With wellness tourism growing at a 50% faster rate than conventional tourism, Marriott hotels are getting creative with the help of brands like Adventure iO and personalities such as celebrity landscape designer, Lily Kwong.
What is your definition of a wellness vacation? Does it involve skiing, hiking, or even halotherapy to ease breathing problems?
Let’s like at five resorts hailing from Colorado, California, and Hawaii and how they help make their guests feel a little bit, or a lot, better than when they arrived.
The Combo Cleanse: Wellness + Adventure
The Hythe, a Luxury Collection Resort | Vail, CO
- The Hythe, at the gateway to world class skiing & hiking, has an exclusive partnership with Adventure iO to offer experiences built to reconnect body, mind + nature, like Wilderness Fly Fishing by Horseback, Yoga with Lululemon Ambassador, Photography Hike, and for the Greatest Of All Trips experience – Heli Ski with an Olympian. To detox/retox, there’s Pedal + Pour with True North mountain bikes and a cocktail finish with a James Beard recognized mixologist. The Well & Being Spa features Vail’s only Himalayan Salt Therapy Lounge with halotherapy known to ease breathing problems + anxiety, along with treatments like oxygen refuel, locally grown CBD wraps, and the Doctor Babor Prescription cosmeceutical treatment for top skincare in high altitudes.
Desert Solo Trip
JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa | Palm Desert, CA
- While the hotel’s recently unveiled multi-million redesign did include the spa, it’s the pioneering herb garden envisioned + planted by renowned landscape designer Lily Kwong that’s worth the trip. Inspired by the Cali desert, native plants and edible herbs chosen for therapeutic properties form whimsical garden beds that morph into hidden seating, with peaceful walking paths shaded by trees mitigate desert heat for rest and reflection. Treatments not to miss include the strawberry rhubarb hyaluronic facial, FDA-approved Pro Collagen Red Light Therapy Facial + the new 90-minute Desert Journey that blends a body scrub, Swedish + rocking techniques hot stone massage, paraffin foot treatment + more.
European Inspired
The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara, CA
- Perched on a cliff between private golden beaches & lush Santa Ynez mountains, The Ritz-Carlton Bacara embodies the charm, beauty, and energy of the Mediterranean. The 42,000 square-foot spa and wellness center & three salt-water infinity pools alone are travel-worthy, especially for the facial contour and skin tone improving Hollywood Facial + brand-new LightStim LED Bed for peak physiological function. But the 78 acres of walking trails, private lessons with a tennis pro and lush gardens capture a European vibe sans passport. And through Ambassadors of the Environment, guests can get discover the Gaviota Coast’s natural wonders, including the kelp forest, a diversity of birds, the intertidal zone, and traditional Chumash culture.
Hawaii Meditation + Energy Healing
The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua | Maui
- Guests of The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua can enjoy guided walks, expert-led meditations and exclusive access to a unique piece of Hawaiian culture, a meditation labyrinth, ideal for soul searching and finding inner peace while the sun rises over the West Maui Mountains and lava rock coastlines. The labyrinth is within Makalua-puna Point, a sacred point formed from the last lava flow on Maui that is central to Hawaiians’ beliefs in life, death and reincarnation, used by native Hawaiians seeking to communicate with ancestors. The five-star resort nestled on 54 acres overlooking the Pacific also offers two championship golf courses, a destination spa with indigenous treatments, tennis courts and redesigned guest rooms.
Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa | Big Island
- Edging the western coast of Hawaii’s breathtaking Big Island, all guests of Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa are offered a complimentary 45-minute meditation session on Tuesdays & Thursdays with high-performance lifestyle mentor Samantha Vax who uses Mindset Work + Reiki Healing.
