Guests and travelers are searching for more than the chance to unwind: they’re looking to recharge with therapeutic pampering in their luxurious pursuits for relaxation. Now, these mindful treatments are taking over spas around the world.
Resorts for relaxation are offering a slew of mindful treatments to help their customers feel rejuvenated long after their visit.
The Leaf Spa at Miami’s AKA Brickell recently introduced its mindful meditative massage for the ultimate mind-body balance experience. The massage begins with a guided meditation and blends into the physical massage with vibrations from a sound bowl.
The Maslina Resort’s Pharomatiq Spa in Croatia incorporates nature into its mindful offering. Their experiences incorporate ingredients from local flora and fauna into their treatments to seamlessly connect visitors with the great outdoors. After treatment, the spa also encourages guests to explore the island themselves.
The Armathwaite Hall Hotel and Spa offers a “rest, restore, rewild” experience as an escape in the United Kingdom. Sessions start with a guided forest bathing experience and end with an interactive wellness session amongst an array of wild animals. Guests can feed, pet, and play with alpacas, lemurs, and multiple other endangered and domesticated species as a way to destress, relax, and reconnect with themselves.
The "Superself" trend from our Future 100: 2023 Report unpacks how consumer perspectives of health and wellbeing are evolving and blending together. Selfridges, the major UK retailer, is readjusting its offering to align with this consumer narrative, repositioning itself as a retailer of “feel-goodness” with curated product experiences, relaxing “sensory experiences” and a “new kind of retail therapy” that connects shoppers with confidence coaches, breathwork specialists, and sex therapists.
The Intelligence take
This evolved sense of luxurious relaxation comes from consumers wanting to feel good rather than look good. Selfmade, a wellness brand whose products are based on mental health and psychological concepts, is harnessing this need to feel good over looking good. Selfmade CEO and founder Stephanie Lee tells VML Intelligence that the idea behind the brand is “to change the definition of ‘what is beautiful’ to ‘feeling beautiful’.”
Spas and destinations that want to connect with wellness-centered consumers can offer treatments and experiences that align with their mental health goals to better engage with visitors and meet their needs.
Main image of the Pharomatiq Spa, photo by Kate Sevo.