Medicines tips

In a mountain town about three hours outside of Mexico City, I sat on the floor of a thatched-roof palapa with blankets wrapped around me as a facilitator (both a researcher and medicine woman) sang soothing chants. A few hours earlier, I had declared my intention for our ayahuasca journey—that I want to live a big, meaningful, impactful life and am willing to release anything that does not serve that vision. By the end of the ceremony, where I took about three cups of the brew during the six hours between sunset and dawn, the message I received was that life is meaningless—that I might as well do whatever I want while I’m here.

The honk of the geese as they take off from the lake is comically loud, reeds quiver and the reflection of the clouds on the water is momentarily fractured. A butterfly flits by, landing on my boot. We’re on a guided walk at 42 Acres, a regenerative farm, nature reserve and retreat centre near Frome in Somerset – and the whole place feels vibrantly alive.

Ding-dong, a major deal in the hospitality industry is dead. Early on Monday morning, Choice Hotels announced it was abandoning its $8 billion hostile takeover bid for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts that was made public five months ago.

At night, the road from Thiruvananthapuram to Kollam seems like one long strip of flashing colored lights festooning shops and restaurants. Kerala is a state on the move. Every empty space is a building site; the plan is to transform the main coastal route from single-lane mayhem to a sleek superhighway. For now, makeshift markets huddle next to gleaming gyms and car showrooms, while wandering pi-dogs and kamikaze auto-rickshaws slow the traffic to a lurching stop-start crawl.

In a first step toward a broader legalization of cannabis, and after long delays due to strong opposition from lawmakers in the ruling coalition, Germany is set to approve the decriminalizing of cannabis for recreational use by parliament on Friday, paving the way to take effect on April 1 (and not an April Fool’s Day joke).

Sunshine would have been too much after three years that felt like one long dark tunnel. I arrive, exhausted, on Koh Samui during a monsoon, the wet jungle swaying with the energy of renewal. That night, a lullaby of raindrops helps me drift off to sleep. The far-off storm flashing on the horizon expels my subliminal rage. I awaken, refreshed, to birdsong.

It is a sunny winter morning, and I can see snowcapped peaks in the distance. The fragrance of pine fills the air. Birds chatter in the trees above. All is peaceful. And yet I feel as though I have just climbed a mountain—and I don't mean my recent four-mile uphill hike to the temple of Kunjapuri. I am on day seven of a weeklong stay at Ananda in the Himalayas, the lauded palatial destination spa near the spiritual hub of Rishikesh in northern India. I've come to work my way through a glut of issues, including work stress, niggling joint pain, anxiety, loss of libido, constant fatigue, and sleep disruption. The uncertainty that followed the COVID-19 pandemic had worsened all of them.

In the embrace of Baja California Sur's unique landscape, where the serene desert meets the rhythmic tides of the Sea of Cortez, Auberge Resorts Collection announces a grand revival of Los Cabos' quintessential luxury retreat, Esperanza. Today, the resort proudly reopens the doors to its Forbes Five Star award-winning spa, heralding a new epoch of holistic and cultural wellness. This sanctuary, renowned for its bespoke pampering and serenity, now offers guests an even more transformative experience, harmoniously blending the spa's refreshed look with immersive journeys deeply rooted in indigenous Mexican healing traditions. With a philosophy inspired by the ancient medicine wheel, the spa's reimagined environment beckons guests to partake in spiritually guided treatments within an atmosphere that has been meticulously refreshed, designed to usher in a journey of holistic restoration and elevated serenity.

Over the river and through the woods — if only it were that simple. For most people, traveling involves eye-glazing waits at an airport or train station, or hours of driving. At some point, you’ll want a snack.

In this series of articles, I talk to a wide range of travel experts, insiders and luxury brands to find out more about the future of travel for next year and beyond. In Part 1, I wrote about the search for authentic travel and how technology can elevate travel experiences. For Part 2, I spoke to Black Tomato about the rise in people wanting to capture special moments through travel experiences. In Part 3, I looked at the rise of sustainable architecture, the return of maximalist hotel design and the quest for the best of sleep science. In Part 4, Cazenove+Loyd x Globetrender revealed their seven key travel trends for 2024. For Part 5, I spoke to wellness experts about the growth in demand for immersive well-being experiences when travelling. Today, for Part 6, and the last article in this Trends series, I write about a return to age-old traditions in the burgeoning wellness industry.

Whether you want to lose weight, live longer, get in better shape, enjoy your later years more or simply feel like you deserve some self-care, investing just four days in your mind and body can pay real dividends–if you pick the right four days.

Heading into the holiday season/beginning of the new year, it’s a natural inclination to do a wellness check, system/mind reset. Sedona, Arizona with its rugged red rock canyons containing what are generally regarded as swirling energy/healing vortexes is an obvious place to seek that renewal. And there are two retreats, one newly opened, the other extensively redone to settle into for that result.

With a population of almost 10 million, Seoul is one of Asia's largest and most vibrant metropolises. City workers spill out of futuristic skyscrapers at the end of the day, heading to the city's delicious and varied restaurants. On the weekends, nightlife rules—think neon-signed karaoke spots and lively bars in addition to the popular grab-and-go eateries. By day, however, the city is an underrated shopper's paradise. Forget the high-fashion boutiques (although you'll find those here, too), as it's all about neighborhood hotspots. From ceramic studios to sustainable zero-waste havens, these are the best places for shopping in Seoul.

Vacation season is upon us; however, this year is so different from other years, the result of the Coronavirus means we have to be choosy, and therefore only the best will do.

For years, the tiny Himalayan nation of Bhutan leveraged its otherworldly but imposing geography as a barrier against the world. But two decades ago, at the behest of the royal family, the cloistered kingdom, known for its “Gross National Happiness” index, invited in its first international brand. It wasn't McDonald's or Coca-Cola, but Aman, the ultra-luxury hotel company, which set up a circuit of five lodges collectively known as Amankora. Six Senses and COMO followed with lodge loops of their own, and soon Bhutan began topping adventure travelers' bucket lists.

Over the past two decades, Tulum—a former Mayan seaport and fishing village hugging the Yucatán Peninsula’s Caribbean coastline—underwent a dramatic transformation with a surge of beigey boutique hotels, alfresco restaurants, and pulsing nightclubs. While many parts are still are undeniably beautiful, the crowds, unfortunately, have gotten out of hand.

You’ve planned your trip to Italy. You’ve booked your flights. Made your hotel reservations. Booked your activities. Everything is set – but what should you pack?

There are numerous wellness retreats dotted around the world but it’s hard to find one more comprehensive than SHA Spain, named World’s Best Wellness Clinic 2023 at the World Spa Awards, for its array of wellness/medical analyses and regimens including some pretty esoteric ones. (A notable one I discovered during a stay there: post traumatic stress disorder treatment for kidnapped Russian oligarchs.) All aspects of this clinic are exacting from the skills of the practitioners to the culinary creations, engineered for nutritional aims but with complexity and flavor. It's casual, though: everyone pads around in their terry robes even in the dining room (with the exception of some women who were dressed to the nines with furs.) And for those who want to experience the benefits of their approach closer to the U.S., a new SHA is opening in Mexico in January; reservations opened this week.

Flying with food allergies can be a harrowing experience. In addition to the planning and preparation before your flight, you may also encounter rude or dismissive behavior from fellow passengers and airline staff. This exact situation happened to Lianne Mandelbaum with her own child, prompting her to take up the mantle of education and advocacy for food-allergic flyers through her nonprofit, The No Nut Traveler.

When you grow up in the South like I did, you learn there's a difference between mad and spittin' mad.

On a third-quarter earnings call Thursday morning, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts outlined for investors its rationale for rejecting a $7.8 hostile takeover bid from budget-hospitality rival Choice Hotels. Including assumed debt, the deal value would climb to around $9.8 billion.