WORLDWIDE WELLNESS ESCAPES

Find Your Bliss

Revive your wonder — with a side of soul-invigorating wellness — at singular escapes around the world.

BY TERRY WARD

Serenity by the Sea:

Grand Velas Riviera Maya Grand Class beach (above), and (opposite page) Se Spa Suite (top), dish at Frida Restaurant (bottom left), and Se Spa pool (bottom right)

PHOTOS: © GRAND VELAS RIVIERA MAYA “T ravel is back” is a mantra we’ll repeat as long as it’s true. And with it, for many people, comes the desire to get out into the world again in more connected and rewarding ways.

Wellness comes in many forms. For some of us it takes shape by planning a vacation where a focus on physical and emotional wellbeing takes the front seat to simply ticking off tourist sites or lying on a beach. In truth, of course, you can do both.

We’ve rounded up five of the best wellness escapes to consider taking right now. And trust us, you deserve this.

GRAND VELAS RIVIERA MAYA Among the most luxurious of Mexico’s all-inclusive resorts, this sprawling property near Playa del Carmen along the Riviera Maya lures guests with beachfront suites featuring private plunge pools, gourmet food (think ceviche and sushi served seaside) as well as what might well be the finest spa in all of Mexico.

It’s worth dedicating several hours of your vacation to basking in the all-out serenity of the Water Ceremony at SE Spa at the AAA Five Diamond Grand Velas Riviera Maya. With eight water experiences overseen by a spa attendant, the hydrotherapy circuit is complimentary with any 50-minute massage service at the spa and includes stops to cover your body with therapeutic clay in a dedicated clay room, an ice room, sensation pool and color-therapy showers.

Just strolling to the resort’s spa along boardwalks that wind through the jungle will get you in the frame of mind to shed stress. And once you settle in for one of the Mayan treatments — perhaps the Mayan jade facial or the K’iin & Uh Stone Massage, which alternates hot Maya obsidian stones with cold marble — a serious bliss-out is bound to ensue.

Relax and Rejuvenate:

Spa treatment at Silversands Grenada

PHOTO: © SILVERSANDS GRENADA

ANANDA IN THE HIMALAYAS Catering to travelers coming out of the pandemic who look to be pampered in different ways, Ananda in the Himalayas recently honed its world-class wellness offerings with the launch of several new programs. Designed to tie in emotional healing and therapy with the resort’s traditional Ayurveda and classical yoga and meditation offerings, the new therapies make use of emotional healers who specialize in spiritual healing, hypnotherapy and energy work to guide guests through their challenges and help them find greater emotional balance.

The luxury resort set on a Maharaja’s palace estate in the foothills of the Himalayas in Northern India also expanded its traditional offerings to include Eastern therapies. You’ll find acupuncture, cupping and moxibustion (a traditional Chinese medicine practice that involves the burning of mugwort leaves) also on offer. None other than Oprah Winfrey called this place “more like a pilgrimage than a visit.” And if you take your wellness seriously and holistically, Ananda might be the same to you.

SILVERSANDS GRENADA A true spice island where nutmeg, cacao and ginger grow in abundance and verdant hills plunge to sweeping black- and golden-sand beaches, Grenada is the Caribbean apart. And if you’re looking for a wellness escape in the region that’s sure to make a lasting impression and send you home feeling born anew, The Silversands Spa at Silversands Grenada delivers.

The intimate resort spa has just four treatment rooms, including two for couples, with extensive facilities at your disposal to enjoy pre- or post-treatment that include a sauna, ice cave, hammam and experiential shower. The spa menu offers therapies like body scrubs,

Body Work:

Ananda in the Himalayas yoga (above) and acupuncture (left)

PHOTOS: © ANANDA IN THE HIMALAYAS

massages and the like, but your therapist will sit down to talk to you to make sure your experience is curated for your particular needs.

If you’ve never tried psammotherapy (the centuries-old hot sand therapy from Ancient Egypt), this is the place to indulge in it in this part of the world. The Silversands Spa is the only one in the Caribbean with Gharieni Quartz Sand Beds for hot sand therapy that elevate the experience while you enjoy quartz therapy, aromatherapy, inversion therapy or an undulating massage treatment.

The 90-minute Signature Quartz Ritual incorporates a custom nutmeg oil blend in rehydration and detoxification therapies that include a massage and eyelift recovery treatment — all while you lie in the heated quartz sand bed and let the benefits of increased circulation and alleviated pain work their magic.

CAL-A-VIE HEALTH SPA Settle into one of the 32 private villas at Cal-a-Vie Health Spa in Vista, California, for a three-, four- or seven-night spa vacation package that nourishes body and soul through a diet of gourmet cuisine, hiking, beauty and spa treatments and mind-body awareness programs.

Just north of San Diego, this French Provençal-styled health spa resort set on 500 private acres uses derivatives of the spa’s grape harvest — Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot fruits — in its antioxidant-rich product line to leave you feeling healthy and aglow, from the inside out.

Grape skins, seeds and pulp all have abundant vitamins C and E to strengthen collagen and increase your skin’s elasticity and firmness. And they’re the key ingredients in the resort’s signature Vinotherapie products that deliver that X factor to any treatment here.

Acupuncture, aquatic massage and lavender honey body wraps appear on the long list of ways to treat yourself, and the property also offers more than 160 fitness courses and an 18-hole golf course to get your blood pumping.

ARCTIC BATH Scandinavians know a thing or two about the benefits of subjecting your body to a mix of cold and hot temperatures in succession (increased circulation and better immunity, for starters — not to mention that ruddy-cheeked glow).

For a truly sublime setting for trying out a sauna and cold plunge yourself, it’s worth the trek to Swedish Lapland for the unique hotel and spa experience that awaits in the wilds of Arctic Bath.

The property, which features modernistic cabins connected by floating bridges that stretch into the Lule River, operates during two distinct seasons. In wintertime, from around mid-November to mid-April, expect snowy surrounds and appearances by Lady Aurora as the northern lights often dance in the sky. The mid-June to mid-September summer season starts by basking you in the midnight sun (24-hour daylight) before segueing into darker nights that might bring the northern lights by as early as late August.

Upon check-in at the resort, you’ll receive a spa kit (bathrobe, bathing suit and spa products) as well as free reign to enjoy Arctic Bath’s two dry saunas, steam sauna, outdoor Jacuzzis and open-air cold plunge pool (the essential last step if you want that ruddy glow). And you can add on treatments like Julevädno (a mindful sauna experience that finishes with a dip in the Lule River) or deep-tissue massage.

It’s all about connecting with nature while connecting with yourself — which just might be Swedish for “wellness.”

Hot and Cold:

Cal-a-Vie Health Spa hot stone treatment (top), and Arctic Bath (bottom)

O’Hare Gets Largest Concessions Offering in 10 Years

As the major hub of a world-class city, Chicago O’Hare International Airport has long been globally recognized for its dining and retail options. An upcoming series of concessions offerings — the largest at O’Hare in a decade — are set to further bolster that reputation, especially in the $1 billion expansion and transformation of Terminal 5.

The Chicago Department of Aviation and its lessee partners are imagining a new dining and retail experience for O’Hare’s more than 80 million annual passengers.

As the rehabilitation of Terminal 5 nears completion, rolling openings for the new food and retail options will start this year and continue into 2023.

THE NEW DINING OFFERINGS WILL INCLUDE: • The Hampton Social: Coastal-inspired cuisine and hand-crafted cocktails from a brand with locations on Chicago’s Near North Side and the surrounding suburbs

• Bar Siena: A new airport outpost of the West Loop eatery known for its regional Italian fare and drinks • FarmAir’s Market: A grab-and-go concept with sandwiches, salads, refreshments and other lowtouch options • Butcher and the Burger: An outpost of the popular Lincoln Park eatery offering upscale customizable burgers and breakfast in a retro counter-service • Sparrow Coffee: Local coffee roastery focused on sustainability

The new dining options will complement T5’s existing fare, including the high-quality grab-and-go options at Goddess and Grocer, Big Bowl and Wow Bao. NEW RETAIL OPTIONS WILL INCLUDE: • Six Points Market and Metropolis Coffee: Retail location with a focus on travel essentials and souvenirs, with a coffee shop included • BLVD & Branch: Specialty retail outlet with a focus on electronics and accessories

These new concessions agreements, along with new retail offerings, carry an additional source of pride for Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and Aviation Commissioner Jamie L. Rhee, as they will achieve an Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprise participation rate of 40 percent, exceeding the CDA’s goal of 32 percent and the nationwide goal of 10 percent set by the Federal Aviation Administration. For more information on the ongoing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at Chicago’s airports, visit flychicago.com.

In addition, Terminal 5’s concessions developer, URW Airports, is embarking on several new dining and retail offerings under its development agreement, which will complement these CDA direct leases and help bring the best concessions experience to Terminal 5’s passengers.

Terminal 5 will soon include Delta operations, and is already the O’Hare home to Southwest Airlines and more than a dozen international carriers.

The reimagining of Terminal 5 and these new offerings are a key component of O’Hare 21, the curb-to-gate reinvestment strategy that will modernize facilities and offer new passenger amenities for the 21st century and beyond. Learn more at ord21.com.