I live in the south of France, I try to live sensibly, and like everybody else, I do not have unlimited time. I became an expert in wellness retreats and longevity travel, but I can't spend all my time in clinics and health resorts: I also have to take care of clients, my family, etc. And that is the real constraint behind every wellness trip for every client, regardless of the kind of work they do. When you cannot disappear for a month, the week you do take has to be the right one.
I have stayed at the best wellness clinics and health resorts. Some of them, I go back to. Some of them, I recommend often but would not choose for myself again. Not every clinic is good for every one, and that's exactly why people need an advisor like me.
Don't read this post as a ranking, it is not one. Remember that the best retreat is the one that fits the person you are this year. But I hope this post gives you a few clues about where it would resonate for you.
This post is a reflection looking back at some of the first wellness clinics I tested when starting Serenity Ways in 2024. At this time in my life, I had been living an extremely healthy and quite spiritual life in the countryside, but still had a few unknown unknowns with regards to my health, my emotions and my nervous system.
The health resorts I tested back then
- Chenot Palace Weggis. The most famous in many ways, and one I always look forward to. A real reset with a certain structure, which one may like or hate.
- Six Senses Vana. Beautiful, flexible and generous at the table. For me, too much of a risk to drift. But it's the best place for many other kind of guests.
- ZEM Altea. The newest equipment and excellent therapists. An incredible medical network which they introduce you to when relevant. My favourite medical retreat with a sea view.
- Espace Chenot at L’Albereta. The Chenot method in four days, near Milan. Ideal for a short stay. But I prefer Chenot Palace Weggis for many reasons.
- Villa Eden. Pleasure first, results anyway. A unique longevity retreat, very chic, and where your significant other can really enjoy the stay as well.
- Clinique Nescens. The one where it feels the most like a hospital, but a luxurious one. The results are there. It's not a fun experience, but it's also the most uncompromising way to recharge and rejuvenate.
- Programme Nescens at La Réserve Genève. The same Nescens core, but in the superb setting of La Réserve Genève. Perfect with friends or even kids.
- Lily of the Valley. Joyful, flexible, on the Mediterranean. The crazy prices of the French Riviera in high season. From October to May, it's one of the best places on Earth to disconnect, eat well, exercise, sleep and recharge.
- Zulal by Chiva-Som. The widest treatment menu, and the only one that takes children and actually takes care of their wellness too. My daughters want to return, and it says a lot.
Chenot Palace Weggis, Lake Lucerne
It is almost unfair to the others. Chenot Palace Weggis is located by Lake Lucerne, and the view is magical. The doctors and the therapists are great. They read a body quickly, they explain what they are doing clearly, and you learn things about yourself along the way, in a language you remember afterwards. That is rarer than it sounds, in an era where so many clinics give you an 80 pages report where you understand very little.
The low calorie programme is the part that frightens people before they arrive. It is built to reproduce the effects of fasting without asking you to fast, and on paper the portions look alarming. In practice the body settles within about two days and the hunger you were bracing for does not really turn up.
There are exceptions. I have guests who find it incompatible to exercise while eating so little. That's fine. If you are genuinely struggling, say so to the nutritionist. They will feed you. Double portions it is!
Everything else is held to the same standard: how the plates look, how clean the building is, how the staff behave on the day you are tired and unreasonable. The level of care is exceptional: above and beyond what you find even in the most incredible hotels around the world.
What to know. The programme is structured and it does not bend very much. If a treatment turns out not to suit you, swapping it is not possible in most cases. I have learned to trust their sequence, but if you need to feel in charge of your own diary, that will grate.
Who Chenot Palace Weggis suits
Someone who wants a real reset and will accept somebody else’s plan for a week or two. If you want to keep your evenings and your appetite, go somewhere else and be honest with yourself about it.
The one I go back to
Chenot Palace Weggis
Weggis, Canton of Lucerne, Switzerland
Serenity Ways exclusive perks
- 160 CHF spa credit when you book a Junior Suite or Suite
- Facial treatment (190 CHF value)
- Skincare product (140 CHF value)
Advanced Detox
From CHF 8,370
7 nights · 1 guest · cheapest room
Six Senses Vana, Dehradun
I came back from Six Senses Vana happier than I expected to, and clients do the same. It sits in the forest on the Himalayan foothills, it is beautiful, and it takes the view that feeling good is a legitimate goal in itself. The programme is completely adapted to every guest, and there are lots of activities throughout the day, which is an essential part of the cure and the learning. But always, at your own pace. Sunrise yoga if you want it, a slow breakfast if you do not.
The restaurants were the surprise for me. The choice is wide, the cooking is amazingly good, and you never eat like someone being punished.
What to know. That same generosity is the catch. Vana will not impose structure on you, at least not on the food, except if you are specifically on a weight loss menu. The pastries stay on the buffet and nobody takes your plate away. If you need external discipline to stay on track, you have to bring your own here.
The digital detox policy is relatively firm, and some guests sometimes feel that it goes a step too far. Total disconnection creates more stress than it removes for some guests, but you can always stay connected in your room, at the bar (yes there is a bar!) or in the business centre. The massages are therapeutic rather than pleasant, which is true of most of India. If you are carrying a specific physical problem, book the medical consultation early and be clear about it.
Who Six Senses Vana suits
Someone who knows themselves well enough not to drift, and who wants the week to feel like a pleasure rather than a course of treatment.
Six Senses Vana
Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
Serenity Ways exclusive perks
- Room upgrade, upon availability
- Early check-in (9am) and late check-out (4pm), upon availability
- VIP welcome amenity
- 100$ spa credit
Yoga
From ₹353,250
5 nights · 1 guest · cheapest room
ZEM Wellness Clinic, Altea
ZEM is new, and it shows in the best way: a serious spread of diagnostic and longevity equipment, generous space, large rooms, and the Mediterranean in front of you. The number of treatments included in a programme is unusually high for a clinic of this level.
The therapists are the strongest part of it. One of the best massages I have had anywhere was here (thanks Brice!). Programmes are genuinely personalised too, so the week adapts as your body responds instead of running to a template.
What to know. Skip the Essential programme. It samples everything and settles nothing, and if you have an actual goal you will get more out of one of the other programmes, which are greatly designed. The consultations also vary with the physician you are given, which is normal for a clinic this young. Say so if yours is not useful, because the second conversation is usually better.
Who ZEM suits
Someone with a specific goal who wants current technology and hands that know what they are doing, in a hotel setting rather than a hospital one. Oh and the food is delicious.
ZEM Wellness Clinic
Altea, Alicante, Spain
Serenity Ways exclusive perks
- Room upgrade upon availability
- VIP welcome
- Early check-in, late check-out
ZEM Prime Longevity
From €11,350
7 nights · 1 guest · cheapest room
Espace Chenot at L’Albereta, Franciacorta
Sometimes a week is simply not available. The Espace Chenot at L’Albereta offers the same Chenot method but in Franciacorta, easy to reach from Milan, and it can be done in four days. Clients book the short programme, feel the difference, and come back for it two or three times a year.
The fitness team is good. They are present, they know what they are doing, and they adapt the work to the body in front of them rather than to the plan on the wall.
What to know. The dining room is functional rather than beautiful, and hotel service can be inconsistent from one day to the next. But the Chenot protocols are always great.
Who L’Albereta suits
Someone who wants the Chenot method and cannot disappear for a week, or who wants to try it before committing to Weggis.
Espace Chenot at L’Albereta
Erbusco, Brescia, Italy
Fitness Boost
Quote on request.
Villa Eden, Merano
Villa Eden is small, private and very chic. Angelika, who owns it, watches over every stay herself, and you notice it in the details other places delegate.
Pleasure runs through the whole thing, including the table, the sommelier (yes ... wine is possible, and the wine menu is very good) and the bar. That sounds like a contradiction in a medical villa and it is not one. People leave looking visibly better, and they leave without feeling they have been on a diet. Short stays are possible, which is also not so common at this level.
What to know. Merano is worth the journey, but depending on where you travel from, the journey is not simple. Plan the travel first.
Who Villa Eden suits
Someone who wants results and refuses to give up the pleasure of a good table, and who has a few days rather than a fortnight.
Villa Eden
Merano, Sud Tyrol, Italy
Serenity Ways exclusive perks
- Room upgrade upon availability
- Early Check-in / Late Check-out, upon availability
- Special welcome amenities in the room upon arrival
- USD 100 Wellness Credit per room per stay
- A local traditional gift, once during the stay. A product of Villa Eden cosmetic line.
Immune Boost – IMMUNOPLUS
From €8,600
7 nights · 1 guest · cheapest room
Clinique Nescens, Genolier
Some stays make you feel better for a fortnight. Clinique Nescens changes what you do at home, which is a different order of thing. The medicine is serious, the team is broad, and the protocols are built around changes you can actually keep once you are back in your own kitchen.
It is about half an hour from Geneva, and most guests are surprised by how different they look after two weeks. The 3-night program is incredibly efficient for a program this short.
What to know. You are staying in a clinic. A luxurious one, but a clinic, and no amount of good design hides that. Some people find it reassuring and some find it austere, and it is worth knowing which one you are. Dinner is served in your room. There is also no medical consultations or therapies on the weekends, so the calendar needs a little thought.
Who Clinique Nescens suits
Someone who wants medical answers and longevity habits that survive the trip home, and who is not looking for a hotel or a resort environment. It's also one of the best priced short medical remise en forme.
Clinique Nescens
Genolier, Canton of Vaud, Switzerland
Serenity Ways exclusive perks
- Upgrade to lake view, confirmed at time of booking
- Nescens travel-size product set (worth 150 CHF)
The Collection: Longevity
From CHF 3,000
3 nights · 1 guest · cheapest room
Programme Nescens at La Réserve Genève
The same Nescens protocols, in a Jacques Garcia hotel on the lake, with one of the best resort atmosphere in Europe. La Réserve Genève answers a question a lot of people are too polite to ask: can I do this without abandoning my family for a week? Here they can be on holiday, in the pool or at the kids club, while you follow the programme. And the resort is really pleasant in all seasons.
The group classes are well designed, the spa is one of the best in Europe, and there are enough restaurants that you never eat the same evening twice. Café Lauren, the healthy restaurant, is my favourite. But when I dine with my daughters during a program, they prefer to eat at Tsé Fung, the chinese one, which has one Michelin star.
What to know. This is a fantastic business hotel and a beautiful leisure resort, and in 2026 it has become a world-class luxury wellness hotel as well, with the revamping of the Nescens programs. You get both the Nescens longevity expertise and the pleasure and beauty of this La Réserve address.
Who La Réserve Genève suits
Anyone I would say ... it is not the least expensive address in this list, but it is totally worth it. And it is one of the few places where you can really come with a partner and even with children who are not doing a programme, and they will adore being there.
La Réserve Genève
Bellevue, Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
Serenity Ways exclusive perks
- 100$ resort credit
- Upgrade upon availability
- Early check-in and late check-out upon availability
Nescens Essential Reset
From CHF 10,800
5 nights · 1 guest · cheapest room
Lily of the Valley, La Croix Valmer
Lily of the Valley stands above the bay of Gigaro with a view that stops a conversation halfway through. I go at every season of the year. In July and August, we just need to be careful about the traffic around Saint Tropez.
What it understands is that wellness is allowed to be enjoyable. The longe côte sessions, walking chest deep along the shore against the water, are brilliant, completely addictive, and a great ice breaker to get to know other like-minded guests. I'm less impressed by the yoga, but I have been spoiled in this domain and got the best classes in the best places. The healthy cuisine is genuinely good, and totally adaptable (even with my very particular restrictions and what I like / dislike ...).
The programme also bends around a working day, in case you have to. Some of my clients regularly ask for treatments and activities to be stacked into the morning so the afternoon is theirs, and the team simply does it.
What to know. This is a hotel with an excellent Shape Club, not a medical retreat. If you are dealing with a real health condition, I would send you elsewhere.
Who Lily of the Valley suits
Someone who wants to come back lighter and happier, and who would rather do it in a chic and fun place.
My soft spot
Lily of the Valley
La Croix Valmer, French Riviera, France
Serenity Ways exclusive perks
- Upgrade on arrival, subject to availability
- $100 USD equivalent Hotel credit
- Early Check-In / Late Check-Out, subject to availability
Detox
From €4,900
4 nights · 1 guest · cheapest room
Zulal by Chiva-Som, Qatar
The range at Zulal is close to overwhelming, in the good sense. Whatever you have come to work on, there are several ways to approach it, and the number of treatments included in a programme is remarkable for the price.
The flexibility is the best I have seen, it was even a bit disturbing, as I could as well have combined treatments that made no sense one with another. The positive side is: if a treatment is not working for you, it is changed without a discussion. The therapists know their craft (the affiliation with Chiva-Som is obvious), the beach is there (but it is Qatar, not the Seychelles), and it is warm all year.
It is also the only address on this list where children are properly welcome, with health and wellness focused activities and menus. Zulal Discovery is the family side, and Zulal Serenity is the adults-only side, on the same estate.
What to know. The medical consultation does not go as deep as it does at Chenot or Nescens, and there is nobody following your week from one end to the other, at least in my experience and I must stay, my expectations are always quite high in this regard. And I will say the thing nobody says about family wellness: if you bring your children, you will not get your full attention on yourself. Maybe the family wellness is your objective, or maybe your own wellness is the objective, you have to make sure you know what you want first and foremost. Bring your children for a holiday with treatments, or come on your own for a more in-depth reset.
Who Zulal suits
Someone who wants warmth, a really flexible wellness team, the sea and a huge choice of therapies, and either wants the children with them or specifically does not.
Zulal Discovery
Al Ruwais, Qatar
Serenity Ways exclusive perks
- Early check-in, late check-out, subject to availability
- Room upgrade, subject to availability
Zulal Explore
From QAR 3,190
2 nights · 1 guest · cheapest room
What these stays have taught me
The most useful question is not which retreat is best. It is what you need this year, here and now, when you are ready to book. Be honnest about it, it is not easy, but it is worth it.
- Do you want structure or freedom?
- Medicine or encouragement?
- Are you here to be transformed, or to be repaired after a hard eighteen months?
I have learned to choose by what I need at that moment rather than by what sounds most impressive or looks good on Instagram. Sometimes that is Chenot. Sometimes it is a week of longe côte and good cooking at Lily of the Valley. Sometimes a place where I can really catch up on sleep.
The stays that work are the ones where the person was honest about their expectations, their goals and their limits before they booked. Every place on this list is excellent at something. None of them is excellent at everything.
Complimentary · one to one
Which of these is right for you?
Tell me what you want out of the week and how much time you actually have, and I will tell you which of these nine fits, and which ones I would rule out. There is no charge for the conversation.
