Urban wellness is hardly new, but there’s a renewed energy behind it as we grapple with how to deal with increasing rates of poor mental health and burn out in stressed-out city environments. Particularly in Asia’s luxury market, hotels and urban resorts are seeking ways to enhance the wellbeing of their customers. Ahead of the 13th annual Global Wellness Summit, Compare Retreats and Six Senses Singapore hosted an invite-only luncheon on October 14th to talk about what’s new and next in the US$639 billion wellness travel industry in Singapore and beyond.
Urban Retreats
As the first urban outpost of the Six Senses brand, Six Senses Singapore—with two unique locations in Singapore’s Chinatown, Maxwell and Duxton—this luxury boutique hotel is at the forefront of the next wave of wellness. “We know that not everyone has time to take a couple of weeks off for a resort, and places like Six Senses Singapore convenient and easy to access for a weekend break or short staycation,” said Compare Retreats Chief Content Officer Rebecca Cairns, sharing her personal experiences of staying at the resort.
Special guest and Six Senses Singapore Owner Harpreet Bedi of the Garcha Group, further championed the wellness efforts at urban properties like Six Senses Maxwell, and explained her future vision of properties as incubators for wellness initiatives in Singapore.
Six Senses Hotels & Resorts currently has 17 locations worldwide, with another five expected to open within the next year. The Singapore properties are the brand’s first voyage into urban wellness, a key trend expected to dominate this year at the Global Wellness Summit, which will be joined by its first North American location and second urban property in New York early in 2020.
Beyond Yoga
Compare Retreats Founder Dervla Louli spoke future wellness trends in the industry: while yoga, fitness and detox retreats are still the most sought after wellness experiences, Louli suggests that more exciting things are yet to come: “Animal-centric experiences, integrated medical retreats, and multi-generational travel are what we’re starting to see.” Other key trending areas include TCM, Ayurveda, sleep and digital detoxes.
Louli went on to speak about the Six Senses experiences that are venturing into the next wave of wellness, like the recently introduced “Grow a New Body” programme launched at Six Senses Krabey, Six Senses Douro and Six Senses Kaplankaya this summer. Fusing together neo-shamanism from the Amazon with state-of-the-art neuroscience and biology, the retreat explores how we use, restore and optimise our energy through ancient and modern healing practices.
Spiritual Modalities
Those seeking wellness retreats in the future will be looking for more than skin-deep spa or detox treatments, as the mindfulness crowd delve deeper into the spiritual side of wellness. Joining the luncheon was a special guest who encouraged everyone to, “Be kind and be receptive to kindness from others,” noting the correlation between longevity and kindness. Gratitude and sleep were his other key points: “We are the most sleep-deprived generation, and places like this are great to help that.”
As retreat-goers look deeper for mentally and emotionally restorative therapies that offer a spiritual element, programmes which offer intimate one-to-one guidance consultations with spiritual leaders are expected to gain momentum in the coming years. Programmes like “Grow a New Body” from Six Senses are ahead of the curve in offering this kind of alternative energy healing alongside more traditional wellness programming, easing us into the future of wellness one step at a time.
Discover the nine inspirational Six Senses wellness retreats we have on our 2020 bucket list here
Get the latest information and updates on the Global Wellness Summit 2019 live from Singapore on Instagram @compareretreats
