Decided you’d rather take a wellness vacation this year? These are our top 9 wellness vacation trips that we recommend. There’s something for everyone at these wellness resorts!
You’ve been thinking about your lifestyle objectives for 2019. Perhaps it’s the year to get in better shape, or to learn how to better deal with stressful situations at work. Perhaps you’ve promised yourself to work to become more mindful or spend more time in nature.
Whatever your intention for 2019, get- ting away to help kick-start the process might be the way to go. If you’re think- ing “yes!,” here are nine wellness re- sorts and retreats, to keep top of mind. All, are members of the Wellness Tourism Association.
Canadian Wellness Vacation Retreats
Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise
On the shores of Canada’s most iconic lake, and in the heart of Banff National Park, Fairmont Chateau Lake Louiseis a luxury resort promoting wellbeing through connection with the pristine, natural environment. All-inclusive wellness retreats are led by world-renowned facilitators, along with their year-round Mountain Adventure Program, which includes guided nature walks, hiking excursions in a spectacular Canadian Rockies’ setting, and canoe excursions to help make up their nature-based wellness programming.
GOOD TO KNOW: LAKE LOUISE IS AN IDEAL LOCATION FOR “FOREST BATHING” A MINDFUL AND MEDITATIVE-LIKE PRACTICE THAT INVOLVES IMMERSING ONESELF IN NATURE.
Visit their website at: www.lakelouisewellness.com
Grail Springs Retreat Centre for Wellbeing
Located in Bancroft, Ontario offers a holistic approach to wellbeing, and focuses on inspiring and supporting guests looking for nourishment of body, mind, and spirit. After a two-and-a-half drive from Toronto to a beautiful lakeside setting, guests can learn how to maintain harmony and balance with daily yoga and med- itation, healthy plant-based meals, and connecting with nature through daily hikes.
GOOD TO KNOW: GRAIL SPRINGS OFFERS AN EQUINE MEDITATION CIRCLE WITH HORSES AND FACILITATORS.
Spa Eastman Health & Wellness Retreat
About an hour’s drive from Montreal and spread across 326 acres in Québec’s Eastern Townships, caters to objectives such as weight-loss, stress management, renewal and body detox. Facilities include seven pavilions for accommodation, miles of hiking trails, Nordic baths, daily fitness and yoga classes, health-focussed workshops and customized seven or 14-night all-inclusive Health Immersion packages.
GOOD TO KNOW: THEIR SIGNATURE TONIC CUISINE IS A UNIQUE GASTRONOMY EXPERIENCE BASED ON CURRENT SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH THAT FOOD CAN BE ONE’S MEDICINE.
United States Wellness Retreats
The Art of Living Retreat Center
Associated with the International Art of Living Foundation, nestled in the hills of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, this amazing location offers wellness experiences and programs inspired by authentic traditions of yoga and Ayurveda. Offerings include the Shankara Ayurveda Spa, a meditation hall, a pottery studio and a wide range of weekly retreats covering everything from the spiritual, to creative expression, self-discovery and relationships.
GOOD TO KNOW: THE CUISINE IS STRICTLY VEGETARIAN WITH A VARIETY OF INGREDIENTS GROWN RIGHT ON THE PREMISES.
www.artoflivingretreatcenter.org
Eupepsia Wellness Center
Bordering the Jefferson National Forest in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, Virginia, and surrounded by 256 acres of farms and woodlands, offers personalized wellness retreats, founded on the principals of the timeless science of Ayurveda. Customized programs combine a health assessment and screenings, with traditional and advanced therapies, a nutrition-focussed food philosophy, spa treatments, functional-training in a state-of-the-art gym, plus ample access to nature.
GOOD TO KNOW: EUPEPSIA IS A BOUTIQUE PROPERTY WITH 26 DOUBLE ROOMS HOUSED IN A CHALET-LIKE ENVIRONMENT.
Green Mountain at Fox Run
A wellness retreat for women only,located in scenic South-Central Vermont has been a “go-to” for women concerned about weight issues for nearly four decades. The wellness retreat offers customized one-to four-week programs with the focus on helping women end eating struggles and acquire healthy habits around food, manage stress, and develop good fitness habits.
GOOD TO KNOW: ONE OF THEIR MORE POPULAR WEEKEND PROGRAMS IS CALLED “I’M AN EMOTIONAL EATER, NOW WHAT?”
Hilton Head Health
Fresh from a recent multi-million-dollar renovation, and affectionately called H3, it is located on beautiful Hilton Head Island South Carolina, and offers customized one-week and longer programs with a holistic approach to weight loss that incorporates healthy eating, fitness, mindfulness and wellness education. For those short on time, there’s also a three-day Healthy Getaway.
GOOD TO KNOW: DISHES SUCH AS LOBSTER TACOS, CHICKEN FLATBREAD, AND SHRIMP AND GRITS ARE PART OF THEIR 1,200–1,600 CALORIES-A-DAY PROGRAM.
International Wellness Retreats
Kamalya Wellness Retreat
Centered around a cave that once served Buddhist monks as a place of meditation and retreat, is located on the tropical island of Koh Samui, off the coast of Thailand and an hour’s flight from Bangkok. The wellness resort offers a beautiful natural environment, healthy cuisine, holistic fitness practices and customized wellness programs and retreats led by visiting wellness experts from around the world.
GOOD TO KNOW: KAMALAYA INTEGRATES HEALING THERAPIES FROM EAST AND WEST INCLUDING TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE (TCM), AYURVEDA, NATUROPATHY, HOMEOPATHY AND CURRENT MEDICAL RESEARCH.
Richmond Nua Wellness Spa
Turkey’s first and still only wellness resort, sits on the shores of Lake Sapanca, a popular vacation destination about a two-hour drive south of Istanbul. The signature feature of the spa is the spacious and comprehensive water therapy area. Individualized detox, fitness and weight loss programs begin with health screenings, and can range from three to 14 days.
GOOD TO KNOW: RICHMOND NUA FEATURES ALL THE AMENITIES OF A TRUE RESORT INCLUDING FOUR ONSITE RESTAURANTS, A BAR AND, A MEETING SPACE.
Author: Anne Dimon is the founder/editor of TravelWellness and the president of the Wellness Tourism Association.
Have you been to one of these locations? Contact us and let us know how your experience was, we’d love to hear from you and maybe we’ll give you a shout-out on social media or tweet your experience and be sure to include us @Oprtimyzmag in your Tweet or Instagram post!
More Inspiration: Check out Anne’s article here on Costa Rica for a wellness getaway!
