Self-Care in the City: The Wellness Experiences Worth Traveling For

The food at Plant Miami, a vegan restaurant overlooking a serene tropical garden strewn with crystals, is astoundingly inventive. If these outside-the-box dishes have you curious, sign up for Plant’s cooking course and learn how to make classic American cuisine from raw plant-based ingredients. Led by Chef Carla Martins, you’ll create healthy versions of diner fare, including burgers with fries and gooey apple pie. Spending a few hours away from screens and distractions and preparing a nourishing meal for yourself is deeply relaxing.

In a city that’s famous for its 24-hour lifestyle, Inscape meditation studio provides a much-needed moment of chill. Aesthetically striking and impressively techy (if you like your in-studio experience, download the Inscape app), it offers a choose-your-own-adventure suite of guided meditations including mindful breath work, gentle movement and recorded sound baths. Sessions are held in two ambient rooms: The Dome, which has a curved, latticed ceiling illuminated with a gentle glow, and the Alcove, a cozier space draped with macramé-like decorations. You’ll leave with a sense of serenity that will buffer you against the city’s go-go-go energy. Alternatively, if you’re looking for a longer getaway, this three-day retreat in the beautiful Catskills of upstate New York offers the complete wellness experience to fully rejuvenate through daily wellness classes, guided hikes, meditations and wellness workshops.

The Royal Mansour Spa in Marrakech structured its hammam experience by combining the history of thermal baths with the beauty secrets of Moroccan women whose families have been using and operating these bathhouses for hundreds of years. Settle into its opulent surroundings – pale marble, mosaic tiles and carved wood – and try a signature hammam ritual that includes a body wrap made with Moroccan plants, such as a fragrant combination that includes lavender, argan, orange flower honey, saffron and rose. If you’re willing to make the trip all the way to Marrakech, you could take your detoxing one step further with a week-long stay at this yoga retreat on the outskirts of the city. The architecture of the retreat is a fusion of Moroccan and Italian architecture, while rooms come with all the modern comforts you’d expect.

The Bondi Icebergs, public pools that jut into the deep blue Pacific, are an image that’s been splashed all over social media – a quintessential representation of Sydney’s beach-centric lifestyle. Here you can swim laps in the salt water as waves crash over the pool’s exterior edge, then sit and enjoy brunch (nobody makes avocado toast quite like the Aussies) with a side of people watching. The best part is that entrance is only five Australian dollars (US$3.37), proving that not all wellness experiences cost a fortune.

The Liquidrom is Berlin’s spin on a thermal spa. From the outside it looks like a circus tent, but inside a domed ceiling and circular skylight lend a spaceship-like aesthetic to Liquidrom’s warm saltwater pool. Relax weightlessly, eyes closed, while electronic beats play from underwater speakers. The spa describes the sensation as floating in “liquid sound,” which seems like an ideal transition from an all-nighter at Berghain. Drift between the flotation pool, Finnish sauna, steam bath, Himalayan salt room and Japanese-style Onsen to really lock in the Zen.

Christian Dior’s inaugural fashion show was held at Hôtel Plaza Athénée in 1947. It was the start of a long-standing relationship, and in 2008 the hotel announced the opening of Dior Institut – a luxury spa that celebrates the Parisian aptitude for beauty. Try the Dior Prestige grand facial treatment – a 45-minute facial massage that releases tension in the face (if you’re a jaw-clencher this one is for you) followed by a 15-minute sculpting massage designed to contour the cheekbones and leave you relaxed and radiant.

This experience from Tourist Israel collects you from your Tel Aviv hotel and drives you to the foot of Mount Masada, an ancient fort built atop a mesa. Summit the rock as day breaks, unroll your yoga mat facing the glittering ocean, and enjoy a Vinyasa class with the sun on your face. Afterward you’ll travel to Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, where you’ll work up a sweat hiking the desert landscape before cooling off in waterfall pools. Finally, head to the Dead Sea, slather on mud and relax in the sea’s reputedly therapeutic waters.

In the Bullewijk of Amsterdam, eight shipping containers have been transformed into private wellness pods. At Soak Urban Wellness guests can enjoy a range of health- and relaxation-focused experiences: infrared saunas, which are said to reduce stress, relax muscles and detoxify the body; massages administered by a special high-tech, zero-gravity, body-sensing chair; or their own spa circuit, complete with a steam room, Finnish sauna, hot and cold shower with foot soaks, lounging beds and a private patio. Travellers seeking longer stays and higher realms of relaxation can find it at this yoga retreat just south of Amsterdam next to a large lake that’s perfect for kayaking or taking quiet walks around. Expect a homely atmosphere, a comfortable stay and plenty of space to detox your body among like-minded tranquility seekers.

In Tokyo, one of the world’s most industrious cities, wait lists for a session at Goku no Kimochi specialty head-massage parlor can be up to three months long. Therapists target the nerves, muscles and connective tissue of the head, neck and face with a technique that’s said to be so relaxing it will induce sleep within 10 minutes. Don’t be put off by the studio’s bizarre decor – the time-machine theme is a nod to customer reviews that claim sessions are so wonderful they seem to pass in a flash.

Perception Blind Massage employs therapists with sight impairments who use palpation – an examining touch that discerns which muscles need extra attention – to perform a personalized and targeted treatment. The specialty here is, of course, Thai massage: a blend of acupressure and assisted stretching performed with comfortable clothes on (Perception gives you a freshly laundered outfit at check-in) that will leave your body feeling totally wrung out and tension-free.

Take a two-and-a-half-hour drive east of Los Angeles and you’ll spot a gleaming white geometric dome in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Integratron was designed to be an “electrostatic generator for the purpose of rejuvenation and time travel” by a UFO enthusiast and all-around quirky character named George Van Tassel. These days wellness types flock here to experience one of the Integratron’s famous sound baths, reclining under its domed roof to be immersed in the resonant overtone-emitting hum of crystal singing bowls. Alternatively, stay home and work on your physical and mental wellbeing without going anywhere. This online yoga teacher training course is a serious commitment, but a surefire way to deepen your knowledge, deal with stress effectively and achieve a more positive outlook on life.

This multi-modality studio in Hong Kong’s Wong Chuk Hang area offers a rare but ancient approach to meditation. Red Doors has its own 10-circuit, 27-foot-diameter (eight-meter) labyrinth, available for guided walks. Not to be confused with a maze, a labyrinth consists of a single path that twists and turns its way to the center. Because you can’t get lost, the ancient designs induce a receptive, meditative state, especially if you walk mindfully – feeling the ground beneath your feet and paying attention to your sensory experience in each passing moment.

ChromaYoga enhances the benefits of your practice by bathing its white cube studio in colored lights. Each class is themed around a particular hue, which has been selected and scheduled according to its healing potential. For example, in studies blue light has been shown to banish sleepiness and aid seasonal affective disorder, making it a good winter-morning workout for Londoners. The studio uses additional immersive elements including brain-boosting soundscapes designed to promote a relaxed but focused state of mind, and signature scents from a London-based aromatherapist that help enhance breath work during class. If you’re looking to escape the capital, you don’t need to look far: the Glass House Retreat in Essex offers a five-night course that’s designed to get you fit, transform your diet and help you discover a fresh sense of wellness. You’ll benefit from expert support, excellent fitness facilities, daily classes, cryotherapy and spa treatments during your stay.

Soaking in the azure waters of the Blue Lagoon is on virtually every tourist’s Reykjavik itinerary. Avoid the crowds and book a session at Hydra Flot Spa instead. At this sensory-deprivation flotation spa you’ll recline in a private pod of epsom-salted water that’s exactly body temperature. A cocoon of darkness and silence, it creates the perfect distraction-free environment for deep relaxation. Think of this as a mini digital detox and meditation session rolled into one.