Ready to dive in? Here we introduce a few sci-fi spas to check out around the world
Infrared saunas, digital meditation capsules, and touchless therapies: they all sound like something out of a sci-fi movie, but a few spas around the world are already living in the future.
Over the past few years, the spheres of technology, medicine and wellness have merged, resulting in high-tech treatments that not only look impressive. For instance, the multi-sensory thunderstorm pool room at the QC Termenmilano spa in Milan, which has gone viral on social media, makes it impossible for visitors not to post on Instagram and WeChat Moments. The immersive experience and the spa’s ability to cater to guests’ curiosity are both spot on. Most importantly, it also aims to improve health, bringing benefits to both the body and mind.
While traditional saunas, massage and facial treatments remain as popular as ever, some spas are now investing in ground-breaking detoxification chambers and IV drips as alternative biohacking options for wellness seekers. Medi-spas in Seoul and Los Angeles have even turned to offer pre-treatment diagnostics tests, allowing them to create fully bespoke treatments for each client’s individual concerns.
The Spa at Equinox Hotels
Location: New York
Equinox has made its name through a cutting-edge approach to fitness, and at the brand’s New York hotel, it applies the same ethos to its spa offerings. Feeling a bit under the weather? Book a visit to the MLX i3Dome, a touchless detoxifying treatment in which you lie down in a machine equipped with infrared, plasma and light emitters designed to boost your metabolism and ease what ails you. Meanwhile, when it comes to sleep technology – the new wellness frontier – Equinox is streets ahead of the curve, thanks to its futuristic Wave Table where you’ll be immersed in an environment of optimised sound and resonance, lulling you into the ultimate power nap. There’s also targeted cryotherapy facials and a whole host of IV drip therapies filled with special brews to help with energy, tout anti-ageing benefits and more.
Bellecell
Location: London
This Berkeley Square fixture toes the line between spa, clinic and mad scientist’s laboratory, offering biohacking treatments personalised to your exact needs. Following a series of carefully designed surveys, tests and even a DNA analysis, you’ll embark on your own tailor-made programme backed by science. Hyperbaric oxygen chambers – capsules filled with pure oxygen and stem-cell therapies are par for the course here, with weeklong retreats on offer for those who want a complete health reset. Molecular wellness is a phrase you’ll also hear thrown around a lot in these environs, as all treatments are centred around rejuvenation and longevity.
Chaum
Location: Seoul
South Korea continues to lead the charge when it comes to bold beauty experiences, and Chaum is among the trailblazers. Immersive spas are set to be the most popular spa experience in these years, with internet searches for this particular kind of spa treatment shooting up by 566 percent compared to last year.
Located in the swish Gangnam neighbourhood, Chaum calls itself a medical spa and its treatments follow suit – ranging from the traditional, like Turkish hammam scrubs and aromatherapy, to the innovative, like digitally-controlled hydro baths with water jets to ease sore muscles, and anti-ageing treatments at Chaum’s dedicated Evercell Skin Care Centre. If you go for just one treatment, make it a visit to the thermal capsule. Following a body scrub, you’ll be covered in a spirulina body mask and led to a carefully controlled heated capsule (akin to a personalised wet sauna) where gentle steam helps purge any nasty toxins.
Conrad Los Angeles
Location: Los Angeles
This hotel spa covers all the latest spa wellness trends, from infrared technology to compression therapy. Red carpet-ready facials include the Microjet Infusion facial, in which targeted steaming is designed to aid with lymphatic drainage and exfoliation, as well as Pro LED Light therapy to boost skin recovery. Inside the spa’s private Recovery Cabins, you’ll find the truly sci-fi stuff, including an electromagnetic infrared mat designed to ease muscle aches; and compression therapy, where parts of your body are carefully compressed by high tech machines to stimulate lymphatic flow and blood circulation. Round off your treatment with a visit to the infrared sauna, and be sure to spring for the magnesium body oil which accelerates detoxification.