Always Tired? You Should Plan Your Next Luxury Vacation Around "Sleep Tourism"
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Modern-day humans are terrific at a lot of things. Dreaming up new design trends? Check. Tapping into technology to reimagine the future of everything from gardening to wine? You bet.
But sleeping? There, many of us struggle. Whether it’s due to a health condition, challenging family dynamics (the royals get it!), constant pings from technology, uncertainties about the future of the economy and politics, anxiety over a potential etiquette faux pas or otherwise, most Americans aren’t coming close to reaching our ideal amount of rest.
Research suggests that nearly half of Americans are sleep deprived, and the CDC confirms that one in three adults don’t regularly score their recommended 7 or more hours of sleep.
Snoozing soundly at home is difficult enough. But toss a time change and the stress of travel to the mix? The plot thickens even more.
To help us try to learn how to rest easier while out of the office—and pack those skills to take home with us—beautiful hotels around the world are offering everything from immersive sleep retreats to little details as part of a regular stay, such as a pillow menu (to help you find your perfect match) or soothing snacks in the mini bar.
“Our goal was to make wellness more relevant and accessible to guests beyond just the walls of our spa and fitness center,” says Kahi Arnaud, director of sales and marketing at Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows in Santa Monica, California, when we asked him about Fairmont’s new Serenity Suite. “We believe that for a hotel to address wellness, we had to start with creating a foundation for what is the most important product to consider in a hotel: our guest room.”
Available at the Santa Monica five-star luxury hotel year-round, the 800-square-foot suite is styled with soothing earth tones and natural elements. It’s equipped with a Bryte Balance Smart Mattress that syncs sleep-inducing audio with subtle motion, in-room fitness gear and medication classes via the Lululemon Studio Mirror, a Molekule air purification system, locally sourced luxury aromatherapy bath products and a wellness-focused in-room dining menu and mini bar.
Book a room at Los Angeles’s Hotel Figueroa (or any Hyatt property, and sign up for the brand’s loyalty program), you’ll score a complimentary membership to the meditation app Headspace. Upgrade to Hotel Figueroa’s Rest & Recovery Suite, and you can bathe yourself in red light from a Revive lamp. Precise waves of that spectrum of light are believed to help support our natural circadian rhythms.
When it’s time to wake up, you’ll do so courtesy of the gentle light from a Loftie Lamp, which is crafted to mimic natural sunrise and sunset. The property’s sleep focus starts well before you arrive; about 3 weeks in advance of your stay in the Hotel Figueroa’s R&R suite, you’ll be asked to complete a quiz about your pillow preferences. That way, they’ll have Pluto Pillows already on the bed for you that are dialed in to your preferred size and support level.
Speaking of where you lie your head, at The Benjamin, you can escape the hustle and bustle of New York City via their Rest and Renew program, which includes sleep masks, ear plugs, black-out curtains, a full library of lullaby music and your choice of 10 pillows. Those pillow options range from anti-snore to water-filled to cushions customized for side sleepers, back sleepers and those who tend to run toasty and they try to sleep.
The sleep focus is more than skin deep at some properties. As part of their new “white glove wellness” program Next|Health, the team at Maui’s five-star Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea now offers a Sleep IV (as well as reiki masters, masseuses and other soothing spa-menities) for any interested guests. The IV’s blend is said to help reduce stress levels and support a steadier sleep cycle.
Darshan Shah, M.D., CEO, founder and medical director of Next|Health tells VERANDA, “Sleep is really the main way your body restores itself after performing millions of functions throughout the day. When your body systems do not get a chance to recover due to a lack of quality sleep, you can compromise your immunity, energy, mental clarity, and ultimately, your longevity if left unaddressed.”
All of the above are more a la carte. However, if you’re ready to dive in slipper-first to an immersive snooze-improving experience that you plan an entire vacation around, options abound.
More than a dozen Six Senses locations across the globe offer sleep wellness retreats that guests book to specifically zone in on learning how to catch better zzzs at home.
And during two sessions available in spring and summer 2024 at Castle Hot Springs in Morristown, Arizona, you can join others to enroll in a “Sleep 401” masterclass of sorts at the Sonoran desert resort. Castle Hot Springs’s Sleep Retreats are four-day, three-night gatherings designed and led by Rebecca Robbins, Ph.D., a sleep researcher, author and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Beyond being able to explore the resort’s scenic property and soak in the rejuvenating hot springs, those in attendance will receive a masterclass in sleep tracking, what to eat to promote slumber (which is deliciously demonstrated by the on-site meals), intel about how to adjust your sleep schedule to fit with your needs and preferences—all after taking part in an early morning hike to help reset and regulate the internal clock.
Until you can jet away, or if you want to get a head start at home, here are some science-backed ways to upgrade your sleep routine, starting tonight:
Aim for at least 30 minutes of movement, ideally outside and 2 hours or more before bed to allow your body to wind down.
Keep naps to less than 60 minutes, and take them no later than mid-afternoon.
Strive to keep a consistent bedtime and wake time.
Limit caffeine, large meals and alcohol in the 3 hours leading up to bed.
Seek out morning natural light.
Avoid screens in the 90 minutes before you plan to tuck in, if possible.
Set the thermostat to 65° F or so before bed.
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