Wellness Getaways

Written by AAA Highroads Staff

We all know the feeling. The one where, after a whirlwind vacation, it seems as though you need another vacation to actually relax and decompress. This feeling, in combination with more awareness toward healthy lifestyles, has created a trend of wellness tourism — travel that promotes health and well-being. Wellness trends include digital detox, reconnecting with nature, fitness, and slowing down to focus on restorative practices like meditation and yoga.

The health- and wellness-minded are in luck: Resorts, travel agencies, and cruise lines are taking notice and implementing programs to help travelers indulge in unwinding.
 
Feel-Good Focus

Spas are a mainstay retreat at upscale resorts and hotels, and while massages and facials are certainly relaxing, menus of pampering treatments are increasingly providing options that enhance both physical and mental health. 
 
Many resorts now offer fitness classes open to resort and spa guests, as well as anyone seeking a wellness regime, often by partnering with local fitness studios to bring workouts such as yoga, spin, and Zumba to their properties throughout the week.
 
The Phoenician, a AAA Five Diamond property, has partnered with Metta Yoga, a Phoenix-area yoga studio, to offer wellness classes and events. Other classes include cardio circuits, meditation, and aqua yoga, an all-level practice that takes place in one of the resort’s pools.

Joya Spa at the AAA Four Diamond Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia features 28 fitness classes per week, including spin, Pilates barre, yoga, and Zumba. Poolside “Wellness Wednesdays” offer up an hour-long fitness class with views of Camelback Mountain, while most Saturdays have a complimentary class with donations that go to a charity of the instructor’s choice.
 
On the mindful side of matters, resort spas, like The Phoenician, are expanding their holistic treatments to include Eastern massage therapies, intuitive readings, chakra balancing, and visualization.
 
The quiet practice of meditation, while implemented in yoga classes, can also be a ritual offered on its own or simply encouraged by a spa-area meditation room.

Restorative Retreats

A total immersion in wellness is, in fact, possible to sustain for the duration of your trip, as there are now entire vacation packages devoted to cultivating a healthy mind, body, and spirit. These types of trips focus on enhancing overall well-being through physical activity, stress reduction, spiritual connectedness, nutrition, and community and environment.
 
On trips such as these, travelers take part in a range of health-centric activities, such as yoga and meditation, hiking, hot springs, cooking demonstrations, and relaxation at a spa or among nature.
 
Cruising Along

If your sights are on the sea, set sail on a cruise, many of which have increased their wellness offerings, going above and beyond salon and spa services to offer stress relief options as well as certified and specialized staff.
 
Oceania Cruises is one of five cruise lines to partner with Canyon Ranch, whose original fitness spa resort concept is located on 150 acres in Tucson. Canyon Ranch’s highly regarded spa and wellness program enriches travelers’ at-sea experience with all things healing: spa treatments, fitness classes, consultations with fitness professionals, and wellness education workshops. Unique relaxation experiences include acupuncture, Ayurveda massage, and Reiki, a treatment to help restore energy flow within the body. Canyon Ranch also influences the menu with health-conscious gourmet fare that is veggie-forward with healthy fats, whole grains, and lean proteins.

Whether for an hour or for a week, travelers seeking restorative relaxation could find their health-minded ticket to holistic living in a wellness getaway.