Wellness Travel
Enjoy a summer of self-care with the best wellness experiences around the world
The sun is shining, temperatures are rising and out of offices are on… and what better way to relax and reset this summer than with one of the most spoiling new wellness experiences from across the Charlotte Rous Communications client portfolio?
Spa-lovers and wellness junkies who have tried it all (until now!) are set for a summer to remember thanks to a range of indulgent new experiences and treatments from around the world.
From zodiac-themed treatments in the Maldives to workouts with a side of wildlife watching in the Kenyan plains, there’s a treatment to suit every spa-lover this season. The new treatments are available year-round, and include:
Kenya
Work out while you wildlife watch at Great Plains’ ol Donyo Lodge
Great Plains, the iconic eco-tourism company founded by National Geographic explorer-filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert, is proud to offer a wildly unique yoga experience at ol Donyo Lodge in Kenya. Yoga is the harmony of mind, body and soul and a stay at ol Donyo Lodge truly encapsulates this with a balance of movement, peace and nourishing healthy food while surrounded by nature.
Each guest room at the luxurious lodge comes complete with a Great Plains yoga mat to roll out next to its own plunge pool or on the private star bed deck at night, where guests can constellation-spot while they stretch beneath the crystal-clear Kenyan night skies. Here, guests can find their flow, either solo-style or under the expert guidance of the Great Plains team, to the sounds of birds chirping in the background and elephants slurping from the water hole below.
There are countless scenic spots for guests to choose, from the top of the Kopjies rocks overlooking the endless plains and Mount Kilimanjaro to the El Mau twin hills, which offer a panoramic view of the Mibirikani Group Ranch and Chyulu Hills. Here, yogis can enjoy a moment of calm and meditate to the sounds of the bush, connecting to themselves and the surroundings, finishing with a peaceful silent guided bushwalk.
Post-session, yogis can nourish the body both inside and out, with superfoods and healthy juices curated with care by Great Plains’ expert chefs for maximum health benefits. These include a brand-new herbal tea menu to aid digestion and provide a calming effect, and a range of new delicious plant-rich superfood breakfast options including a range of fresh juices and smoothies. For a complete wellness experience, Great Plains’ talented therapists are on hand to deliver pampering treatments such as The Renewal, a spoiling treatment that encourages the releasing of past emotions while bringing mindful positive focuses to the future, all while enjoying a massage.
ol Donyo Lodge, which sleeps up to 20 in eight deluxe suites and a two-bedroom Sambuk family suite, is located on the Maasai-owned Mbirikani Group Ranch, comprising 275,000 acres of wilderness between Amboseli and Tsavo National Parks and bordering Chyulu Hills National Park. The lodge is very remote, offering extreme privacy and a vast amount of activities to choose from – morning and evening safari drives, horse riding, bush breakfast and dinners, guided bushwalks, tracking, bike riding, conservation and community outreach programmes, and sleep out star bed experiences.
A recent addition for ol Donyo Lodge is the lodge’s own helicopter, which is available for guests to enjoy on scenic flights through the incredible Chyulu Hills, Kilimanjaro and Amboseli area. The new Bell 505 helicopter is available for scenic flights with stunning views and air transfers to Nairobi.
Nightly rates at ol Donyo Lodge start from $1,344 (£989*). For more information, visit greatplainsconservation.com.
Maldives
Astrology and zodiac-inspired wellness at Gili Lankanfushi, Maldives
The Maldives’ original eco-luxury resort, Gili Lankanfushi, is set to delight astrology and wellness lovers alike with a new zodiac-themed signature treatment at its award-winning Meera Spa. The 150-minute ‘Rasi Pairing Journey’ takes place over two days and brings astrology and wellness together in a meaningful, grounded way. The concept connects each zodiac sign to its natural elements – fire, earth, air and water – aligning it with carefully curated spa treatments, essential oils, healing crystals and wellness activities. With the name of the treatment derived from the Sanskrit term for zodiac sign and drawing inspiration from Ayurveda principles, the new offering invites guests to explore self care through a deeply personalised lens of natural balance.
For example, water signs Pisces, Cancer and Scorpio – known for their nurturing, emotional and intuitive personalities – will indulge in experiences ranging from crystal healing and Tibetan singing bowl therapy to meditation and yoga, while grounded earth signs Taurus, Capricorn and Virgo will enjoy reflexology, hiking and more.
Gili Lankanfushi’s Meera Spa provides the very best in holistic healing within a spectacular overwater setting. Comprised of glass-floored treatment rooms, a sauna, steam room and plentiful relaxation areas connected by open-air walkways, the spa offers a range of global therapies that draw from age old cultures and knowledge.
From immersive, one- to five-day wellness journeys to new active programmes that combine surfing and scuba diving with tailored spa therapies, treatments range from the traditional to the cutting edge. Therapies utilise organic products by Voya and Meera, created using the finest oceanic and plant extracts including detoxifying seaweed baths.
Year-round yoga, meditation, reiki, crystal healing and ancient singing bowl sessions are enhanced by a rotating schedule of visiting practitioners, for a curated programme of world-class wellness experiences.
The Rasi Pairing Journey at Gili Lankanfushi’s Meera Spa is priced from $345 (£254*) for 150 minutes across two days.
Nightly rates at Gili Lankanfushi start from $1,440 (£1,060*), based on two adults sharing a villa with breakfast included. For more information or to book, visit gili-lankanfushi.com.
Sri Lanka
Disconnect to reconnect and hike the Pekoe Trail at the new Uga Halloowella, Hatton
Those looking to disconnect to reconnect and soak up the stunning natural beauty of Sri Lanka’s historic tea trail region can take on the famous Pekoe Trail near Uga Halloowella, the brand-new property from boutique Sri Lankan hotel group Uga.
The Pekoe Trail is 300km in total, running from Sri Lanka’s second largest city of Kandy to the hilltop town of Nuwara Eliva, and spans more than 300km through historic villages, enchanting forests and tea plantations. Divided into 22 stages, the seventh stage is close to Uga Halloowella and is suitable for all abilities, taking hikers on a beautiful trek through the very heart of the picturesque tea country.
Beginning in the charming town of Kotagala and winding past local landmarks and cultural sights including the stunning Singamalai lake, Chrysler’s Farm tea factory, Castlereagh Reservoir, Hindu kovils and Christian churches, the hike provides an unmatched opportunity to unwind in nature with loved ones while discovering the region’s fascinating history and culture.
Perched on a hilltop within a 252-acre tea estate in Sri Lanka’s historic central tea trails region, the brand-new Uga Halloowella in Hatton – opened January 2025 – offers six luxurious suites alongside impeccable indoor and al-fresco dining experiences, expansive lawns, and a large, tempting infinity pool. Located 146km from Colombo, Uga Halloowella is accessible via helicopter or by scenic drive and is on the doorstep of some of the region’s must-visit attractions.
Often referred to as a gateway to the scenic hill country, Hatton holds a rich history intertwined with the colonial era when British planters settled in the area to cultivate tea, giving rise to a vibrant cultural tapestry that blends indigenous traditions with colonial influences. The region’s cool climate, characterised by misty mornings and gentle breezes, creates an ideal environment for growing some of the world’s finest tea, which has been a cornerstone of the local economy for over a century.
Nightly rates at Uga Halloowella start from $1,125 (£828*) on an all-inclusive basis. For more information or to book, visit ugaescapes.com.
Italy
Rooftop wellness by the lake at Hilton Lake Como
This summer, Hilton Lake Como is offering a host of restorative water-based and holistic workouts with a truly unmatched view. Throughout the season, guests will be able to practice their downward dog with a view at the hotel’s regenerating rooftop yoga sessions. Set against a panoramic backdrop of lakeside splendour, the sessions take place at 8am, providing a magnificent setting in which to soak up the sunrise and restore balance of body and mind.
Meanwhile at eforea Spa, guests can partake in weekly Aqua Gym sessions in the hydrotherapy pool, performing aerobic exercises with water weights designed to tone muscles and relieve stress. A floating meditation bath experience is also on offer, where guests will discover the balancing power of water in combination with guided meditation on floating mattresses. Promoting deep relaxation, the sessions are available to book both at eforea Spa’s hydrotherapy pool and on the hotel’s stunning rooftop infinity pool.
Water-lovers can also take part in a floating mat workout at the rooftop pool, designed to strengthen the core, improve balance and enhance flexibility – all with an unrivalled panoramic view across Lake Como.
Hilton Lake Como is a modern lifestyle hotel with spectacular scenery, traditional charm, and jaw-dropping 180-degree views of the lake from its rooftop pool. Formerly a silk factory, the building is steeped in history and is now home to 170 spacious guest rooms, with a variety of stunning suites to choose from, a pampering spa and a popular rooftop cocktail bar and restaurant.
The hotel is ideally located in an area full of unique experiences on and off the lake, which has made Lake Como an international must-visit destination for families, business travellers and couples. Insider tip: if the spacious 1689 sq ft presidential suite with a lake view and rooftop terrace is booked then try the loft suite where you can sleep under the twinkling Lake Como stars.
Rooftop yoga on Hilton Lake Como’s rooftop terrace takes place on select dates at 8am and is available to book for €25 per person. Upcoming dates include June 20th, July 2nd and July 16th. Aqua Gym at eforea Spa takes place on Tuesdays at 10am* and is available to book for €15 per person. The Floating Meditation Bath Experience is available to book for €55 per person and takes place at 7pm on June 25th and July 26th in the hydrotherapy pool at eforea Spa, or at 8am in the rooftop pool on July 5th, 19th and 30th.
Floating mat workouts are available to book for €40 per person and take place every Monday at 8am* at the rooftop pool.
*Activity suspended from August 4th to 17th.
Nightly rates at Hilton Lake Como begin at €350 (£298*) based on double occupancy with breakfast included. For more information and to book, visit hilton.com.
A sweet new Venetian treatment at Hilton Molino Stucky Venice’s eforea Spa
Hilton Molino Stucky Venice, the five-star hotel and former flour mill on Giudecca island, is giving guests the opportunity to ‘summer-proof’ their skin in the sweetest of ways with a new hydrating and regenerating honey treatment at its award-winning eforea Spa.
From dryness to fatigue, the arrival of the warmer months can bring challenges for the complexion and body, but this hydrating 100-minute ritual from eforea Spa offers the perfect antidote. The treatment begins with a full body massage using honey oil and gentle tools including brushes and rollers to stimulate circulation and relieve tension. This is followed by a deeply hydrating facial treatment incorporating double cleansing, exfoliation, facial massage, mask, scalp massage and a focus on the delicate eye contour area.
The facial harnesses the power of Maria Galland products such as Hydra2 complex to boost the skin’s production of hyaluronic acid and elastin, and Skin-Protect complex (composed of subterranean marine waters and macroalgae), which offers powerful antioxidant protection against environmental stressors. Key active ingredients include alginate, which helps combat dryness and diminish signs of fatigue.
Formerly a flour mill factory on the peaceful island of Giudecca, Hilton Molino Stucky Venice is a modern Venetian masterpiece steeped in history. This listed building has been beautifully restored with a series of recent refurbishments, including 24 new suites by famed interior designer Biagio Forino unveiled in April 2024. After arriving by water taxi, guests will be spoiled for choice with 379 rooms and suites, one of the largest spas in Venice, and a collection of bars and restaurants. Hilton Molino Stucky Venice is home to one of two eforea Spas in Italy; the other location is available at sister property Hilton Lake Como.
The hydrating and regenerating honey treatment by eforea Spa is priced at €170 (£145*) for 100 minutes.
Nightly rates at Hilton Molino Stucky Venice begin at €240 (£204*) per night based on double occupancy with breakfast included. Molino Suites start from €590 (£503*) per night. For more information or to book, visit hilton.com.
France
Plan ahead for winter: Snowga at Purple Ski’s newly renovated Chalet Inoko, Val d’Isère
Yogis looking to plan ahead for winter need search no further than the truly unique ‘Snowga’ offering at Purple Ski’s Chalet Inoko in Val d’Isère, which will re-launch fully refurbished for the 2025/26 season with a host of sensational upgrades. Thanks to a brand-new master bedroom offering enchanting forest views, the chalet will now accommodate up to 14 plus one guests in seven elegant en-suite bedrooms. The property also now boasts a beautifully appointed, spacious new ski room. Equipped with heated boot racks and plenty of storage, it’s the perfect place to prepare for an adventure on the slopes.
With a sprawling wellness area devoted to post-ski relaxation and entertainment, Chalet Inoko is the ideal destination in which to try Purple Ski’s ‘snowga’ offering. Available on request via Purple Ski’s concierge team, the snowga sessions will see a private instructor stretch and soothe guests’ tired muscles after a long day on the slopes and can take place beside the pool or in the sprawling living room. Post snowga, guests can unwind in the beautifully appointed wellness area, where they can warm up in the hot tub, ease sore limbs in the sauna, work out in the fitness room or simply relax by the large indoor swimming pool.
Overlooking Val d’Isère, Chalet Inoko’s location tucked away in the trees is immensely private and yet just a short, chauffeured minibus ride from the snow front and the resort’s famous shopping and restaurant scene.
Commanding splendid views and a snowy forest backdrop, Inoko seamlessly blends traditional Alpine touches with a modern design and state-of-the-art facilities. The stunning chalet comprises seven elegant bedrooms – two of which form a connected family suite along with an adjoining children’s bunk room – a sumptuous wellness area with indoor pool, sauna, massage and relaxation area, ski room, spacious dining and living areas and a TV room. Outside on the terrace, a sunken hot tub and seating area with fire pit offers the perfect place from which to admire the views.
A seven-night stay at Chalet Inoko, Val d’Isère starts from €48,988 (£41,694*) on a catered basis. For more information and to book, visit purpleski.com.
*Price in pound sterling accurate on date of publication.
Anyone looking at my browsing history 18 months ago would have found multiple searches for Pilates retreats, affordable retreats, and retreats where coffee isn’t banned.
Every retreat I looked at seemed to be too expensive, too long, or too hard to get to in my timeframe.
The more I looked, the less appealing it sounded to be eating set meals and attending twice daily exercise bootcamps.
I’ve discovered it’s easier to work wellness into a Bali stay. Most resorts have great accommodation/meal packages, including access to well-equipped fitness centres with a program of free and paid activities to enrich the mind and body.
Wellness Unbound is Nusa Dua resort The Mulia’s way of letting guests unwind at their own pace, embracing mindfulness, immersive cultural enrichment, nourishment, healing and movement.
Try a free 7am yoga class in the Eden Garden. Need more sleep and some extra help mastering those poses? I take a 9am private yoga class (from $66 per person per hour), sweat like there’s no tomorrow, then have an omelette, coffee and glass of antioxidant-packed jamu at The Cafe.
If you’re a guest of the suites or villas and want to avoid the temptations of the buffet, The Lounge offers a la carte options. Start with a fruit plate and fresh juice, then move on to an egg white and asparagus omelette.
Add in an afternoon class of dancercise, aerial yoga, or mat Pilates. More of a team player? Sign up for beach soccer, volleyball, tennis or ping pong.
After all that exercise, try a session in the Mulia Spa wellness suite with sauna and Asia Pacific’s first ice room (from $47 per person for 30 minutes). Book the hot and cold hydrotonic pool and it’s all yours for the session (from $29 per person for 30 minutes). There’s no sharing with strangers like many Aussie bathhouses.
I have a cultural enrichment session with Ni Wayan Weli, starting with Balinese dance moves. She looks graceful. I do not. Then I learn how to make a canang, the Balinese offerings basket, and to weave a red, white and black Tridatum the traditional bracelet that represents the three gods of Hinduism. These free activities are available to all guests.
Open since mid 2024, The Meru Sanur all-suite hotel sits in the Sanur Special Economic Zone for health and wellness tourism.
The Meru’s poolside breakfast buffet at Arunika has a clearly labelled wellness section with dishes including Bircher muesli, chia pots and grilled vegetables. There’s a gluten-free station, plenty of fresh fruit and two types of jamu.
Activities include yoga, aero boxing and soccer on Sanur’s longest and whitest stretch of beach.
Guests can go on a transformative journey at the recently opened Taru Pramana Spa and Wellness centre, where a wellness apothecary can create you a personal elixir, infused oil, or botanical balm.
I enjoy a relaxing massage with sound healing and the sleepier I get, the more I am convinced several people are in the room playing the singing bowls next to my head. Staff assure me it really was just the work of one therapist. The spa has changed since my visit, but a similar experience starts from $175 for two hours.
The Meru’s gym is in use by Indonesia’s national soccer team each morning of during my stay, so the equipment comes highly rated.
I’m one of only two in a free aqua aerobics class in the Bali Beach Pool – Sanur’s largest – which the resort shares with the Bali Beach Hotel.
A bike ride or healthy 10 to 15-minute stroll along the beachfront to the new Icon Bali Mall is recommended if your idea of wellness also involves retail therapy.
At The Laguna Resort and Spa in Nusa Dua, guests can learn how the immune-boosting elixir jamu is made as part of the 5.45pm daily Jamu Ritual at De Bale Bar and Lounge.
The activity celebrates Indonesia’s wellness and herbal heritage, with the featured jamu changing quarterly. I sip Loloh Cemcem, traditionally made from cemcem leaves (Spondias pinnata) in Penglipuran, a village in the Bagli regency.
On Thursday nights as dusk descends, a traditional Balinese story comes to life through dance and music performed by local students.
I’m so engrossed, I get a shock to find a performer dressed as a monkey has snuck up on me. It’s another way The Laguna helps preserve Balinese culture by weaving it into each stay.
After the performance, I am invited to a blessing ceremony outside the resort’s Hindu temple, complete with grains of sacred rice on my forehead and the gift of a Tridatu bracelet.
The ceremony is watched by the resort’s resident duck and chicken. Legend has it they escaped has being sacrificed and now roam the grounds as protectors.
Staying in shape at The Laguna is easy at the 24-hour gym with views of a lagoon pool and waterfalls. I finish my stay with a blissful one-hour traditional Balinese massage (from $150) while water flows outside.
+ Sue Yeap was a guest of The Mulia, The Meru Sanur and The Lagua Resort and Spa. They have not influenced this story, or read it before publication.
fact file
themulia.com
themerusanur.com
marriott.com
The global travel-retail industry continues to see growth in the Wellness sector, with new innovations, spas and concepts being developed or adapted from domestic settings for travel retail.
One innovation to land in airports this year is beauty and bodycare brand Rituals’ Mind Oasis concept. The brand recently opened the first Mind Oasis wellness concept at an airport in travel retail at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.
The concept is already available in several Rituals’ domestic stores, and the 40sqm airport area is an addition to the brand’s new 141sqm shop in Schiphol’s Lounge 1 that opened on 21 March 2025.
Read the full report here in the June/July edition from page 76. Please note – you must be logged in (as a free subscriber) for the link to work.
Wellness Travel
In the Age of Biohacking, Nature-Based Saunas Are Still the Most Restorative Wellness Getaways
The water was somewhere in the 50s, according to guesses from a smattering of locals doing the same. We submerged to our necks and shivered for as long as I could stand it. We didn’t worry about the exact temperature or how long we stayed, and distracted ourselves with the birds and rhythm of the morning. I’m by no means a regular cold plunger, but this felt truly restorative. More so even than the precisely measured hot-cold cycle in an upscale sauna complex I did with the same friend during his bachelor party in Las Vegas.
The benefits of hot-cold water treatments are a big part of today’s wellness conversation. Travel companies have responded, with hotels and day spas promoting treatments measured to the half-degree, catering to those determined to not let a vacation interrupt their biohacking routines.
Yet what if true wellness requires a more hands-off approach? Something more connected to nature than to what you can keep on a spreadsheet?
These questions resonate with the founders of a Fjord, a new floating sauna and plunge experience in the Richardson Bay, just north of San Francisco in Sausalito. Recently opened, it’s the first floating sauna in the San Francisco area, and Fjord saw an immediate response to their anti-biohacking approach to sauna culture.
Fjord intentionally avoids wellness tropes, instead positioning itself as a recreational and social experience built around thermal activities, co-founder Alex Yenni tells me. Fjord’s approach is “more pure fun and not so hardcoded in body optimization.”
Photo: Fjord
Fjord has access straight into the water and Mount Tamalpais in the distance. It offers a “rare opportunity for people who live in the Bay Area who’ve never swam in the bay,” Yenni says, a “floating destination where it’s just silence and seagulls and sailboats and seals and weird weather patterns and microclimates. It’s a very immersive environment.”
Fjord makes the biohacker’s definition of “optimization” feel far away even here in Silicon Valley, where much of the biohacking tech is developed.
Balancing nature in wellness tourism
The Global Wellness Institute predicts that “wellness travel” — loosely defined as any travel where a major focus is on improving one’s mental or physical wellbeing — will be a $1.4 trillion industry by 2027. It’s one of the fastest growing travel categories, and hotel programs and companies that cater to tourism have quickly moved to meet the moment. The number of hotels offering wellness programs is growing, even if it doesn’t always make money. That’s led to everything from your standard massage business, to a Six Senses resort with the “latest targeted biohacking tools” (and dog massages, for what it’s worth), to on-site genetic testing.
Within the broad wellness umbrella, an analysis of TripAdvisor reviews, bookings, and recommendations found that one of the biggest subsects of wellness travel revolves around water experiences: cold plunges, thermal spas and hot springs, and wellness cruises.
Photo: Fjord
The places that are most overly coded as wellness getaways often tout precision and science, whether it’s 24/7 tracking of your vitals or hot-cold water treatments timed down to the second. It’s a data-backed approach to answer what biohackers are looking for. Over analyzing can ruin the whole point, however.
“When we’re fixated on timers and exact temperatures, we often miss the profound relaxation and joy that practices like sauna bathing can offer,” says Marcus Coplin, a naturopathic medical doctor and the medical director for The Springs Resort in Colorado and Murrieta Hot Springs Resort in California, both of which are fed by natural flowing, deep-earth geothermal mineral water that’s unique to place. “The most compelling research on sauna benefits comes out of cultures where it’s a social, recreational, or even ritualistic activity, ingrained into daily life. These cultures often use saunas as a way to disconnect from the daily grind and reconnect with loved ones and community.”
Contrast therapy, or alternating hot and cold exposure, can help with relaxation and clarity, says Tammy Pahel, the vice president of spa and wellness at Carillon Miami Wellness Resort and the chief wellness officer at Alchemy Wellness Resorts. Pahel adds that “perhaps the most compelling aspect of sauna culture today lies beyond the physical. Increasingly, wellness seekers are drawn to thermal rituals not only for their benefits, but for their feeling of a reconnection with self, breath, and presence. There’s an emotional intelligence in these rituals, a capacity to ground us in the body and the moment.”
The benefit of saunas and cold plunges, Coplin adds, is from regularly building your body’s response to low-dose temperature stress (regularity being the key word here). Constant monitoring and rigid routines can negate any positive effects of the practices themselves when sticking to the program becomes a chore.
Big data has its place, but at the end of the day, it’s about feeling well, not just measuring it, Coplin adds.
“The moment wellness becomes about performance rather than presence, you’ve lost the therapeutic benefit,” says Ryan Pomeroy, who leads Pomeroy Lodging, which has Nordic spas in Alaska and Canada.
“You simply can’t replicate what nature provides,” Pomeroy says. “Nature adds elements that can’t be measured or optimized: the sound of wind through trees, the changing seasons, the visual meditation of mountain landscapes and rock formations. These aren’t just nice-to-haves. They’re therapeutic in ways that indoor facilities simply cannot replicate.”
And, importantly, it’s difficult to over optimize in nature where you can’t control the sunrise or the temperature. “The unpredictability forces you into presence rather than performance,” Pomeroy says. “Indoor facilities, no matter how well-designed, become another controlled environment where people can fall back into tracking and measuring.”
Bridging recreation and wellness in a natural environment
Photos: Fjord
At Fjord, the more relaxed approach has clearly been well received by the city and the community. Reservations are booked out for months. It’s a departure from the lifestyle that Yenni had prior after nearly 20 years in the creative agency world. That line of work left him unfulfilled, he says. It spurred the desire for a reinvention focusing on what can be felt in person rather than transmitted through film sets and streamed videos.
The core mission is to “break people out of their hermetically sealed bubbles” and help them “actually feel something visceral,” Yenni says.
His cofounder at Fjord, Gabe Turner, had a similar motivation at a similar time. Together, they set out to bring a California ethos to the global appreciation of hot and cold experiences at Russian banyas, Finnish saunas, Japanese onsens, and Turkish hammams.
Photo: Fjord
Fjord represents a move “toward something more analog,” Yenni says, offering a “real physical and social connection.” Something different than the lackluster sauna and super-chilled tub in a windowless room that’s familiar in urban hot and cold spots. Without the natural environment, “the third leg of the stool is missing: reconnection and the experience of being in nature.”
While Fjord opened at a time when wellness travel and interest is very much having a moment, Yenni and the Fjord team started planning before the current hype and are intentional about avoiding the typical wellness tropes. Still, it doesn’t hurt that the benefits of hot-cold experiences has gone mainstream. “The work has been done for us that there’s enough critical awareness around the benefits around hot and cold,” Yenni says.
Fjord’s tagline of “feel something” targets an experience that’s not specifically what one would find at a high-tech, data-backed treatment center. It’s more in the lane of a recreational and social experience, with the added benefits of being good for you.
Location may be one of the most important factors in a natural sauna experience, but it’s not always an easy find. Permitting a location with natural beauty was “probably the hardest part about the project” for Fjord, Yenni says. It involved approval from eight different agencies, and a strong commitment to sustainable design. Architect Nick Polansky reused abandoned infrastructure like a decommissioned wave attenuator from the 2013 America’s Cup, repurposed second-hand shipping containers, and utilized sustainable second-growth California redwood for Fjord. Clean electric and no toxic runoff helps Fjord “blend seamlessly into the environment” and be good stewards to the nature around them, Yenni says.
Photo: Fjord
Fjord’s approach clearly resonates with the public just as much as my first plunge in the Bay did years ago. Guests run the gamut in age, background, and culture, from young adopter types to the elderly, Yenni says. It has had to shut down its booking platform a couple of times already due to being book out for months at 100 percent utilization.
Yenni and the Fjord team are “sprinting to figure out how we offer this to more people.” They’re already in talks with the city of San Francisco about potential partnerships for expansion. More saunas as social spaces that embrace their surroundings through thoughtful, sustainable design can only be a good thing. In time, the biohackers may realize that, too.
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