Guests can get a jump start on their New Year's resolutions at thoughtfully programmed wellness retreat, spending winter in a warm climate full of energy-healing opportunities within nature. These resorts offer unique wellness retreats throughout the first couple of months of 2025.
1. Sensei Porcupine Creek to Host First-Ever Hiking Retreat in January
Sensei Porcupine Creek will host the property’s inaugural hiking retreat to kick off the new year, January 16-20, 2025 in Rancho Mirage, California. Hiking enthusiasts at the five-day, four-night retreat will enjoy intermediate to advanced guided hikes that combine views of the Coachella Valley’s vast desert landscapes, from Joshua Tree National Park to Indian Canyons, under the direction of Sensei’s team of expert Guides and cultural insights from the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.
“We’re thrilled to partner with the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians to offer a one-of-a-kind cultural immersion tour showcasing their beautiful ancestral lands in the Indian Canyons," said Alexandra Walterspiel, Sensei’s president and chief operating officer. "This collaboration pairs so effortlessly with our team of Sensei Guides and expert practitioners to help guests along their well-being journeys.”
For the first hikes of the trip, guests will explore two trails in Indian Canyons, the ancestral home of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, with Cultural Ambassador Anthony Purnel. With his exceptional knowledge, he will lead the group through the phenomenal natural oasis while giving a firsthand glimpse into the area’s indigenous history and culture.
On day two, guests will head out with local experts Big Wheel Tours to explore Joshua Tree National Park, one of the most iconic national parks in the country, where the group will head to Ryan Mountain for a 2.9-mile out-and-back trail. The retreat will culminate with a challenging 4.4-mile hike at Ladder Canyon in the Painted Canyons.
In addition to the hikes, guests will have access to Sensei Porcupine Creek’s wide range of amenities and wellness offerings including intimate group wellness classes, private 1:1 sessions with Sensei Guides, rejuvenating spa treatments, a lagoon-style swimming pool, self-guided tours through the property’s art, pro-level golf course and tennis courts, state-of-the-art fitness pavilion and more.
Photo courtesy of Sensei Porcupine Creek
Related: 6 Self-Care Tips for Spa Pros in the New Year
2. Montevalle Spa & Wellness Resort Announces 3 Retreats for 2025
Montevalle Spa & Wellness Resort in Baja, Mexico announced three unique retreats for 2025.
The Primed for Pregnancy Retreat from April 3-6, 2025 is for any woman dreaming of being a mom, but struggling with infertility. Led by Aimee Raupp, M.S.,L. Ac. and Bianca Jade, a client and fitness influencer on her own fertility journey, guests will learn Aimee’s secrets to getting pregnant, how to navigate fertility challenges and enjoy wellness services designed to optimize your body for pregnancy.
The Sober Powered Nervous System Reboot Retreat is slated for April 10-13, 2025 and is for anyone on a sober journey, but struggling to manage stress and cope with intense emotions like anger, overwhelm and anxiety. Gill Tietz, the wildly popular host of the podcast, Sober Powered, uses her background in biochemistry, certifications in anger management and recovery, and her own sober journey to teach guests how to regulate their nervous systems to achieve emotional sobriety.
The Rest & Receive Retreat takes place Oct. 15-19, 2025, and is designed for anyone who is stressed out. Led by Sonia Azad, participants will use yin yoga, myofascial release, meditation and breathwork to calm their nervous system and reenergize their soul.
Photo courtesy of Montevalle Spa & Wellness Resort
3. 2025 Wellness-Inspired Getaway to Ojai Valley
Spa Ojai, Ojai Valley Inn's menu of services and amenities make for the ideal getaway for those seeking a rejuvenating new year reset or transformative, all-encompassing wellness experience the new year.
Creating a true sense of place, guests are able to explore their creative consciousness, nourish the body, inspire mindful renewal and challenge one’s physical endurance. To round out Ojai Valley Inn’s more traditional wellness offerings, spiritual counselor, resident healer and psychic, Nancy Furst offers inspirational wisdom and guidance to support guests on their paths to healing and enlightenment.
After studying with Native American tribes for nearly a decade, Furst’s expertise includes Native American traditions and ceremonies. Through these ancient methods, she channels her psychic abilities and intuitions to bridge the spiritual divide and guides people to achieve deeper inner connection. Guests of Ojai Valley Inn can experience customized sessions such as:
- Private Kuyam Experience: Kuyam, a Chumash Native American Indian word that means “a place to rest together,” combines the therapeutic effects of self applied desert clay infused with essential oils, intense dry heat and inhalation therapy. In a sauna-like environment, the journey is guided by a traditional Chumash narrative. This unique detoxifying experience is concluded with a refreshing rinse and presentation of herbal tea while the body core temperature cools.
- Spiritual Counseling: Weaves a personalized experience of heart and soul to illuminate the mind and engage deep connectivity.
- Cleansing Sage Rituals: Guide people into a process of letting go and receiving.
- Meditative Journey: Through drumming and Native American prayer song, which helps people to connect with themselves and create a psychic connection with spirits.
- Psychic Reading: Native American cards and crystals, which are designed to heal, enlighten and empower guests to transform their consciousness.
Photo courtesy of Spa Ojai, Ojai Valley Inn
4. Longevity Ritual Treatments for the New Year
Banyan Tree Mayakoba | Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Home to the globally renowned Banyan Tree Spa, the resort blends Mexican and Asian traditions to guide guests on personalized journeys of physical, mental and spiritual well-being. A highlight is the traditional Temazcal ceremony, a soul-purifying ritual that begins with a welcome cleansing and continues as a guide leads participants through the three “gates” of the Temazcal, each offering distinct benefits for body and spirit.
Afterward, guests refresh with a revitalizing shower and conclude with a grounding gratitude meditation. For a deeper dive into holistic healing, the 150 minute Banyan Signature Rejuvenating Mayan Experience draws inspiration from the body’s energy points and 20 solar seals, incorporating locally sourced ingredients like agave, aloe vera, white clay, coconut, and grape through treatments such as a Prickly Pear Scrub, Anti-Oxidant Body Mask and Agave Candle Massage.
Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens | Athens, Greece
Guests of the Four Seasons Astir Palace can immerse in traditional Greek wellness rituals and ingredients at the Astir Palace Athens Spa. With Greece’s ancient history of bathing ceremonies, the long-time belief in the healing powers of water is transposed in the spa's Fountain House. This adults-only hydrotherapy zone includes an aroma steam grotto, chill showers, sauna and hammam facilities that provide the highest level of Sanus Per Aquam (health through water) experiences. For another taste of Greek culture, the Storgi spa treatment is a head-to-toe mindful beauty experience, which includes a full-body stimulating loofah exfoliation, relaxing massage accompanied by warm crystals and a vitality facial using pure organic Greek ingredients.
FORESTIS | Dolomites, Italy
FORESTIS is a well-being hideaway inspired by the four elements of the Dolomites—clear water, pure air, abundant sunshine, and a mild climate. Drawing from the ancient wisdom of the Celts, indigenous people of the region with a deep connection to the forest, FORESTIS offers wellness-oriented experiences rooted in simplicity and nature.
Guests can rejuvenate through unique offerings designed to create harmony and honor Wyda, a Celtic movement practice akin to yoga and QiGong. A standout experience is the daily Aufgüsse (Sauna Ritual), complimentary to guests, which begins in the 90-degree Celsius forest sauna where scorching stones release aromatic steam. A Wyda specialist performs a dance-like movement to melodious chanting, wafting the steam through the room. After 12 minutes, guests step outside to inhale fresh mountain air before concluding the ritual with a refreshing spring-fed cold plunge.
Kimpton Grand Roatán Resort & Spa | Roatán, Honduras Bay Islands
Kimpton Grand Roatán Resort & Spa offers an off-the-radar island retreat. The resort’s renowned Kao Kamasa Spa features a beachside infinity pool, private couples’ bungalows, and interior soaking pools with color therapy, salinity variations and temperature gradients. Among its innovative treatments is the Painted Jade Restorative Facial, inspired by the island's indigenous Pesh community. Drawing from their ceremonial traditions of face and body painting using bark and berries, this restorative treatment combines ancient techniques with state-of-the-art skin care to honor the Pesh legacy while rejuvenating the skin.
Photo courtesy of Bayan Tree Spa
