A Snob’s Guide to Medical Spas
Photo above: The steam room at Kamalaya health resort in Koh Samui, Thailand.
These health retreats were targeting longevity long before it became a buzzword. Yes, you'll be pampered—but you'll also receive an onslaught of diagnostics and be subjected to a rigorous diet and treatment regimen.
Sha Wellness Clinic Mexico
Riviera Maya
I am lying on a contraption resembling an MRI bed, electrical-current-conducting plates strapped to my wrists and ankles, being bombarded with an invisible fizz of negatively-charged ions, electrons, and photons. Torture? Not at all. I am receiving what is called Advanced Cellular Regeneration Therapy, a star attraction at the new SHA clinic just outside Cancun—and not only is it supposedly increasing the voltage of my cells and zapping away the load of nefarious free radicals I have doubtless imported from New York, it is one of the most supremely relaxing experiences I have ever had. The machine’s technology, which is also used in cancer treatment and for wound healing, is legit. But is it going to help me live longer? That’s the million-dollar question.
Since the opening of its first location near Alicante, Spain, in 2008, SHA has been a pioneer of the kind of hi-tech-medical-science-meets-woo-woo-wellness programming that has become a draw for Goop-generation globetrotters. (Goodbye yoga mats, hello vitamin IV drips.) But SHA was there first, with a holistic approach to improving diet, fitness, mental acuity, and emotional wellbeing embedded in its core 4-to-7-day programs—such as Detox & Optimal Weight, Rebalance & Energize, and Well-Aging & Prevention. Should you be feeling extra gung-ho, the facilities are further equipped to provide a dizzying array of add-ons ranging from stem-cell therapy to cosmetic dental work.
SHA Mexico is the clinic’s first location outside Spain, and the atmosphere is deceptively resort-like. The building, which was designed by Mexican architectural firm Sordo Madaleno to mimic the curves of a DNA strand, has a midcentury jetset glamour, and each of the expansive rooms opens onto a balcony with a vista of turquoise sea. Not that you're likely to log any beach time: The SHA schedule is relentless. Many treatments require a pre-consultation with a specialist, so your days are spent appointment-hopping, guided by the SHA app. Sybarites be warned: this is a results-driven regimen for those who need guidance, not traditional R&R.
I arrived on a tailwind of stressful life events, but I learned, via my Advanced Preventive Diagnosis (the sci-fi-like intake analysis and 360-body-scan performed on every SHA inductee) that my overall health situation was not so dire. Although I registered high on the physical stress test, my cellular water content, visceral fat, blood oxygen, and vitals were all A+. The patient would live: She just needed a reboot. So, over the next four days I was: slathered in seaweed-rich-mud, then hosed down with a power jet; I received acupuncture, shiatsu, and a targeted deep tissue massage; I lifted weights, and wore pulsating pressotherapy pants to give my stagnant lymph a jump-start. I ate exceedingly well, thanks to a spectacular plant-forward menu replete with fresh seafood, and lost weight without meaning to. I even found myself craving the requisite morning miso soup and shot of apple cider at lunch.
But let’s get back to the machine. Of the experiences I had at SHA Mexico, the Advanced Cellular Rejuvenation Therapy felt by far the most restorative. After only two hour-long sessions I felt calmer, clearer, and more balanced than I have in a long time. Was it because my cells were truly recharged? Or because all it required me to do was to lie down and stare idly out the window at the sea? SHA’s regimen works because it reprograms you to eat well, sleep well, exercise, and remember to breathe. But for me, the most valuable lesson was this: Doing it all is good, but sometimes doing nothing is even better. —April Long
More Medi-Spas Below
Clinique La Prairie
Switzerland
Made famous in the 1930s by pioneering injections from unborn lambs to promote cell renewal,Clinique La Prairie's Montreux property today includes both a glass-wrapped spa and a futuristic-looking hospital with 50 specialists, three operating rooms, and five suites for international guests (who have included Churchill, Picasso, and Marlene Dietrich). The signature program lasts one week.—Jen Murphy
Kamalaya
Thailand
Longevity has been a focus since Kamalaya's 2005 inception. My program featured plant-slant meals, pranayama breathing, abdominal organ therapy, and lymphatic facials. The new Longevity House has cutting-edge treatments, Build in downtime: The Koh Samui setting is paradise—a beach, a yoga pavilion, pools, and a 300-year-old Buddhist meditation cave.—Jen Murphy
Carillon Wellness Resort
Miami
Fronting 750 feet of white sand in North Beach (and designed by Norman Giller, a father of Miami Modern), the Carillon hotel hosts an outpost of The BioStation, a leading South Florida anti-aging practice. It tests for over 100 biomarkers (thyroid levels? kidney function?) and the results might help determine your experience. I reset my adrenals with an old-fashioned hydrotherapy circuit and sessions in a Somadome meditation pod.—Jen Murphy
Palazzo Fiuggi
Italy
This Art Nouveau hotel in a medieval town near Rome, once frequented by Ingrid Bergman and Enrico Caruso, was reborn in 2021 as a temple of physical recovery (Oprah was an early fan). Palazzo Fiuggi's ballroom is now a flashy gym and a rockstar team of experts oversees medical-grade equipment and anti-aging treatments.The game changer is the “let them eat cake” diet—unfathomably delicious low-calorie menus concocted by Michelin-starred Heinz Beck.—Jen Murphy
Chenot Palace Weggis
Switzerland
In the 1970s, the late Henri Chenot pioneered a method of slowing aging rooted in hormesis (creating physical stresses to trigger cellular repair) and a “fast-mimicking” diet (guests consume an 850-calorie vegan diet daily for a week). In May, the team launched a Sleep Cycles program to increase restorative deep sleep. The Swiss setting, beyond the turreted palace and new contemporary building, is restorative, too: You can cold-plunge in Lake Lucerne and hike in the surrounding Alps.—Jen Murphy
Palace Merano
Italy
Chenot’s former Belle Epoque medical clinic in the Dolomites was lavishly overhauled in 2023 and is run by Dr. Massimiliano Mayrhofer (Dr. Max to guests), who worked alongside Chenot for 20 years. His Chenot-inspired “Revital Method” is a detox program with a highly restrictive diet and consultations with a staff of 60-plus specialists.—Jen Murphy
Vivamayr Medical Health Resort
Austria
Some jokingly call this acclaimed medi-clinic on the shores of Lake Worthersee “starvation castle,” as programs are based on Austrian physician Franz X. Mayr’s radical 1920s “cure”: an alkaline diet, petite portions, and daily abdominal massages before bracing swims in the lake. Nicole Kidman is a fan.—Jen Murphy
Lanserhof Sylt
Germany
The 20-year-old health resort’s most ambitious retreat yet: a curvy glass structure amid the dunes of the Wadden Sea on the island called the Hamptons of Germany. The interiors are lavish (think Eames chairs and Dibbern porcelain) and the Lanserhof cure (derived from the Mayr method, see above) features a predominantly plant-based diet and detoxification rituals administered by an army of experts. —Jen Murphy
The Biohack Glossary
Six Senses London, opening in 2025, will be a biohack Disneyland. Be ready.
FULL BODY PHOTOBIOMODULATION
Red or near-infrared light triggers cells’ mitochondria to improve such areas as cognition and collagen production.
EMS TRAINING
Electrical stimulation makes muscles contract, enabling a two-hour workout in 20 minutes. In theory.
PEMF THERAPY
Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields therapy helps recharge cells.
CAROL BIKE AI-personalized, it burns more calories in a 15-minute ride than a 30-minute run.
HYBERBARIC OXYGEN THERAPY
A chamber with pressure up to three times the norm floods the bloodstream with extra oxygen to promote cell repair.
VIBROACOUSTIC CHAIR
This next-level lounger uses sound resonances to induce a deep meditative state.
CRYOTHERAPY
Cold exposure in nitrogen-cooled chambers that can drop to –230°F. Three minutes can boost metabolism and mood.
COMPRESSION BOOTS
Miniature sleeping bags give your limbs an air-powered massage and increase circulation after a tough workout or flight. I swear by them. —Jen Murphy
This story appears in the Summer 2024 issue of Town & Country. SUBSCRIBE NOW
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