Kiwi Collection for Flax Home
Travel Inspo – The Best Wellness Retreats
by Joy Pecknold
The team behind Flax Sleep values wellness. Sometimes wellness means you must stray from the comfort of your own linen sheets to quench a thirst for travel. This is why we’re thrilled to team up with the Vancouver-based luxury hotel experts at Kiwi Collection to offer our Flax Sleep family some expert advice about the best places to experience wellness beyond the comfort of your own bed. Kiwi Collection’s Passport Magazine editor Joy Pecknold shares eight of their current fave places for restoring your body, mind and spirit.
Six Senses Zighy Bay, Oman
One of the best places to go in 2019, Oman is a land of natural wonders—the undulating Sharqiya Sands, warm Arabian Sea and rugged Al Hajar Mountains. Here, perched between stone peaks and a sandy beach, Six Senses Zighy Bay bolsters Mother Nature’s healing properties with its renowned brand of comprehensive, personalized care. First yoga, then a hammam, and finish with a locally-inspired facial using figs, almond powder and warm honey. Adventures, such as paragliding, snorkeling and sunset cruises are also on the menu.
Ananda – In the Himalayas, India
To restore balance to taxed bodies and minds, Ananda – In the Himalayas draws on the ancient practices of Ayurveda, Yoga and Vedanta born in its proverbial backyard, Northern India. Occupying a 100-acre Maharaja’s Palace Estate, its literal backyard, a lush Sal forest, provides the much-needed peaceful setting. Ranging from 3 to 14 nights, their wellness programs address different needs, such as fitness, mediation and stress management. Cotton Kurta pyjamas, ginger honey lemon tea and aromatic baths are offered in-room on the daily.
Bawah Reserve, Indonesia
An 80-minute seaplane ride from Singapore, in Indonesia’s Anambas Archipelago, Bawah Reserve takes the “all” in all-inclusive to heart. Spanning six idyllic isles, it’s the only resort in Asia to include daily spa treatments in the room rate. Experiences such as kayaking, cooking classes and picnics on one of their 13 beaches are all-in too—that is, for those who manage to pry themselves off the cozy lounge beds of each private overwater villa.
Les Sources de Caudalie, France
In Bordeaux, one of France’s most famed wine regions, Les Sources de Caudalie staked its claim in 1999 as the first vinotherapy hotel spa in the world. Akin to the adage about time and fine wine, it just keeps getting better. Treatments capture the restorative benefits of grapes, vines and mineral-rich hot spring water. Appetites get the royal treatment too, at their two Michelin star restaurant, La Grand’Vigne.
Sha Wellness Clinic, Spain
Gwyneth Paltrow, Naomi Campbell and Barbara Streisand are a few of the many celebrities who’ve reportedly spent time at Sha Wellness Clinic on the Spanish Mediterranean. Utilizing both Eastern and Western practices, the clinic’s programs hit all the touchpoints, including medical science, natural therapies, cognitive therapies, nutrition and fitness—they even do dental work. In terms of holistic wellness, this is the real deal and the breathtaking Alicante views feel good too.
Chablé Resort & Spa, Mexico
Tucked away in the Yucatan countryside, Chablé Resort and Spa centers around a sacred cenote (which the Mayans believed were portals to the gods) and treatments couple its ancestral healing powers with modern techniques following a detailed, personal plan. Their spacious, serene casitas and villas feature glass walls to let the outside in, private pools, outdoor showers and terraces with sunbeds.
1 Hotel South Beach, Florida
With Collins Avenue on one side and the ocean on the other, 1 Hotel South Beach is ideal for travellers who simultaneously crave city life and seaside sanctuary. This urban oasis is also an eco-conscious one (the building is LEED-certified, utilizing a lot of reclaimed wood), doling out plant-based cuisine at their Plnthouse restaurant and holistic treatments using natural, organic product at the Bamford Haybarn Spa. Their Anatomy health club isn’t your standard issue hotel gym either.
Enchantment Resort and Mii amo Spa, Arizona
Sidled up to the vibrant red rocks of Sedona’s Boynton Canyon, three hours south of the Grand Canyon, Enchantment Resort and Mii amo Spa has long sought inspiration from its landscape and Native American history—from its adobe architecture to cultural activities. At the Mii amo Spa, this is realized through treatments linked to moon cycles and the ceremonial inner quest. Mindfulness, meditation and spiritual therapies, such as reiki, astrology past life regression, are offered too. Not to mention, nearly every type of restorative massage.