Welcome to the second iteration of Vogue’s global spa guide, an index of the 100 best spas in the world, built from the expertise of our global editors and trusted contributors. There is a lot to choose from in the world of wellness, and no matter how far you’re planning to travel—from a subway ride to a trans-Atlantic flight—we want to make sure it’s worth the journey. Whatever your path, let us be your guide.
Why go here?
Where better to take your serenity seriously than a famously wellness-conscious billionaire’s prized private island retreat? (Seriously, where?)
Photo: Courtesy of Sensei Lanai,A Four Seasons Resort
What’s the vibe?
Exclusive art-filled Hawaiian island oasis meets Japanese forest ryokan by way of the Four Seasons hotel chain. Guests—generally of the mover-and-shaker captain of industry hard pushing 1% variety—come here to unplug and optimize and reconnect with themselves and each other (and, as it’s an adults only resort, to leave the kids behind). The focus is on overall well-being and longevity through treating the whole individual, and programs center on one-on-ones with highly trained Sensei guides according to core principles of Move, Nourish, and Rest, as designed by its co-founder, the renowned cancer researcher Dr. David Agus.
Photo: Courtesy of Sensei Lanai,A Four Seasons Resort
The history?
Oracle co-founder and billionaire entrepreneur Larry Ellison bought around 98% of the 90,000 acre Hawaiian island of Lana’i in 2012, including two Four Seasons-operated hotels. One, the 213-room Four Seasons Lanai, is a five star beachfront resort. Further inland, in what was once the heart of James Dole’s Hawaiian Pineapple Company’s plantation and is now a lush tropical oasis, lies Sensei Lana’i, the 96-room wellness-focused arm of the operation, which is operated by Four Seasons in conjunction with Ellison’s own hospitality brand, Sensei.
Ellison founded Sensei with Agus under a shared sustainability-minded vision that centered on human health, happiness, and what’s best for the planet (think: electric and solar energy sources, organic farming, and a lot of talk around movement and mindfulness). The property does not shy away from it’s Silicon Valley bonafides; its aim is to focus on long-term health through personalized high tech analysis: thermal body scans precede massages to show areas of inflammation; an HRV monitor can demonstrate the immediate benefits of breathwork and sleeping well; Sensei-provided WHOOP bands track activity and monitor sleep before and during the guests’ visit for the most accurate data.
Photo: Courtesy of Sensei Lanai,A Four Seasons Resort
What should you try?
The 5-night Rest and Recovery program is a recent addition to the Sensei Guide, Mindset, Jim Cahill, a board certified biofeedback specialist and the head of Sensei’s mindfulness programming told me. The program was inspired by their clientele, Cahill said, who tended to arrive on the island with their usual intensity dialed all the way up, aiming to “win” at wellness—often with diminishing results. (When it comes to the body, rest is often as if not more important than rigorous workouts.) The new Rest and Recovery program teaches those who tend to go full throttle that taking their foot off the gas can enhance their performance in all sectors of their life. The program includes a personal consultation pre-arrival as well as an orientation session and health assessments, an in-depth “My Recovery” session that tracks your heart rate variability and recovery during gentle cognitive exercises; a session that uses your sleep data to analyze your sleep patterns and behaviors; a session focused on Sensory Eating; Mindful Movement sessions that focus on mind-body connection (forest bathing, yoga, aerial yoga, fitness, tai chi, a ranch walk); a session on “Reframing Resistance” at Lanai Adventure Park’s Challenge Course, in which you are harnessed and led through a series of ropes courses and related physical challenges to gauge how you deal with stress; and two 90 minute spa treatments. (Additional spa treatments can be added on at cost.) It’s an excellent sampler for the serenity seeker.
And about those treatments: You’re going to want them. Rather than in a single designated building, Sensei’s spa treatments take place in elegant private “hale” (the traditional Hawaiian term for house) which all have their own outdoor pools, hot tubs, outdoor showers, soaking tubs, infrared saunas and steam showers. Treatments come with at least 30 minutes of built-in private hale time to enjoy the space (with tea and a fruit plate). Among these treatments, the wraps and massages are particularly heavenly, and the Aquatic Bodywork (or “Watsu,” for water shiatsu), which takes place in a large private pool, are not to be missed.
Photo: Courtesy of Sensei Lanai,A Four Seasons Resort
How environmentally friendly is it?
Ellison’s goal with Lanai, according to a 2014 article in the New York Times Magazine, was to transform the island into “‘the first economically viable, 100 percent green community: an innovative, self-sufficient dreamscape of renewable energy, electric cars and sustainable agriculture.” Ten years in, Sensei’s vehicles are electric, and much of the produce used at both the beachside Four Seasons and the inland property’s Sensei by Nobu and Koele Garden Bar Restaurants is grown organically a short walk from the hotel. La Ola solar farm supplies 30% of renewable energy to the island. A Four Seasons rep said that the hotels participate in the Giving Tree Malama ‘Aina program, which contributes to Hawaiian reforestation projects, and the resorts use FloWater refillable water stations and bottles, energy-efficient lighting, washing machines, and heating and cooling systems, lo-flow Toto washlets, and have partnered with Clean the World to recycle bathroom amenities and soaps. The resorts and golf course also employ entirely non-toxic pest control, are entirely irrigated with grey water, and re-purpose cooking oil to power local construction equipment. Employees also attend quarterly community clean ups of beaches, trails, and other areas of the island.
What else do we need to know?
This is not a typical resort in the sense of possessing a spa with a communal steam room and sauna open for guests. (Those are in the spa hales, and require reservations.) What is open and freely available to guests is the onsen garden, an en plein air Edenic wonderland inspired by Japanese hot springs, with 10 private soaking tubs nestled into the lush greenery and guarded by gently burbling brooks and water features that encourage meditative thought. To be honest, one could do worse than to spend most of their stay there, just soaking it all in.
Who can go?
Only Sensei guests can access the grounds and spa hales.
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