When the summer season becomes nothing more than a mere memory, the cold can leave you feeling a little blue in more ways than one. At times like these, there’s no better remedy than a bit of winter sun: besides getting your daily dose of vitamin D, which has been said to aid weight loss and boost your mood, its the perfect way to reset mentally before the New Year. We’ve rounded up our favourite luxury destination retreats for a slightly sunnier winter escape
Anantara Wellness
Phuket’s temperatures are pretty consistent through the year, but its best to visit in winter during the dry season. Nestled in the southern corner of the Thai island, Anantara Mai Khao Resort offers a space for travellers to bask in some much-needed R&R. The Rejuvenation Retreat, which runs for three days, includes accommodation in a luxurious pool villa, daily breakfast, and US$46 of spa credit to use at your leisure, each day. With a detox consultation and personal training session, herbal steam, bespoke spa treatment, private yoga sessions and more to choose from, this is one warm winter destination we can see the appeal of.
Aro Hā
An eco-sanctuary just outside of Queenstown, New Zealand, the Aro Hā resort is a wellness resort that offers active adventurers a chance to retreat from the cold of the northern hemisphere and into a sunny southern summer season. Four-night Wellness Adventure packages are inclusive of wellness classes, lengthy hikes, massages, spa therapies and mindfulness sessions, as well as nourishing vegetarian meals throughout your stay.
Contact bookings@compareretreats.com to book your luxury wellness retreat
Kamalaya
On the year-round tropical island paradise of Koh Samui, Thailand, Kamalaya offers its guests a warm, inviting and peaceful retreat from wherever they’ve come. If you’re looking to leave the balmy weather behind you, there’s no better time to initiate a body reboot. The luxury wellness resort offers seven-night Comprehensive Detoxes, which are inclusive of accommodation and all meals. Retreats begin with a wellness consultation and body analysis, while the remainder of the week can be whiled away with multiple 90-minute massages, herbal remedies, colonic hydrotherapies, infrared sauna sessions, and access to the resort’s scheduled fitness sessions.
Contact bookings@compareretreats.com to book your luxury wellness retreat
Gwinganna
For those in search of a warming retreat, while the winter weather wreaks havoc on their home, a trip Down Under might be in order. Set among 200-acres of mountaintop land above Queensland’s Tallebudgera Valley, Gwinganna is the brainchild of wellness entrepreneur Tony de Leede. The Life in Balance Retreat programme is inclusive of accommodation and all meals and snacks throughout your stay, guests also have access to the resort’s scheduled wellness seminars and fitness sessions, and the promise of an 80-minute massage awaiting them.
Contact bookings@compareretreats.com to book your luxury wellness retreat
Qualia
An Island Interlude Retreat at Qualia—an exclusive resort off Hamilton Island—offers a four-night escape from your winter woes. The intimate destination resort has just 60 pavilions, each set overlooking the World Heritage Site, the Whitsunday Islands. From sunset cruising to a VIP chauffeur service to take you round the sights and sounds of Hamilton Island, plus access to the state-of-the-art gym, sauna, spa and tennis court at your leisure, staying healthy on holiday has never looked so inviting.
Contact bookings@compareretreats.com to book your luxury wellness retreat
Song Saa Private Island
Wind, rain and the biting cold can get even the most festive of folk feeling down, so the thought of an island paradise resort brings with it an obvious appeal. Enter Song Saa Private Island. On an archipelago just 45-minutes away by boat from Sihanoukville in Cambodia, the resort boasts a ‘spa with no walls’, leaving its guests surrounded by the beauty of the elements. Five-night Spa Rejuvenate programmes include four body treatments, a one-to-one spa consultation, yoga, stand-up paddleboarding, a Khmer cooking class, a facial and a blessing bath ritual. All-inclusive packages that incorporate meals are also available, on request.
See also: The Best Luxury Wellness Retreats in Asia For A Five-Star Getaway
Fivelements
With its roots in Buddhist healing philosophies, Fivelements offers its guests a relaxing retreat experience to recharge mind, body and soul. The five-night Signature Rejuvenation programme begins with a wellness consultation, while the rest of the time can be spent delighting in healing massages, energy sessions, beauty rituals, yoga classes and a Balinese blessing ceremony before you depart, to carry your newly revived wellness spirit back to your winter base.
See also: Fivelements Founders Lahra & Chicco Tatriele On Communication & Eco Wellness
Amanoi
The beauty of Aman’s Vietnamese property needs little explanation—surrounded by the lush vegetation in Nui Chua National Park, the resort boasts all the trademark amenities and luxuries any Aman guest has come to expect. A seven-night Longevity, Rejuvenation and Detoxification retreat programme includes a wellness consultation on arrival, specialist therapy and movement sessions, and a daily itinerary of holistic spa treatments and group activities.
Contact bookings@compareretreats.com to book your luxury wellness retreat
See also: Aman Group Launches New Holistic Aman Skincare Brand
Chiva-Som Health Resort
For a true taste of Thai hospitality, the Essence of Chiva-Som programme in the luxurious, award-winning Hua Hin health resort is a perfect fit. The beachfront resort boasts a plethora of luxury accommodation options and offers guests an individual health and wellness consultation. With a physical body analysis, skin analysis and up to eight daily fitness classes and a spa treatment during your stay, you’ll never be wanting for things to do.
Motivate For Change: Golden Door Health Retreat
In New South Wales’ Hunter Valley, Australia, Golden Door Health Retreat offers its guests an eye-opening wellness experience. The aptly-named Motivate for Change programme begins with a personalised nutrition consultation, and is followed by specially prepared nutritious meals and snacks, daily wellness seminars and workshops, and access to the resort’s scheduled daily fitness classes. Retreat-goers will also be able to opt for a wellness consultation and spa treatment during their stay.
Contact bookings@compareretreats.com to book your luxury wellness retreat