(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- At first glance, the crowd at Six Senses Ibiza looks typical of the revelers known to frequent Spain’s legendary party island. Women in sparkly bikinis and macramé cover-ups dance with tanned, toned men as DJs spin poolside. But they’ve come for a different kind of cocktail.
Inside RoseBar, the resort’s on-site longevity club, doctors, nurses and nutritionists carefully administer everything from gut-scouring apple cider vinegar and cayenne shots to pills of magnesium to promote sleep. I was prescribed a $750 IV drip of NAD+, a coenzyme that plays a vital role in DNA repair. “Boosting” on it, says a statuesque staffer with dewy skin, is like drinking from the fountain of youth.
A vacation that promises to reverse aging isn’t novel. In the 1970s, the late Swiss doctor Henri Chenot opened a retreat that claimed to recharge mitochondria through an 850-calories-per-day vegan diet and detoxifying treatments. Today, devotees flock to the brand’s luxe flagship Chenot Palace Weggis, on Lake Lucerne, for the strict seven-day protocol (starting at $5,900).
The recent fixation on biohacking has been fueled by research showing that certain science-driven interventions such as photobiomodulation (a NASA-pioneered light therapy), combined with simple lifestyle changes in diet and sleep, can slow and even reverse cellular aging.
Wellness retreats from Mexico to Italy have taken note, adding spaces equipped with messenger-RNA-based molecular tests that identify undesirable gene activity (such as oxidative stress) and sci-fi-like hyperbaric oxygen chambers that are supposed to stimulate cell repair by saturating the lungs with O2. The tests help identify preventive health habits that fit with your genetic code; the oxygen undoes recent damage that has you operating below baseline.
At RoseBar, diodes connected to a metal surface measure the flow of electricity through my palm, leading a clinician to say that my parasympathetic response—my ability to calm down—is low. A lifestyle coach sees my pulse-oximeter readings and says that, despite my propensity for yoga, I’m not good at breathing deeply. She prescribes some exercises and three sessions in a hyperbaric chamber; days later my tests improve.
But can a vacation really lower your biological age? “Engaging in expensive treatments for a three- to seven-day experience can provide some short-term benefits to one’s health, but those benefits do not last a lifetime,” says Emmaline Rasmussen, lead dietitian at the Center for Health and Wellbeing at Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village in California. “Learning how to integrate realistic changes into your lifestyle will provide far greater long-term success.”
“The nurturing environment of a retreat can be an ideal place to learn,” agrees BJ Fogg, a behavior researcher at Stanford University. And for some, one week may be enough to kick-start new habits, especially when paired with scientific feedback.
Did I learn to relax because machines told me to? Or because screen-free time at a pool is therapy unto itself? I’ll never know. But weeks later, when I was traveling and flight delays threatened to take years off my life, I closed my eyes and let RoseBar’s breathing exercise do its thing.
The Longevity Retreats to Book
Canyon RanchLocations in Massachusetts and TucsonThe popular wellness brand introduced its Longevity Life program in November at two of its four hotels. The two-night-minimum plan combines diagnostics with personalized health coaching and covers basics including heart and lung assessments as well as strategies to improve diet and rest. Extend to three nights, and you’ll undergo a sleep screening for further nutritional hacks. Book the full week, and you’ll have your glucose monitored and receive mental health counseling, plus have more time to sample free daily classes, such as desert drumming in Tucson and pickleball in the Berkshires. Two- to seven-night programs from $1,700 per night
Palazzo Fiuggi Wellness Medical RetreatItalyThis grand palace’s Murano chandeliers and original frescoed walls can now be enjoyed in a 65,000-square-foot medi-spa that opened in late 2021. But in addition to its indoor charms, the retreat has added hiking to the sleep monitoring and CT scan machines of its tried-and-true longevity program, hoping guests continue to get their steps back home. Three-hour treks in the surrounding Apennine Mountains pass waterfalls and ancient monasteries, then conclude with yoga, saltwater therapy pools and nutrient-dense, low-calorie meals from Heinz Beck, chef of Rome’s only three-Michelin-starred restaurant, La Pergola. From $8,800
Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village Los AngelesThis property has all the amenities of a luxury hotel—poolside cabanas, an amazing art collection, a 40,000-square-foot spa—but as of 2022, it’s also home to the Center for Health & Wellbeing, staffed by nearly 100 experts including exercise physiologists, registered dietitians, clinical psychologists and mindfulness coaches. Four-day retreats include personal-training sessions and cooking classes. An analysis of your body composition and VO2 max provide benchmarks for improvement, and the hotel’s new partnership with Cure Medical offers an array of add-on vitamin shots and IVs, along with cutting-edge therapies like brain mapping and stem cell injections to identify patterns associated with anxiety and speed up tissue repair. Three-night Optimum Performance Retreat from $3,999
Six Senses IbizaSpainOne-, three- and seven-day packages can be tacked on to a stay, to include as many as five hours a day of treatments, therapies and medical-team time. The “Morning After” IV drip with electrolytes and amino acids is designed to undo a late night of partying. A week’s program in one of the resort’s 137 rooms can help shift your lifestyle through diagnostics and nutrition counseling. Ocean-facing rooms from $1,286 per night; one-day longevity program from $504
Kamalaya Koh Samui, ThailandSince its inception in 2005, this jungle-shrouded seaside retreat has been helping people slow the effects of aging through Asian healing practices like Taoist abdominal massage and acupuncture. The year-old Longevity House now complements those traditional modalities with ozone infusions to promote tissue health and hyperbaric oxygen sessions to minimize inflammation. Blood biomarker interpretations can also allow for tailored recommendations based on a guest’s genetic predispositions. Seven-, nine- and 14-day basic detox programs starting at $4,760
SHA Wellness Clinic Alicante, SpainThe signature integrative method created at SHA’s Spain flagship—rooted in nine tenets including an alkaline diet, cognitive stimulation and prevention—is apparently so effective that more than half of its guests plan a return trip. The program promises to slow cellular aging with a regimen of oxidative stress tests, cell regeneration therapy, stress management coaching, plus hiking in surrounding Sierra Helada Natural Park. A new beachfront outpost in Riviera Maya, Mexico, made its debut in January, providing a fresh backdrop to reset with three pools, a rooftop gym and 101 rooms, all with sea views. Seven-day healthy aging and prevention program from $8,250
Carillon Wellness MiamiAn outpost of the Biostation—a popular antiaging clinic with 11 locations, mainly in South Florida—is set within this all-suite, beachfront resort designed by Norman Giller, the father of Miami Modern (MiMo) architecture. Four-night longevity retreats kick off with diagnostic testing to assess 100-plus biomarkers like thyroid function and hormone levels. Your results dictate your itinerary, which might include daily sessions in a Somadome meditation pod for relaxation, hydrotherapy circuits and lipotropic injections to stimulate fat burning. Four-night Jump Start Your Health & Wellness retreats from $3,800
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