Clocking out to Turn Back Time—Vacations That Will Help You Live Longer

Booming demand for wellness tourism shows no slowing, with travel related to health and well-being projected to have reached $1 trillion last year and to hit $1.3 trillion by 2025, according to the Global Wellness Institute, a nonprofit based in Miami.

Curated wellness travel programs are especially sought-after, specifically holistic treatments focused on longevity. Affluent travellers not only are making time to hit the gym while gallivanting across the globe, they’re also seeking destinations that specifically cater to their wellness goals, including treatments aimed at living longer.

“I believe Covid did put a spotlight on self-care and well-being,” says Penny Kriel, corporate director of spa and wellness at Salamander Collection, a group of luxury properties in places like Washington, D.C., and Charleston, South Carolina. But Kriel says today’s spas are more holistic, encouraging folks to understand the wellness concept and incorporate it into their lifestyle more frequently.

“With the evolution of treatment products and technology, spas have been able to enhance their offerings and appeal to more travellers,” Kriel says.

While some growth is connected to the variety of treatments available, results and the digital world are also contributing to the wellness boom.

“The efficacy and benefits of these treatments continue to drive bookings and interest, especially with the support of social media, influencers, and celebrity endorsements,” Kriel says.

While genetics, environmental factors, and lifestyle choices such as regular exercise, a diet free of processed foods, sufficient sleep, and human connection play essential roles in living well and longer, experts believe in holistic therapies to help manage stress, boost immunity, and ultimately influence length and quality of life.

Anti Ageing and Beyond

“For years, people have been coming to spas, booking treatments, and gaining advice on how to turn the clock back with anti ageing and corrective skin treatments,” Kriel says. However, today’s treatments are far more innovative.

On Marinella Beach in Porto Rotondo, on the Italian island of Sardinia, guests at the five-star Abi d’Oru Hotel & Spa can experience the resort’s one-of-a-kind “longevity treatment,” a unique antiaging facial using one of the island’s native grapes: Cannonau. The world’s first declared “Blue Zone”—one of five designated areas where people live longer than average, some into their 100s—Sardinia produces this robust red wine varietal, the most widely planted on the island.

Known as Garnacha in Spain and Grenache in France, Cannonau supposedly contains two to three times more antioxidants than other red-wine grapes. By incorporating Cannonau, Abi Spa says its unique 50-minute longevity session increases collagen production for firmer, younger-looking skin.

Maintaining a youthful appearance is just one facet of longevity treatments, which range from stress-reduction sessions like massage to nutritional support and sleep programs, Kriel says. Some retreats also offer medical services such as IV infusions and joint injections.

Keeping with the trend, Kriel is expanding Salamander Collection’s existing spa services, such as detox wraps and lymphatic drainage, to include dedicated “Wellness Rooms,” new vegan and vegetarian menu items, and well-being workshops. “Sleep, nutrition, and mindfulness will be a big focus for integration in 2024,” she says.

Data-Driven Wellness

Skyler Stillings, an exercise physiologist at Sensei Lanai, a Four Seasons Resort—an adults-only wellness centre in Lanai, Hawaii—says guests were drawn to the social aspect when the spa opened in November 2021.

“We saw a huge need for human connection,” she recalls. But over the past few years, what’s paramount has shifted. “Longevity is trending much more right now.”

Human connection is a central draw for guests at Sensei Lanai, an adults-only and wellness-focused Four Seasons Resort in Hawaii.
Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort

Billionaire co-founder of tech company Oracle Larry Ellison and physician and scientist Dr. David Angus co-founded Sensei. After the death of a mutual close friend, the duo teamed up to create longevity-based wellness retreats to nurture preventative care and a healthy lifestyle. In addition to the Lanai location, the brand established Sensei Porcupine Creek in Greater Palm Springs, California, in November 2022.

Sensei has a data-driven approach. The team performs a series of assessments to obtain a clearer picture of a guest’s health, making wellness recommendations based on the findings. While Sensei analyses that data to curate a personalised plan, Stillings says it’s up to the guests which path they choose.

Sensei’s core three-day retreat is a “Guided Wellness Experience.” For spa treatments, each guest checks into their own “Spa Hale,” a private 1,000-square-foot bungalow furnished with an infrared sauna, a steam shower, a soaking tub, and plunge pools. The latest therapies include Sarga Bodywalking—a barefoot myofascial release massage, and “Four Hands in Harmony,” a massage with two therapists working in tandem. Sensei Guides provide take-home plans so guests can continue their wellness journeys after the spa.

Sensei Lanai, an adults-only and wellness-focused Four Seasons Resort in Hawaii.
Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort

Sanctuaries for Longevity

Headquartered in Switzerland with hotels and on-site spas across the globe, Aman Resorts features an integrative approach, combining traditional remedies with modern medicine’s advanced technologies. Tucked behind the doors of the storied Crown Building in Midtown Manhattan, Banya Spa House at Aman New York—the brand’s flagship spa in the Western Hemisphere—is a 25,000-square-foot, three-floor urban oasis.

Yuki Kiyono, global head of health and wellness development at Aman, says the centre provides access to holistic and cutting-edge treatments benefiting physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social well-being. Aman’s customisable “Immersion Programs” consist of a three- or five-day immersion. “The programs encompass treatments and experiences that touch every significant aspect to create a path for longevity, from meditation and mindfulness to nutrition and movement,” Kiyono explains.

Banya Spa House at Aman New York.
Robert Rieger

The spa’s “Tei-An Wellness Solution” features 90- to 150-minute sessions using massage, cryotherapy, and Vitamin IV infusions. Acupuncture is also on offer.

“With its rich history of Chinese Medicine, modern research, and the introduction of sophisticated electro-acupuncture medicine, acupuncture has been proven to assist with problems and increase performance,” Kiyono says.

Resetting the Mind and Body

Beyond longevity, “healthspan”—the number of years a person can live in good health free of chronic disease—is the cornerstone of Mountain Trek Health Reset Retreat’s program in British Columbia, Canada.

Kirk Shave, president and program director, and his team employ a holistic approach, using lifestyles in long-living Blue Zones as a point of reference.

“We improve our daily lifestyle habits, so we live vitally as long as we’re meant to live,” Shave says of the retreat. He built the program from an anthropological stance, referencing humans as farmers, hunters, and gatherers based on their eating and sleeping patterns. Food includes vegetable-centric meals sans alcohol, sugar, bread, or dairy.

Guests wake at dawn each day and have access to sunrise yoga, several hours of “flow” or slow hiking, spa treatments, forest bathing, calming crystal singing-bowl and sound therapy sessions, and classes on stress reduction—one of Mountain Trek’s primary goals. The program motivates people to spend much of their time in nature because it’s been proven to reduce cortisol, the stress hormone that can lead to inflammation and disease when elevated for extended periods.

While most guests aren’t aware of how immersive Mountain Trek’s program is when they arrive, they leave the resort revitalized after the structured, one-week program. Set in the Kootenays overlooking its eponymous river, the resort and adventure promise what Shave calls a “visceral experience of transformation.”

“They’re interested in coming to be in nature,” Shave says of the guests. “They hit a wall in their life and slipped backwards, so they know they need a reset.”

Banya Spa House at Aman New York provides access to holistic and cutting-edge treatments benefiting physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social well-being.
Robert Rieger

This article first appeared in the Winter 2024 issue of Mansion Global Experience Luxury.

Pure Amazon, an A&K Sanctuary, has officially launched its voyages into the 21,000-square-kilometre Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve.

Designed for just 22 guests, the new vessel positions itself at the high end of wilderness travel, offering quiet, immersive, and attentive experiences with a one-to-one staff-to-guest ratio. The focus is on proximity to wildlife and landscape, without the crowds that have made parts of the Amazon feel like tourism has arrived before the welcome mat.

Where Architecture Meets the River

The design direction comes from Milan-based architect Adriana Granato, who has reimagined the boat’s interiors as part gallery, part observatory. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame rainforest scenes that shift hour to hour, and every space holds commissioned artworks by Peruvian artists.

The dining room’s centrepiece, Manto de Escamas de Paiche by Silvana Pestana, uses bronze and clay formations that mirror the scale patterns of the Amazon’s giant fish. Pestana’s works throughout the vessel reference environmental fragility, especially the scars left by illegal gold mining.

In each suite, hand-painted kené textiles by Shipibo-Konibo master artist Deysi Ramírez depict sacred geometry in natural dyes. Cushions by the BENEAI Collective feature 20 unique embroidered compositions, supporting Indigenous women artists and keeping traditional techniques alive in a meaningful, non-performative way.

Wildlife Without the Tame Script

Days on board are structured around early and late river expeditions led by naturalist guides. Guests may encounter pink river dolphins cutting through morning mist, three-toed sloths moving like they’re part of the slow cinema movement, and black caimans appearing at night like something from your childhood nightmares.

The prehistoric hoatzin appears along riverbanks, giant river otters hunt in packs, and scarlet macaws behave like the sky belongs to them. The arapaima — the same fish inspiring Pestana’s artwork — occasionally surfaces like an apparition.

A Regional Culinary Lens

The culinary program is led by a team from Iquitos with deep knowledge of Amazonian produce.

Nightly five-course tasting menus lean into local ingredients rather than performing them. Expect dishes like caramelised plantain with river prawns, hearts of palm with passionfruit, and Peruvian chocolate paired with fruits that would be unpronounceable if you encountered them in a supermarket aisle.

A pisco-led bar menu incorporates regional botanicals, including coca leaf and dragon’s blood resin.

A Model of Conservation-First Tourism

Pure Amazon’s conservation approach goes beyond the familiar “offset and walk away” playbook. Through A&K Philanthropy, the vessel’s operations support Indigenous community-led economic initiatives, including sustainable fibre harvesting and honey production in partnership with Amanatari.

Guests also visit FORMABIAP, a bilingual teacher training program supporting cultural and language preservation across several Indigenous communities. Notably, the program enables young women to continue their education while remaining with their families — a rarity in remote regions.

Low-intensity lighting, heat pump technology, and automated systems reduce disturbance to the reserve’s nocturnal wildlife.

The Experience Itself

Itineraries span three, four, or seven nights. Mornings often begin with quiet exploration along mirrorlike tributaries; afternoons allow for spa treatments or time on the open-air deck. Evenings shift into long dinners and soft-lit river watching as the rainforest begins its nightly soundtrack.

Granato describes the vessel as “a mysterious presence on the water,” its light calibrated to resemble fire glow rather than a foreign object imposing itself on the dark.

It is, in other words, slow travel done with precision.

Clocking out to Turn Back Time—Vacations That Will Help You Live Longer

Pure Amazon has begun journeys deep into Peru’s Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, combining contemporary design, Indigenous craftsmanship and intimate wildlife encounters in one of the richest ecosystems on Earth.