These Haute Retreats are at the top of our bucket list for planning our next wellness getaways.
If your new favourite pastime has become endless scrolls through your holiday snaps or building dream travel itineraries—don’t worry, you’re not alone. While most of us have been pushing our travel plans aside throughout the year, the Covid-19 pandemic hasn’t really deterred the fact we can plan and dream our next wellness getaway.
From a secluded retreat in Thailand to a private island in the Seychelles, we’ve curated a list of new wellness retreats around the world to inspire your post-pandemic adventures. Whether you’re looking to improve wellbeing or simply want to treat yourself to some well-deserved pampering, these luxury wellness retreats will surely leave you feeling fulfilled and rejuvenated.
Wellness is anything that fuels the mind, body, or soul, and are specialised in the feel-good variety. We look forward to assisting you with your wellness getaway.
Best Retreat for a Tailored Wellness Experience: Fregate Island Private, Seychelles
Reopening in 2024
You’ll never forget your arrival here! Just imagine..with flocks of tropical birds, lime-green geckos and no fewer than 2,000 jumbo Aldabra tortoises shuffling slowly among the lush grasses, you will feel you are stepping back in time to the age of Charles Darwin. There’s not one, but seven palm-fringed beaches with spotless white sand, each with clever ‘Beach Occupied’ signs at the cliff-top path which can be flipped to ensure total privacy. And herein lies the magic of Frégate in the Seychelles: it’s not only low-key and alive with all the rhythms of nature (resident conservationists take you on nature walks and, during nesting season, you can watch Hawksbill turtles paddle ashore to lay their eggs).
The range of Ayurvedic treatments is impressive, majoring on the powerful effects of herbal oils, and powders known for their rejuvenating properties. Come with a bad knee and therapists will soothe it with pads of heated herbs applied with just the right pressure. The chef can rustle up Ayurvedic curries to suit your regime, but the normal food is so spectacular you might not want to miss out.
RELATED Seychelles reopened March 25th 2021
Best Retreat for a Transformative Escape: Grumeti Reserve
An eco-luxury lodge in contemporary style, but deeply connected to the land and the local culture. The Volcanoes National Park: five volcanoes covered in montane and bamboo forests, the perfect habitat for mountain gorilla. The gorilla trekking in the forests of the park and the close encounter with these fascinating endangered primates
Located in a prized 178-acre parcel of lush meadows and wetlands right on the edge of Volcanoes National Park with magnificent views of the Sabyinyo, Gahinga and Muhabura volcanoes, there are eight suites and a four-bedroom villa, Kataza House. Architects and interior designers are selecting locally sourced and produced materials while the local community has been engaged in building using traditional techniques. A light footprint is central to the project, embodying the gentleness and humility of the great silverback from which the lodge takes its name. Singita has a long-term approach to conservation, and part of the plan is to plant thousands of trees around the lodge.
Best Retreat for a Mystical Haven: Chablé Yucatan, Mexico
Located in the Yucatan Peninsula, surrounded by sleepy towns and lush jungle, Chablé is a secluded resort combining modern luxury with Maya mysticism. The core of the Chablé Yucatan experience is the spa, which is built into a cenote, a natural sinkhole considered by the Mayans to be a sacred spiritual gateway. Upon arrival, visitors are welcomed with a traditional ceremony conducted by the resort’s resident shaman who, together with the spa director, plans a customized program for each guest. This can mean morning yoga in the cenote, walking meditation, chakra treatments, astrology consultations and detoxifying massages, all of which (in typical Chablé fashion) are deeply rooted in ancient techniques.
Related: Mexico Best Beach Villas
Best Retreat for Outdoor Splendor: Kalesma Mykonos
Kálesma means invitation in Greek. It is not really a hotel. It is a village, in the traditional Mykonian sense. There is a local saying, that when a couple marry, they make a village, meaning that they will build a home that will grow, over the years, to accommodate generation after generation of their family. Kálesma reimagines the concept of the extended family home, as an intimate hospitality destination that invites guests to connect to the essence of Cycladic life in Mykonos, Greece.
Accommodation is compiled of 25 suites and 2 villas, each with their own private pool terrace and sea view.
Tradition, history and the “aloni“ constitute the unique origin that arose the necessity to create an elemental dialogue between the exceptional surroundings and the interiors, and thus connect them seamlessly: Entry is through a small courtyard that offers the chance to ‘de-sand’ in the external shower. The suites are divided into a sleeping/living volume and a bathing volume, and space is shared equally between them so that both
activities can be enjoyed in balance. The volumes frame the terrace which features lounge and dining areas looking over a private pool to an uninterrupted view of the Aegean.
Enjoy yoga and pilates training sessions in the privacy of your suite or in the open air of your terrace surrounded by the calming nature, the sea, sky and glorious Greek light. Feel energized all hours of the day maintaining your work-out routine with state-of-the-art Technogym equipment.A personal trainer is available upon request.
Best Retreat for an Exotic Getaway: Amanpuri, Thailand
Amanpuri is set across the coconut grove, overlooking a crescent of white sand and turquoise water of the Andaman Sea on Phuket’s west coast. This luxury resort has its own private beach, beyond the secluded beach, a fleet of cruisers in on-hand for island hopping, fishing, and scuba-diving, while a number of Buddhist temples lie within easy reach in Thailand.
The villas and the pavilions all have the distinctive pointed, tiled roofs nod to the ancient architecture of Ayutthaya. Each villa is individually decorated with handpicked art and antiques, keeping a clean and contemporary style
The 4 Bedroom Ocean Villa features views of the turquoise waters of the Andaman Sea, the four-bedroom Ocean Villa is designed around a private swimming pool with various outdoor areas for lounging and dining. Features unique to individual Villas include gyms, massage rooms and steam rooms. Also available as a two-bedroom Villa
Your reservation at Amanpuri Ocean Villa includes a live-in housekeeper and a Thai Chef.
Designed to restore your inner balance, the Amanpuri Awareness programme is a highly meditative experience that aims to renew your internal focus and heighten your awareness. Begin your stay with an initial consultation for a truly bespoke immersion for the mind, body and soul, and be guided throughout by a former Buddhist monk. Declutter your senses with a combination of yoga, meditation and reflection, harmonised with holistic treatments such as cranial sacral therapy, reconnective healing and Reiki to further promote inner stillness. Boost your well-being with a dedicated diet plan based on nutritive, liquid-based meals to set you on the right path to renewal from within. Return home fully equipped to continue your journey to full self-awareness and transformation.
RELATED 7 Most Beautiful Beaches in Mykonos
Best Retreat for an immersion Spa Experience: Amanbagh, India
The retreat is designed by architect and designer, Ed Tuttle, creator of many Aman resorts, and his masterpiece is always the main pool and structure – here, a modern interpretation of a haveli in pink marble sandstone finish reflected beautifully in a calm 33-meter-long emerald-green marble pool with a 12-meter wading pool just beyond.
Amanbagh has wellness immersions that include yoga and meditation classes and several South Asian spa treatments that have been around for millennia, and rejuvenation through Ayurveda – a term combining ‘life’ and ‘science’ in Sanskrit, and an experience which is all-encompassing including Ayurvedic spa therapies, a meal plan and yoga and meditation based on your type.
The resort’s wellness immersions, draw upon the ancient medical knowledge of Ayurveda and the incredible wellness heritage of India. The Ayurvedic system and practise will prevent ailments by encouraging balance within your body and throughout your life. You will feel harmoniously balanced as you are pampered with Ayurvedic spa therapies, delicious cuisine to suit your specific dosha, expert yoga and meditation classes and optional group activities. At Amanbagh, you can absorb a special spiritual energy that will help you on your healing journey.
Best Retreat for Family-Friendly Wellness: Finca Cortesin, Marbella, Spain
What makes this destination unique and perfect for your next vacation are the warm temperatures, more than 300 days of sunshine each year. Enjoy the beach like Playa del Cristo, visit Marbella and don’t forget to arrange a nice tour at la Ronda or sight like the Alhambra Palace. A nice catamaran sunset tour is perfect to end one of your afternoons in Spain.
La Reserva is located in one of the best Golf and Beach resorts in Europe. La Reserva is a retreat perfectly balanced between traditional and modern, relaxed and elegant part of Haute Retreats Spain Villas and Luxury Villa Rentals.
Already a haven for wellness-centric guests and discerning luxury travellers with a love of incredible interior design, the recent addition of the yoga centre and new villas are perfectly timed to elevate the property to even greater heights, and the no-phone policy in public areas offers much-needed respite from screens.
Food
The food at Finca Cortesin goes far beyond healthy fads like kale salads and celery juice, focusing instead on elevating the most spectacular raw ingredients money can buy. The three restaurants (four if you include the pool restaurant) all specialise in different areas. I’m a very fussy eater, but every single request was answered with a yes, including an in-room dining order for their famous whole sole. Bennison-fabric covered El Jardín De Lutz is arguably the prettiest restaurant at the hotel with Waikiki green wallpaper that pours from the ceilings to the tables and beyond.
Contact Haute Retreats to plan your next wellness getaway. Our villa expert can match you with the right hotel, plan great meals and special activities like private dinners and boat charters.
