Wellness is primarily a sensory experience. The foundation of wellness design is understanding the need for sensory experiences and improving them via interactions with the environment. For its architecture and design, wellness designs have a psycho-physiological influence on visitors, providing a powerful pull factor towards healthier living. Infusing wellness into design strategy is a delicate process that involves clever planning, programming, and technology that is unseen yet creates a sense of well-being. Nature has a major influence on an individual’s physical and emotional well-being.
The diurnal motion of the sun is the cornerstone in the site planning of health resorts, inspiring architects to build diverse zones, functions, and even the proper materials and colours. The designer’s primary responsibility is to prioritise crucial aspects of the resort’s interior and outside. The design and architecture of a wellness resort is based on five essential components of nature: earth, water, fire, air, and space. The airy transition between outdoors and interior creates a wonderful sensory experience. Floor-to-ceiling windows, vast decks, terraces, private pools, indoor vegetation and waterfalls, contemporary timber interior décor, or earth hues gracefully integrate the outdoor environment into, easing visitors’ tension and anxiety.
Wellness Design must-haves
Space, surroundings, music, and services should contribute to sensory experiences when approaching a wellness design. Proper sensory management is a vital component of health retreat design and architecture in line with the natural environment. Space encompasses all of the external and internal areas of the structure’s numerous areas. Private and public venues, where visitors may engage with the staff, nature, and others, should be tranquil and relaxing. The whole setting, both inside and outside the structure boundaries, including amenities like lush valleys, vegetation, groomed gardens, lawns, wildness, ocean fronts, water bodies, hills, and mountains, bring about psychological relaxation. Natural sound and interior acoustic control, both contribute to a peaceful environment. Smart, efficient service and assistance may improve customers’ entire sensory experiences.
The whole operation of a wellness resort is based on its architecture, which must be in sync with socially aware systems in order to support certain wellness aspects of visitors, including physical, emotional, spiritual, social, cultural, and intellectual well-being. At the same time, it should prioritise the restoration of the natural environment. Chalets and other structures should be able to connect with nature in a way that meets the needs of future sustainability and ease of maintenance. Here are a few examples of structures over the globe with beautiful wellness design architecture.
3. Amanpuri, Thailand
Location: Phuket, Thailand
Amanpuri is located on a peninsula on the west coast of Phuket, Thailand. Amanpuri is Aman Resorts’ flagship property and a premium resort. In Sanskrit, the name means “place of calm.” The resort is set on 24 hectares on a headland on the northern side of Pansea beach, with 40 pavilions and 44 villas. The Aman Spa has six treatment rooms and four wellness experiences to choose from. A 27-meter freshwater main pool and a 20-meter lap pool are available at Amanpuri alongside other amenities. The design of this structure is influenced by its local culture and heritage.
Website: www.aman.com
4. Ananda In The Himalayas, India
Location: Uttarakhand, India
Ananda in the Himalayas is an award-winning luxury vacation spa in the Himalayan foothills, the origin of India’s ancient disciplines of yoga, meditation, and Ayurveda. Ananda blends the therapeutic concepts of the East and West, with a special focus on Ayurveda and Yoga, as well as contemporary international spa experiences, to restore balance and harmonise energy via a holistic approach. The structure incorporates indoor-outdoor flexibility with luxury.
Website: www.anandaspa.com
5. Aro Hā, New Zealand
Location: Glenorchy, New Zealand
Aro Hā is a next-level wellness experience that provides life-changing, body-transforming, and spirit-lifting getaways. Aro Hā combines sophisticated eco-apartment living, permaculture-based self-sufficiency, and world-class results-driven programming. Aro Hā is a rejuvenation retreat in New Zealand’s beautiful Southern Alps.
Website: aro-ha.com
6. Bio-hotel, Austria
Location: Kaiser, Austria
The Bio-Hotel Stanglwirt, a magnificent alpine lodge at the foot of the Wilder Kaiser Mountain, looks like a scene from The Sound of Music. Take a six-mile journey across to Schwarzsee Lake, one of the hottest in the Alps, to make the most of the fresh mountain air.
Website: www.stanglwirt.com
7. Body Holiday, St. Lucia
Location: West Indies, St. Lucia
BodyHoliday is one of the world’s top spas as well as one of the world’s most delightful vacations. Since its beginning in 1988, it has been a pioneering idea in the hotel business and it continues to earn significant industry accolades. The resort offers a fantastic beach vacation, complemented with magnificent accommodations and delectable cuisine, but it is much more than that. It is also meant to be the most peaceful and revitalising wellness vacation in the world.
Website: www.thebodyholiday.com
6. Brenners Park-Hotel and Spa, Germany
Location: Baden-Baden, Germany
The Oetker Hotel Management Company owns Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa, a five-star hotel. The hotel, administered under the Oetker Collection brand, is part of a restricted group of German luxury hotels. Brenners Spa is home to a Roman-style samarium, a workout facility, and an indoor pool. It provides facial and body treatments, cosmetic consultations, manicures and pedicures, jet lag treatments, essential oil body wraps, and exotic massage routines. There are also a variety of medical services offered.
Website: www.oetkercollection.com
7. Bushmans Kloof, South Africa
Location: Clanwilliam, South Africa
Bushman Kloof, situated on 18,500 acres of wide-open plains at the foot of the Cederberg Mountains, is surrounded by spectacular scenery. Bushmans Kloof, surrounded by the rocky Cederberg Mountains, offers a really one-of-a-kind nature hideaway in South Africa. Memorable days at Bushmans Kloof are spent exploring the wide-open plains, awe-inspiring animals, and pristine mountain scenery, with five-star luxury accommodation and outstanding South African food.
Website: bushmanskloof.co.za
8. Castle Hot Springs, Arizona
Location: Arizona
Castle Hot Springs is a boutique resort located just north of Phoenix. This all-inclusive vacation just won Conde Nast’s HOT LIST award. Castle Hot Springs, founded in 1896, has been a cornerstone of Arizona, providing a getaway where tourists may enjoy the mineral-rich hot springs. Individual luxury suites and outstanding culinary options, backed up by an onsite farm and a wide range of activities, providing hotel guests with a one-of-a-kind and personalized experience. This hotel, located in the Sonoran Desert near Lake Pleasant, provides wellness, adventure, and relaxation.
Website: www.castlehotsprings.com
9. Como Shambhala Estate, Bali
Location: Bali, Indonesia
COMO Shambhala Estate is a real ‘Retreat for Change’ in Ubud, Bali, featuring resident professionals such as a yoga instructor, Ayurvedic doctor, and resident dietitian. Signature massage therapies and aesthetic treatments are available as part of the complete 360-degree approach. A cutting-edge gym and outdoor activities like hiking and climbing make the most of the Estate’s unique setting. The cuisine is always nutritionally balanced, and the homes, suites, and villas are ideal for the singles, couples, and families. Guests who wish to make a long-term commitment to change can enrol in one of their focused Wellness Programmes, which include Cleanse, Be Active, Ayurvedic, and Bespoke.
Website: www.comohotels.com
10. Habitas Tulum, Mexico
Location: Tulum, Mexico
At this eco retreat surrounded by jungle and facing the sea, thatched cottages receive an update. It’s the first retreat from Habitas, a lifestyle brand that focuses on wellness, gastronomy, and music.
Website: www.ourhabitas.com
11. Kamalaya, Thailand
Location: Thailand
Kamalaya Koh Samui is a multi-award-winning wellness sanctuary and holistic spa set in a tropical environment on Koh Samui’s southern coast, Thailand. Kamalaya has been providing a holistic wellness experience that mixes therapeutic therapies from east and west, a stunningly gorgeous natural environment, innovative healthy food, and customised wellness programmes and retreats since its inception in November 2005.
Website: kamalaya.com/
12. Kumarakom Lake Resort, India
Location: Kerala, India.
Kumarakom Lake Resort is an amazing luxury resort located on the green banks of the Vembanad Lake that is a vivid expression of Kerala’s authentic culture. Set amidst Kerala’s limitless backwaters, the resort offers an unrivalled combination of exquisite elegance and regal tradition in the arms of immaculate nature. Aside from a spectacular view of the beautiful backwaters that stretch into the distance, the resort also has 65 heritage luxury villas designed in the classic architectural style of bygone Kerala.
Website: www.kumarakomlakeresort.in
13. SHA Wellness Clinic, Spain
Location: Alicante, Spain
The SHA Wellness Clinic in Alicante, Spain, is an opulent hilltop shrine committed to making its visitors’ lives better. The clinic, housed in an all-white modernist facility, offers holistic therapies for exercise, good eating, sleep deprivation, weight loss, and neurocognitive function, among other ailments. Aside from its therapeutic offerings, SHA dazzles with its elegant—and quite spacious—suites and homes, each with modern design and stunning mountain or ocean views.
Website: shawellnessclinic.com
14. Six Senses, Portugal
Location: Samodaes, Portugal
Six Senses is located in the picturesque UNESCO World Heritage-listed Douro Valley. The romanticism of 19th century buildings is matched to contemporary decor reflecting the distinctive Six Senses aesthetic in the Douro Valley. This tranquil environment is 88 miles (142 kilometres) from Oporto International Airport, with the River Douro winding its languid way through the world’s oldest wine-producing area. The Vale de Abraao restaurant has three separate atmospheres: an open kitchen, terrace, and dining room; a wine library with vintages from the valley; and a beautiful Six Senses Spa with 23,700 square feet of space (2,200 square meters).
Website: www.sixsenses.com
15. Song Saa, Cambodia
Location: Sihanoukville, Cambodia
Song Saa Private Island is a sustainable luxury sanctuary tucked in Cambodia’s unexplored beauty of the Koh Rong Archipelago. Song Saa provides the ultimate pleasure for mind, body, and soul, with its distinctive, world-class cuisine, beautiful sunset views of the Gulf of Thailand, and an assortment of spa and wellness services.
Website: www.songsaa-privateisland.com
