Intermittent fasting, ice plunges and DNA testing are increasingly going mainstream as consumers embrace wellness and longevity practices in pursuit of healthier and longer lives.
The global wellness economy is set to reach $1.3 trillion by 2025. Venture capital investment in longevity clinics more than doubled between 2021 and 2022. Driving interest and investments are rising demands to address chronic disease, optimize health and extend life.
Consumers are tapping into the trend with stays at wellness clinics around the world. Clinics range from those focused on nutrition and mindfulness to cellular science. Here’s a list of the top resorts around the world for longevity.
EUROPE
For more than 100 years, clinics in Austria and Germany have attracted repeat guests for their scientific approach — which includes varying versions of medically supervised fasting designed to reduce inflammation and, unsurprisingly, aid weight loss; complemented with Nordic walks, individual supplements, treatments like liver wraps and workshops. The benefits of fasting for reducing inflammation were discovered more than 100 years ago by Dr. Franz Xaver Mayr, an Austrian who inspired a handful of clinics, as well as his German counterpart, Dr. Otto Buchinger.
Buchinger Wilhelmi is situated in Germany above Lake Constance, near the border with Switzerland. The 100-plus-year old clinic attracts 1-percenters and A-listers for 10 to 20 days, on average. Optional activities such as art workshops, meditation sessions and lectures encourage a mental and physical detox. Buchinger Wilhelmi has a second outpost in Marbella, Spain.
Lanserhof, with clinics in Austria and Germany, is most famous for its location in the Tyrol, just outside Innsbruck, Austria. Guests come for the state-of-the-art science. Tests monitor stress levels, 24-hour heart rates and cellular health. Sports scientists develop tailored gym routines, and medical doctors devise individual daily menus based on a reduced-calorie diet and food types.
Park Igls, in the tiny village of Igls above Innsbruck, follows a more relaxed fasting protocol, incorporating activity levels to create personal meal plans. The traditional property is an intimate setting with great access to Alpine walks and the city center. Themed weeks include intensive yoga. The clientele is typically more European.
NORTH AMERICA
Many wellness clinics in the U.S. and Mexico are focused more on macrobiotic meals and a holistic approach to mind and body, rather than strict fasting. There’s also a greater emphasis on luxurious surroundings and nature.
The Pritikin Luxury Wellness Retreat in Miami takes a physician-driven approach, with impressive stats in peer-reviewed journals demonstrating proven successes in improving conditions and reducing the need for medications. Pritikin’s nutrition-based program includes a cooking school as well as resort amenities featuring four championship golf courses, a swimming pool and tennis courts, along with fitness classes on the beach.
SHA Wellness, based in Spain for the past 30 years, just opened a facility in Mexico in January. The clinic integrates nutrition, natural therapies, preventive and healthy-aging medicine, advanced aesthetics, cognitive stimulation, emotional health and physical performance to improve health and reduce biological age. Personalized biological profiles are based on nearly 100 metrics, including sleep polygraphs.
ASIA
Wellness clinics in Asia often combine Western diagnostics with Eastern philosophies, like Ayurveda. The ancient science of life and longevity is practiced through oil massages, meditation, yoga-based breathing techniques to balance energies, and mindful eating with light meals made from fresh vegetables, fruits and legumes.
Chiva-Som sits on 7 acres of gardens above the beach in Thailand, a three-hour drive from Bangkok. A teakwood pavilion houses an open-air yoga studio, and digital devices are strictly prohibited in public spaces. Chiva-Som offers genomic testing to create individual plans, with a choice between two goals: vitality or longevity. The vitality program is aimed at optimizing nutrition and lifestyle through physical fitness, weight, energy and focus. The longevity program assesses chronic disease risk and offers early intervention and prevention techniques and protocols.
Six Senses Fort Barwara in Rajasthan, India, is the only Ayurvedic resort in the Six Senses portfolio. The 700-year-old fort has been converted into a 48-suite hotel, with the spa located in an ancient temple. Wellness programs are offered over five, eight or 12 nights and include Ayurvedic consultation and preventive treatments as well as personalized yoga, breathwork and meals prepared from the local garden.
Soneva Jani in the Maldives combines ultraluxe over-water villas on a remote atoll for its Soneva Soul program, also available at Soneva Fushi. A new wellness center designed by Ayurvedic physicians opened in 2022. Detox cleanses of one to five days are offered, and practitioners include movement specialists, naturopathic, Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine doctors. Regenerative therapies include IV drips, hyperbaric chambers and ozone therapy.