Guests check in for refuge from the daily grind and to learn new, healthy habits that might stick with them forever. But these are luxury hotels, not boot camps. For an average guest, the nutritional and fitness aspects and the impressive resources behind them contribute to an overall unforgettable experience — and it is an experience that may indeed prove life-changing. The sublime locations, from deserts to islands to mountains, are no small factor in their transformative power.
On Oct. 8, The Guide will celebrate the achievements of one of the following with the very first MICHELIN Wellness Award, while also announcing the very best hotels in the world for this year: the 2025 MICHELIN Keys.
Canyon Ranch — Arizona, USA
What it’s all about: Perhaps the original wellness resort is still an undeniable trailblazer — where guests access the highest medical tech between hikes in the iconic Sonoran Desert.
When it opened in the late 1970s, wellness was hardly the high-tech, trendy scene of today. Canyon Ranch Tucson, the groundbreaking first resort in a brand that has expanded its outdoor sensibilities to California and Massachusetts, has not merely kept up — it is still a trailblazer of the scene, launching intensive new programs and utilizing a staggering number of scientific and alternative approaches. Still, the experience at Canyon Ranch is completely bespoke: guests may take on treatments that range from full-body screenings in futuristic, computerized pods, or else engage in hundreds of treatments and activities, from acupuncture, to yoga, to desert hikes at various ranges of difficulty. Consultations are meant to provide the tools and structure to continue progress back home.
Nor is the experience an ascetic one. There is an ever-present focus on health, but plenty of allowances made too for pleasure and indulgence. The Javelina Cantina, the outdoor patio bar, was the first of the Canyon Ranch properties to serve alcohol, and one of many places across the resort where Canyon Ranch makes the point that wellness is more than rigor and denial.
Defining features:
- Custom hiking trails through the Sonoran Desert.
- Physician or therapist consultations and personal training.
- Full-body scans, comprehensive genetic testing and red-light therapy.
- 80,000-square-foot spa and fitness center.
- Treatments across traditional, Eastern, metaphysical and Ayurvedic practices.
Joali Being — Raa Atoll, Maldives
What it’s all about: A private island resort that invests in some of the most creative, standout wellness features in the world — and makes this one of the most unique hotels in South Asia.
The overwater and on-land accommodations feature the private pools, personal butlers and ocean views expected at every high-end Maldivian resort. For most hoteliers, the story would end there — and guests would rave about the rest, relaxation and beauty. But what sets Joali Being, opened in 2021, apart from any other Maldivian paradise is the philosophy, developed with an Oxford professor, around healing and rejuvenation.
What would have been a once-in-a-lifetime beach destination becomes one of the most interesting hotels in Asia, with its island setting dotted with centers dedicated to restorative practices: one for hydrotherapy, one for sound healing, another for herbology. Local sea life finds restoration too at the on-site Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Centre, where guests and community come to learn and contribute to marine health.
Defining features:
- Hydrotherapy hall for Aufguss and Banya — the former a combination of sauna, oils and music, the latter a bathing ritual utilizing heat and steam.
- Sound healing path through the jungle, where guests interact with outdoor instruments from wind chimes to plate gongs.
- Herbology center for creation of bespoke herbal teas, body creams and massage oils.
- Tea tasting of 72 varieties with resident Tea Master and Sommelier.
- An “earth to table” dining philosophy for nutrition-forward cuisine spanning Mediterranean to Japanese influences.
Lily of The Valley — La Croix-Valmer, France
What it’s all about: Eating well and exercising is easy in surroundings like these, a village-like resort on the French Riviera designed by world-renowned Philippe Starck.
Low-calorie menus are a central part of the philosophy. But you hardly feel deprived in a resort designed by Philippe Starck — influenced by California villas and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon — in a sunny paradise where workouts include paddleboarding on the Mediterranean.
That, and the three restaurants are under Alain Ducasse and Guy Savoy-trained Chef Vincent Maillard, and those who choose to break with the program can always order the classics. There is no part of Lily of the Valley that’s meant to feel restrictive. A key part of the nutritionist-designed wellness philosophy is for guests to feel indulged and satisfied, and it shows across all aspects of the hotel.
Defining features:
- 2,000-square-meter Shape Club complex, complete with evaluations, individual coaching and high-tech treatments.
- Rooms, suites and villas designed by Starck to blend into the green Mediterranean landscape.
- Access to watersports like paddleboarding, canoeing and windsurfing, as well as two semi-Olympic heated pools.
- Healthy, indulgent dining options at three restaurants by Alain Ducasse and Guy Savoy-trained Chef Vincent Maillard.
The Retreat at Blue Lagoon — Grindavík, Iceland
What it’s all about: A remarkably private way to experience Iceland’s most famous wellness attraction.
The warm mineral waters of Iceland’s world-famous Blue Lagoon are said to have healing properties, and they’re well worth a visit — despite the unavoidable crowds that make rigid entry slots and crowded parking lots part of the trip. A stay at the Retreat, a luxurious, 60-suite escape minutes away from the famous site, provides guests private access to a lagoon of its own, its waters fed by the same source. Quiet within the pristine volcanic setting, the cutting-edge design blends into the landscape and incorporates the renowned waters further into some of its best experiences.
At the spa, steam rooms and underground chambers are carved directly into the earth — and powered entirely by renewable geothermal energy — with the signature treatment taking silica mud and algae paste sourced from the lagoon to hydrate and cleanse. Meanwhile, in-water massages take place directly in the lagoon.
Defining features:
- On-site, One-MICHELIN-Star Moss restaurant that highlights seasonal Icelandic produce.
- Blue Lagoon Suite with private lagoon and spa, complete with fireplace, sauna and steam bath.
- Retreat Spa carved directly into natural volcanic earth and powered by renewable geothermal energy.
- Carefully controlled, biodynamic lighting meant to mimic cycles of day and night.
- Elevated outdoor terraces with views of the surrounding lava fields.
Bürgenstock Resort — Bürgenstock, Switzerland
What it’s all about: A 150-year-old testament to the perennial appeal of Switzerland’s mountain air. Add to that one of the largest spa facilities on the continent.
The electric cable car ride up the mountain was an attraction here soon after the opening of the resort’s first iteration in 1873. Over the proceeding century, it became associated with such stars as Audrey Hepburn and Sophia Loren. Today, after a decade-long renovation that finished in 2017, it’s a testament to the natural appeal — centuries-long and never diminished — of mountain air and the lakeside vistas over Lake Lucerne.
In a setting so restorative, the 10,000-square-meter Alpine Spa, with its five pools and endless offerings, makes the Bürgenstock Resort an undeniable behemoth of the wellness concept. The recent renovation means it’s no living relic, either — these days, wellness here means cryotherapy chambers, infinity pools and infrared saunas.
Defining features:
- Panoramic views of lake and mountain, forest hikes, golf and lake sports.
- 10,000-square-meter Alpine Spa with five pools, saline floating bath, steam rooms, private spa suites and expert-designed hydrothermal journeys between different hot and cold elements.
- Waldhotel Spa offering additional indoor and outdoor pools, Susanne Kaufmann and Swissline skincare, salt therapy, saunas, hammam, terrace and state-of-the-art gym facilities.
- Activities including tennis courts with professional coaching, paragliding, skydiving and guided tours of Switzerland’s cave system.
- 10 restaurants and bars — including MICHELIN-Selected Spices Kitchen & Terrace.
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Hero Image: Lily of the Valley, a Philippe Starck retreat overlooking the French Riviera.
