer. A six-day stay kicks off with a forensic deep dive into your health, where experts examine your biological age, oxidative stress, and cognitive health, all interpreted by SHA’s team of expert clinicians and wellness specialists.
At the heart of it all is the SHA Method, a system developed by an international team of doctors and specialists. The approach blends preventative, genetic, and well-aging medicine with therapeutic natural treatments and an anti-inflammatory, mostly plant-based culinary program that manages to feel more indulgent than medicinal. Therapies range from NAD+ infusions and peptide protocols to advanced diagnostics and biohacking tools—but there’s nothing clinical about the experience. Even the most complex treatments are delivered with ease, grounded in a belief that health should feel human. What lingers long after SHA isn’t just the therapies or the diagnostics, it’s the long-term recalibration. Guests leave not only feeling better but also with a sharper sense of how to live well after they’ve gone home. It’s not a quick fix, nor does it try to be. The experience is less about optimizing every metric and more about learning how to move through the world with less noise, more clarity, and a deeper understanding of what vitality actually feels like. The SHA longevity resort base flagship is in Spain, but there’s a stunning Caribbean counterpart in Mexico, and a new location opening in the UAE in 2027.
Palace Merano, Italy
This is where Northern Italy’s savviest wellness warriors come to detox. Now that we’ve gotten a chance to visit, we know this place is done well, the way Italians do everything else: with better lighting, real linen, and taste. At Palace Merano, you’re not force-fed the usual “casual-chic” wellness aesthetic (read: raw wood, burlap robes, and sad tea that taste like dirt). Instead, they want you to luxuriate while you tend to your health. There are fabled 16th-century gardens framed by the spectacular Dolomite mountains, a setting so serene it practically prescribes its own healing. Try out the hydro-mud offerings, or botanical elixirs, plus energy cupping designed to unburden you. With over a century of clinical expertise, the location’s meticulous wellness plans blend time-tested traditions with cutting-edge diagnostics and botanical science. Honestly, can we just move in?
Palacete Severo, Portugal
This gorgeous Porto resort wasn’t just reimagined—it got a full-blown reincarnation (and somehow still smells like old-world charm with a hint of Olivier Midy serum). What was once a 20th-century architectural flex by Ricardo Severo is now a 21st-century flex of taste, with just enough history to feel cultured and just enough modernity to still plug in your phone right next to your bed. The Severo Ritual at the spa is less “relaxing massage” and more “why did no one tell me my soul had traumatic knots from my childhood still in me?” Then also there’s the not-so-humble brag: the famed Michelin-star chef Tiago Bonito runs the hotel kitchen like it’s a five-act opera. Come for the history, but stay because someone brought you a lavender towel while you were deciding between the Turkish bath or the saltwater pool.
Villa Stéphanie at Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa, Baden-Baden
Villa Stéphanie is where your immune system, nervous system, and complexion all go on holiday. Think of it as German efficiency infused with sublime luxury wellness (with just the right dose of spa chic). Baden-Baden, Germany’s healing waters been a sanctuary of health for centuries. The newly reimagined Brenner’s Park-Hotel only lives up to the fabled town’s reputation. This haven also houses Villa Stéphanie: the discreet inner sanctum where the truly initiated can go for far more than a steam and a scrub. There, you’ll find a meticulous program of immune-boosting protocols that reads more like a medical dossier than a spa brochure: hypoxic altitude training to strengthen cells, oxygen therapy that feels like breathing from the gods, holistic liver compresses (yes, really), forest bathing (at the top of our bucket list), and massages that actually heal various ailments and muscles simultaneously. Programs run in intensive seven- or 14-day packages (ideal for those who treat wellness as a verb). And if you’re chasing a glow as well as gut health, the advanced beauty and facial treatments rival the very best in Europe, and are sure to elicit compliments from strangers.
Spa Cheval Blanc St. Tropez
While the scene in St. Tropez continues to spill further into spectacle with each passing season, there’s one place that remains untouched by the frenzy. Cheval Blanc is where you go when you’ve outgrown the performance. With its own private beach, it draws the quiet power players (the ones who arrive on yachts but stay here for the discretion) the calm—and, increasingly, the famed Guerlain Spa.
This summer, the spa introduced a new Longeviskin treatment, which includes micro-peeling, radio frequency, LED, microcurrent, cryo, and plasma treatments in one tailored session. Did we mention the draining fuselage massage—the most satisfying post-flight ritual for those who’ve just crossed time zones. It’s lymphatic, detoxifying, and deeply restoring—a favorite among those who don’t exactly “do” jet lag. Spa Cheval Blanc is open seasonally from May to the first week of October.
Aire Ancient Baths, Copenhagen
I stopped into Aire during a trip to Denmark this July, and it was exactly the recharge I didn’t know I needed. Tucked beneath the historic Carlsberg brewery (yes, the old beer factory from 1881) the space has been transformed into a pacifying, almost medieval sanctuary of stone and serenity. The circuit of thermal pools at varying temperatures, plus a full-body salt bath and optional massage, made for the perfect jet lag remedy and reset before diving into the rhythm of the city. It’s not a full spa day, but it doesn’t try to be—it’s simply a quiet ritual to ground you. Plus, the offerings are reasonable and rewarding without a full weeklong commitment.
Sulwhasoo Flagship, South Korea
If Seoul’s nonstop buzz is making you feel a bit frazzled, find refuge in Sulwhasoo’s flagship location and find the perfect excuse to hit pause and give your skin some serious TLC. Located right in the heart of the city, these two spas offer distinctly different ways to unwind, both equally gratifying.
The Heritage Spa primarily focuses on anti-aging rituals, mixing traditional Korean beauty techniques with Sulwhasoo’s legendary skincare, including it signature ginseng treatment, intensive ginseng journey, and Heritage Ginseng Journey. The Balance Spa takes a lighter, fresher approach, focusing on contemporary herbal medicine with a chill vibe. Treatments promote brightening, calming, and revitalizing the skin.
Source: W Magazine