From bedtime rituals to therapeutic retreats, sleep tourism is the latest wellness trend taking travel by storm. “There has been an enormous increase in sleep tourism in recent months that allows travelers to truly restore and recharge,” says sleep expert Dr Rebecca Robbins. More thoughtful sleep setups including hi-tech beds are becoming the norm, while dark-sky glamping and yoga nidra are en vogue. Here are the best hotels for guests on a quest for a good night’s rest.
This Four Seasons hotel has embraced the sleep tourism trend with curated rituals and bespoke amenities. The spa offers Deep Sleep Rituals combining NEOM Perfect Night's Sleep body oil and soothing scents, while in-room wellness is enhanced with sleep playlists and a bedtime cup of traditional Japanese kuromoji tea. An extensive pillow menu, custom-designed mattresses boasting temperature-regulation technology and three unique topper options create a personalized sleep experience.
Drift off to sleep in one of InterContinental Maamunagau's gorgeous overwater suites to the sound of waves gently lapping below. To ensure every guest is well rested, the resort has introduced a new dedicated Sleep Well Wellness Journey as part of its spa programing. An enhanced in-room turndown service includes low lighting and a warm bedtime foot-bath filled with detoxing salts and lavender essential oil.
Teaming up with Silicon Valley’s Bryte brand to install AI-equipped mattresses, The London West Hollywood hotel is hot on the trend for sleep-centric suites. Part of the hotel’s Restorative Sleep Experience, Bryte beds feature cutting-edge technology to customize firmness and temperature using a bedside tablet and can even gently rock guests to sleep. Fitted with 100 computer-controlled pneumatic coils, the mattress tracks guests’ sleep status, making adjustments to ensure undisrupted slumber.
For travelers in need of a reset, Anantara Peace Haven on Sri Lanka’s south coast offers Deep Sleep Ayurvedic programs guided by a team of wellness professionals who devise tailored plans for diet, movement, relaxation and sleep. Guests are encouraged to wind down in the evening with a technology blackout and Slumber Guru ritual. Massages to balance the body’s meridians combine with gentle local experiences such as a visit to a Buddhist temple to encourage stillness of mind.
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Planted in natural beauty spots around the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, Bubble Lodges offer a peaceful night in nature under a canopy of stars, far from the stresses of everyday life. Created by French designer Pierre Stéphane Dumas to be completely eco-friendly, the transparent dreaming domes feature open-sky showers and super comfy beds. For ultimate seclusion, travelers can choose to spend a night on the offshore islet of Ile Aux Cerfs or overlooking the beautiful Bois Chéri tea estate.
The healing geothermal water of Iceland’s Blue Lagoon is just steps away at ultra-luxe hotel The Retreat, designed to be the ultimate wellness sanctuary. Alongside a subterranean spa offering innovative hydrotherapy and sleep-inducing treatments, the hotel’s sleek and minimalist Lagoon Suite features its own little lagoon, allowing guests to unwind and relax their muscles in the mineral-rich water before slipping into plush beds with crisp sheets.
This plush heritage hotel in London’s exclusive Mayfair district guarantees a lux night’s sleep with its two-night Forte Winks experience, which includes Buona Notte facials at the hotel’s spa and herbal tea turndown service. A silk sleepover kit from British brand YOLKE and soporific treats including a lavender-infused facemask, pillow spray collection and hibiscus night cream help guests drift into a serene sleep.
Immersing in nature is one of the best ways to induce a relaxed state, and at Wilderness Little Kulala guests can enjoy a tranquil night glamping under dark skies in one of the least light polluted places on earth. Each of the 11 private stargazing suites has a view of the orange-hued Sossusvlei dunes with candle-lit terraces and beds that can be rolled out onto the deck for a sound night sleeping under the stars.
Secluded six-star resort Secret Bay on the Caribbean nature isle of Dominica offers the perfect natural retreat for a good night’s sleep, hidden as it is among lush foliage high above an idyllic beach. Responding to the needs of sleep-deprived guests, the resort has devised a Sweet Dreams package including bespoke bedding, sleep-enhancing activities and turndown amenities. Anti-inflammatory meals, herbal nightcaps, yoga classes, evening in-room massages and aromatic baths drawn by the villa host are all part of the package.
Making a restful night’s sleep a top priority, the boutique Magnolia Hotel in the Algarve resort of Quinta do Lago has partnered with SleepHub to install its Sleep Restorative experience in its standard-plus rooms and suites. Alongside luxurious beds with 300-thread count cotton sheets, the sleep device uses scientific-based sound technology developed over a decade to aid rest and enhance sleep quality with a range of soundscapes and sleep modes.
A soul-soothing sanctuary on Thailand’s largest island of Phuket, Banyan Tree Veya is the brand’s newest wellness resort offering a curated Sleep Regeneration program of sleep-inducing therapeutic massages, meditation rituals and a practical sleep workshop arming guests with the skills and knowledge to continue improving their rest at home. Wellbeing-focused villas feature yoga mats and sound therapy bowls, with organic bed linen, a choice of pillows, nightly aromatherapy, a sleep light and soft music.
Deep in the Indian Ocean marine paradise of the Baa Atoll, encircled by technicolor coral gardens and platinum beaches, guests can gently float off to the land of nod with the recently introduced sleep enrichment program at Anantara Kihavah. A hi-tech epigenetic hair test gains clues about a guest's "wellness status" and then a tailored program of "sleep support therapy" is created – it might include yoga and breathing exercises, reflexology, aromatherapy and lymphatic drainage, vitamin IV infusions and a consultation with a trained sleep guru.
Smart city bolthole Innside by Melia Liverpool has collaborated with Harvey Nichols Beauty Bazaar to create an indulgent sleep package, designed to give guests a dreamy overnight stay in its premier suite, Docklands the Condo. The package includes an in-room hamper stuffed with Harvey Nichols’ best sleep-enhancing products including high-end skincare, pillow mists and wonder balm. A relaxing nightcap is delivered to guests rooms when they are ready to hunker down in the luxurious king-sized beds.
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Knitted into jungle-cloaked slopes, the sleepy, award-winning resort of Santani in Sri Lanka runs a sleep enhancement program that claims to improve natural sleep within 10-14 days. Addressing the root causes of insomnia such as stress and systemic imbalance, the resort provides a physical and mental detox including yoga nidra, guided meditation, calming bathing rituals and shirodhara warm oil therapy (an Ayurvedic healing technique) said to put the whole nervous system into a calm slumber.
Luxury hotel Post Ranch Inn, located in the wild Californian coastal enclave of Big Sur, has partnered with The Sleep Doctor – one of the USA’s most renowned sleep experts Dr Michael Breus – to craft sleep therapy programs as an add-on to any stay. Packages include a Sleep Serenity Menu dinner at hotel restaurant Sierra Mar, two 60-minute Sleep Menu spa treatments, a Sweet Dreams gift bag and access to a seven-part video series created by The Sleep Doctor specifically for Post Ranch guests, including sessions on the science of sleep, and bio-hacks for better rest.
A waterfront wellness oasis, the five-star Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai is perfectly positioned to help guests get a soothing night of shut-eye. Daily yoga nidra sessions help induce a sense of calm, while bodywork and hot stone treatments ready guests for deep sleep. The resort ends each day with the Goodnight Kiss to the Earth ritual, filling the spa with the soothing sound of crystal singing bowls.
These peaceful boutique suites in the heart of Madrid’s glamorous Salamanca district have been kitted out with exclusive Hogo Sleep System mattresses featuring technology purported to help induce deep sleep, boost the immune system and slow down the cellular ageing process. Alongside restorative beds, each wellness-focused room has an extensive pillow menu, and an outdoor terrace with hot tub and hammock plus the chance to indulge in a candlelit aromatic bathology experience as part of the hotel’s Bless My Soul concept.
One of the main drawbacks of long-haul travel, jetlag can interrupt the body’s circadian rhythms leaving you groggy and unable to get a good night’s sleep. At Long Beach Resort in Mauritius, the new jetlag-busting Swing and Drift experience lets guests swing into serenity in canvas hammocks dotted along the tropical shore while a member of the spa team provides a 30-minute soothing massage to unwind any tension and knots.
Sixty-six wellness-inspired Tranquility Suites have been introduced to this luxury beach resort on the Caribbean island’s south coast making a sound night’s sleep a top priority. All include the Sandals Tranquility Blissful Bed – a premium king-sized bed complemented by fine linens and a pillow menu – plus living walls, blackout blinds, soothing lights, a soaking tub for two and an aromatherapy system that can be personalized with a range of relaxing essential oils.
As the demand for in-resort sleep programs increases, Espa at the Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi resort recently introduced a new 90-minute Serene Sleep therapy especially for guests battling jetlag. The tailor-made experience incorporates a tension-releasing aromatherapy back massage using hot stones, a facial massage and hydrating mask to rejuvenate after a long flight. The soothing scalp massage in calm candle-lit surroundings lulls guests into a blissful sleep.
Southeast Asia has more than its fair share of sumptuous wellness sanctuaries, but Regent Phu Quoc on its namesake tropical island has taken its spa to the next level with the installation of therapeutic Gharieni beds that provide a zero-gravity mineral-enriching experience and improve energy flow and alignment throughout the body. Combined with relaxation-focused treatments including aromatherapy massage, acoustic therapies and guided meditation, the spa experience is designed to improve overall tranquility and quality of sleep.
A blissful oasis set around therapeutic thermal springs in Arizona’s beautiful Sonoran Desert, Castle Hot Springs launched its nature-driven summer sleep retreat this year, led by sleep expert Dr Rebecca Robbins. From circadian boosting hikes through the desert, soaks in the healing geothermal pools and sound bath meditations to lectures on the link between nutrition and sleep, guests are sure to leave with the tools in place for the perfect night’s shut-eye.
Travelers can literally sleep among the clouds at luxury holistic wellness retreat, Ananda in the Himalayas, which launched its new seven-night Sleep Enhancement Programme this spring to mark World Sleep Day. Drawing on the knowledge of Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine, the retreat offers personalized programs, including emotional healing sessions to reduce stress and anxiety to promote a better night’s sleep.