7 Wellness Retreats To Help Achieve Your New Year’s Resolutions

Maybe you’re keeping Dry January, curious about being sober, or just trying to go booze-free a few nights a week (or month…no judgment here). Either way, you need some go-to drinks that are tasty enough to satisfy your hankering while still being zero proof. Thankfully, Sea Island, the private island resort off the coast of Georgia, has launched new wellness classes that focus on better sleep, nutrition, and self-care. Our favourite? The Conscious Buzz class, a series of cocktail making sessions sans the alcohol. Under the guidance of the spa’s engaging nutritionist, participants learn to make creative, delicious, and healthy mocktails that people actually enjoy drinking. If you just can’t give up the booze, though, there’s also a Holistic Happy Hour class, in which you’ll create true cocktails with a healthy twist, incorporating Naturopathica tinctures.

Getting better quality sleep is known to reduce inflammation, manage stress, and improve mental focus, yet so many of us find it hard to have a truly restful night. Cape Town’s posh Ellerman House is hoping to change that with its newly launched Sleep Rooms, a first in Africa. The rooms, designed by internationally-renowned wellness consultant Harry Jameson, optimize the bedtime experience by removing all electronics from the room and providing guests with a Sleep Pack, filled with things like lemon verbena and argan oil bath salts, sleep-enhancing Stillness Body Butter, lavender and neroli pillow mist, comforting eye masks, and CBD chamomile tea. While the Sleep Rooms are available for booking anytime on their own, they are also a prominent part of the property’s new wellness retreats, which are led by Jameson. The three-night itinerary includes sleep therapy, soothing spa treatments, a custom health menu, nutritional and cooking workshops, and yoga meditation classes.

If you’ve been daydreaming of breaking the home-car-work chain and getting back in touch with the great outdoors—while also getting fit—look no further than the Dolce Vitality retreat (March 15–21 and November 1–7, 2020) at Italy’s famed Le Sirenuse on the Amalfi Coast. This retreat has some obvious perks, like hiking along some of the most beautiful cliffs on the planet, doing yoga and meditation with world-famous instructor Elena Brower, indulging in restorative massages, and eating vegan food prepared by one of world’s best chefs. A less obvious—but no less amazing—plus is the chance to check in to Le Sirenuse a week before it opens for the season in the spring or after it closes in the fall. Because Positano without the crowds is truly a beautiful thing.

SHA Wellness Clinic, Europe’s award-winning, five-star integrated health and wellbeing clinic in Alicante, Spain, has dozens of programs to target multiple health and wellness issues—and is also one of very few places with programming focusing solely on brain health. So instead of doing more crosswords to keep to your resolution to improve your mind, sign up for treatments like Brain Photobiomodulation and Transcranial Current Stimulation. The former is a painless and non-invasive cognitive stimulation therapy using brand new technology and with a special focus on brain phototherapy; after just a few sessions, brain phototherapy has been shown to improve energy, performance, and a positive state of mind. Transcranial Current Stimulation, developed at Harvard University, analyzes, diagnoses, and treats neurological disorders such as depression, chronic pain, sleep disorders, strokes, and addictions, among others.

Resolving to eat healthier is one of the most common declarations on New Year’s Day. This year, instead of trying out the latest fad diet, why not learn how to cook healthy food and change your daily routine for good? Book the Wellness and Fermentation Retreat (April 16–20, 2020) at chic boutique hotel Casa Delphine in beautiful San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and learn techniques and recipes from Dutch recipe developer and chef Samantha Koch. The retreat features an array of cooking styles focused on improving gut health using plant-based cooking techniques, fermentation, and homemade nut milks. Guests will enjoy healthy meals at the hotel and in the city, excursions to local organic markets, and cooking classes and lectures on making the best dietary decisions. Outings to local hot springs and a one-hour massage are also included.

If you’ve challenged yourself to get off the couch more, go all out and head to luxe lodge Nimmo Bay on the edge of Canada’s British Columbia—a location so remote it’s only accessible by float plane—for their Evolve Retreat (May 11–15, 2020.) Daily group activities here are not for the weary: they include rainforest hikes, wilderness obstacle courses, open water swimming, ocean kayaking, paddle boarding, and yoga, combined with wellness workshops, cooking demonstrations, and one-on-one consultations with a team of wellness experts. At the end of each day, relax your muscles in the cedar-sided hot tub or at the floating sauna.

If you’ve been itching to be more spiritual—in whatever way that means to you—we’ve got just the getaway. This year, Amanjiwo, the ultra-luxe Aman sanctuary in Java, Indonesia, is introducing the Ancient Wisdom of Java Retreat, inspired by the rich heritage of Javanese healing traditions and ceremonies. The three-night itinerary, available year-round starting in April, will include sessions with healers, lectures on Javanese spirituality, and a sunrise visit to the ancient Borobudur temple. Guests will also enjoy a Semedi meditation session and a 90-minute traditional Javanese Pijat deep-tissue massage. Plus, if your visit falls over a full moon, you’ll get to experience the Purnama Purification Ritual, an ancient ceremony intended to return a balance of energy to the body, spirit, and mind.