The world's top locations for wellness

The great getaways, medical clinics, health centers that prioritize outcomes, and swankiest spas are the 2023 Condé Nast Traveler Spa Guide winners. There have never been great reasons to practice wellness every day and well-being has never been more of a priority in our lives. Boundary-pushing wellness trends are expected to emerge in the travel industry in 2023, from sound baths in the Maldives to recovery lounges in Napa Valley. Closer to home, mental health retreats are becoming a more popular type of vacation in the UK. For the time being, look at some of the world's amazing spas, as recognized by Condé Nast Traveler's Spa Awards.

2023 prizewinners

Medical Miracles 2023 is the winner.

Italy's Palazzo Fiuggi

Modern water treatments with elegance

Palazzo Fiuggi is an art nouveau masterpiece on a hilltop outside Rome. Beautiful architecture conceals subtle, peaceful bedrooms, many of which have views of romantic woodland settings and Fiuggi's medieval old town. The mansion was converted into this cutting-edge wellness retreat thanks to a £26 million makeover planned by the owners of Forte Village in Sardinia.

The majority of visitors' journeys toward wellness start with a bio-resonance test, which monitors heart rate and evaluates endocrine, immune, and digestive systems as well as brain health. The team then adjusts appropriately, although daily dips in Fiuggi's USP: its healing waters, will always be included in their suggestions. Since the Middle Ages, when Michelangelo and Pope Boniface VIII thought the town's curative springs might treat their kidney stones, the village has gained notoriety. Three super-buoyant thalassotherapy pools, where Fiuggi's purest water is infused with sea salt, oils, and medicinal minerals, are recommended to visitors regularly.

The weight-loss program Palazzo Fiuggi, which is for those who desire it and is led by a chef who owns a three-Michelin-star restaurant, is a dream come true. Additionally, this spa is located in carb-loving Italy, and its meals include ice cream and spaghetti. Heinz Beck, the chief chef at Rome's La Pergola and the spa's nutritional guru, is the mastermind behind these calorie-controlled feasts. Beck has collaborated with David Della Morte Canosci of Fiuggi to develop delicious yet nutritionally sound foods that promote immunity, overall health, and safe weight loss without the normal hunger sensations. The pleasant buzz of content eaters indicates that they were successful. Sheila Dening

Healing Holidays can set up a seven-night Fit & Well program that includes transfers, full board, and treatments for £4,839 per person. Special offer Reserve a seven-night program and pay for only six.

Bring the Family 2023 is the winner.

Maldives' Soneva Jani

A bold wellness strategy combines cutting-edge treatment with opulent surroundings.

Jani has been about making people feel good since it started in 2016. The island is the epitome of wellness with its cornflower sky, lush forest, marshmallow-white sands, technicolor reefs, and relaxing aroma of sun-warmed pandan leaves. Soneva Soul, however, marks a change in wellness philosophy from holistic-inspired therapies and activities to something deeper and more aspirational.

Soneva Soul offers a wide range of clinical and complementary therapies, such as plasma therapy, sound therapy, electrocardiograms, and the northern Thai Tok Sen massage (which uses wooden mallets and pegs to hammer muscle knots). Nutrient IV therapy, a sleep regimen for insomniacs, cryotherapy, ozone therapy, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy are among the available treatments. Red-light therapy, Vietnamese pressure-point facials, microneedling facials, and medicinal mushrooms are all available. A hammam, Wim Hof, and Rasul mud therapy are on the horizon. A juice bar and a fully furnished gym for programs like barre, functional fitness, and free movement methods are located in the center of the spa. A bright spot who was present at the same time as me was Joe Wicks, one of the visiting instructors.

Self-care is a fundamental parenting principle that most of us find difficult. Jani abundantly provides this opportunity. The Den, the kids' club of dreams inaugurated last summer, with its pool, zip line, waterfall, pinball machines, and over-water ping-pong, is open for children to explore. Additionally, to wander the island's jungle interior and get sweets from the free chocolate and ice cream shops. The over-water homes' dramatic design, complete with glass floors and slides that plunge into baby blue water, also makes parents feel like children again. What health-improving pricelessness is there except cutting-edge treatments than this? Laurel Bell

Healing Holidays can set up a seven-night stay with flights, transfers, and half-board for £6,599 per person.

Holistic Heaven 2023 is the winner.

In Thailand, Rakxa

Comprehensive retreat with a medical direction that incorporates Asian medicine

RAKxa launched in December 2020 and marks a significant advancement in healthcare. It is located on the verdant Bang Krachao island, which is home to a conservation area and is referred to as Bangkok's "green lung" (the city is an hour away by automobile). This resort blends East and West and draws guests from all around the world. They consult conventional medical professionals at the wood, stone, glass, and ceramic-only VitalLife Scientific Wellness Clinic, as well as practitioners of Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Traditional Thai Medicine (TTM) at the RAKxa Jai Holistic Wellness Center and a group of specialists in complementary therapies.

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RAKxa was once intended to be a clinic with housing, with 60 spacious one-bedroom villas, two opulent three-bedroom houses, and one villa with a lakeside pool. However, before to launch, that plan dramatically altered. CEO Dusadee Tancharoen, who was 46 at the time, received a thyroid cancer diagnosis five years prior. She claims that the results of her health-check blood tests had always been "within the range," as conventional doctors would say, really astonished her. After receiving therapy, she immersed herself in complementary treatments to regain her health. She then visited renowned medispas to "examine what the wellness sector was doing" and believed she had identified a market niche. She says, "I adored them all." "But the majority concentrated mostly on the supplementary or medicinal. So we decided to merge both in RAKxa. Since we are Thai, we can draw on 5,000-year-old Asian medical traditions.

Additionally, RAKxa offers indescribably lovely Thai service that is calm but quick. And as VitalLife's parent business is Bangkok's Bumrungrad International Hospital, this is also a place to prepare for or recuperate from an operation in the most enjoyable way possible, which is of particular appeal to anybody grimacing at the cost of private healthcare at home. Pielou, Adrianne

A five-night Rest & Reset program from Healing Holidays, which includes transfers, full board, and treatments, starts at £4,135 per person. Special offer Get a free upgrade to a pool villa when you stay for five or more nights.

Destination Health 2023 is the winner.

Austria's Park Igls

Absolute gut-reset supremo with no bullshit in the mountains

The stern Austrian Alps that encircle Park Igls are equally clear. Modern Mayr Medicine, which thinks that a poorly functioning gut causes many physical and mental ailments, underpins it. It delivers clinical clout and top-notch holistic treatment. The intention is to give the digestive system time to rest and heal. Nothing hasn't been tried, tested, or proved scientifically, including metaphysics.

It is tough to overlook that this is a luxurious medical resort. Instagram reels of glitz and glamour are not appropriate here. A whopping 73% of the visitors most of whom speak German but also include a few Britons are returning. Due to the best fitness facilities and the possibility for a reset, Igls is starting to appeal to a younger audience. Dr. Peter Gartner, the medical director, is supported by a group of four general practitioners who coordinate a team of consultants from different specialties, including psychologists, sports scientists, physiotherapists, and medical massage therapists.

Although Rolfing (manipulating connective tissue) is excellent and practitioners Hannelore Gartner and Josef Schöffthaler have devoted followings, regular medical massage forms the foundation of bodywork. Mayr has been scrutinized by Park Igls, who has streamlined, expanded, and discarded it. Since kinesiology for diagnosis was unreliable, it was abandoned. Along with the "chew, chew, chew" eating guideline, the gut-repairing diet continues to be at the core of the procedure. Chef de cuisine Markus Sorg transforms regional organic ingredients into miniature flavor explosions, such as thumb-sized venison columns with jus and skate wing and sea urchin caviar with wasabi foam. The panoramic gym is remarkable, and the personal trainers are sports scientists, sports therapists, or physiotherapists. There are more than 50 group exercise programs available, including aqua jogging and trampolining. It is what excellent integrated healthcare looks like: thorough and kind, confident and expertly carried out. Alexander Jane

A four-night detox short break package from Healing Holidays starts at £1,619 per person and includes transportation, full board, and treatments.

Change Your Life 2023 is the winner.

A Man Without a Mask

A revolutionary retreat to foster brotherhood and rewire the male brain

Five days of sweat lodges, cold-water swims, lengthy embraces, and hallucinogenic breathwork sessions amid the tranquil grounds of Yorkshire's Broughton Hall. Five days without phones, booze, or coffee. These are the fundamentals of a Men Without Masks retreat in the UK, which is run by Craig White, a former international rugby performance coach who is now a life coach after experiencing a life-changing revelation while attending a Thai yoga retreat more than ten years ago.

The retreats' real purpose is to sort out guys by shaking them out of their comfort zones and restricting habits and into more embodied, honest selves, all while creating a modern-day brotherhood in the tribal tradition. Perhaps the most profound aspect of the retreat was the safe space it provides for talking – for being wide open, vulnerable, and real, without any judgment or shame. Our 25-person group participated in many risk-taking activities, including one intensely confrontational anger-release session involving baseball bats. More than anything else, it explains why some men appeared to float away at the conclusion, changed as a result of letting their emotional baggage drift off like cumulus clouds over the gently undulating hills of Yorkshire.

In 2023, Men Without Masks will host five-day retreats on May 16, September 9, and December 1. A 10-week online group program, 1-day retreats, a 10-day retreat in Peru, personalized coaching, and mentorship are available as additional services.

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