Have you heard of Sleep Tourism, the latest trend in travel?
It’s the opposite of a color-coded itinerary with hours-long sightseeing scheduled down to the minute. Indeed, sleep tourism is for the very weary, for folks who dream of dreaming, who salivate over thoughts of crisp, cool sheets, blackout curtains, and 8+ hours with absolutely nothing on the agenda.
Chuck the guidebook and pass the pillow menu, please.
The Great Reset
The last few years have been exhausting. The stress of an on-going pandemic, the uncertainty of a safe future for our kids, and the generalized hustle culture of “having it all” adds up to another sort of pandemic: sleep deprivation.
You don’t need research and stats to feel the effects of a sleepless society but the numbers concur: 1 in 5 automobile accidents and injuries are linked to sleepiness. In a 2022 Motherly reader survey of 17,000 respondents, 84% felt burnt out in the last month and 89% revealed they sleep less than 8 hours a night.
“During the pandemic, all of our natural cycles changed. We started seeing more cases of mental health issues, depression, and anxiety,” Viceroy Los Cabos Spa and Wellness Director Vanessa Infante tells Coveteur. “Now that we are coming back to normal life, people are looking for experiences that help them resolve their sleeping patterns, eat healthier, and exercise.”
Destination: Bedfordshire
Simply put: more sleep would make us happier, healthier, and safer. A lot of us are waking up to this “new normal,” wanting something more out of life: more health, more time with our people, more rest. And the tourism industry is picking up what we’re putting down.
Destination hotels used to entice guests with luxury amenities, celebrity chefs at exclusive restaurants, and a top-tier, super exclusive club and bar scene. Now, the luxury offerings are a little more sedate, a little more intentional with an eye to giving guests the snooziest experience possible – on purpose.
The Rosewood Hotels launched their Alchemy of Sleep retreats, an immersive experience centered around creating good sleep hygiene through nutrition, education, meditation, and, of course, undisturbed sleep.
Hotel Figueroa created a Rest & Recovery suite outfitted with pre-selected pillows based on your sleeping preferences and a special mattress that dynamically adjusts to your body’s temperature fluctuations during the night.
Mystique Hotel Santorini partnered with wellness and technology studio OPO to create a meditation program called “Choose Your Journey.” Focused on relaxation, six sessions guide you throughout the day with names like Morning Rise and Evening Reflections.
Book a Sleep Staycation
Whether it’s time or budget constraints keeping you from enjoying a luxe sleeping experience, everyone should benefit from good rest. With a little bit of planning, creating a Sleep Staycation experience inspired by the 5-star resorts is definitely doable, no passport required.
Treat yourself to a couple of pillows designed for exactly the way you sleep. Pluto Pillows, the same ones offered at Hotel Figueroa, take into account your body’s measurements and how you sleep, creating a pillow literally made just for you.
Unwind like the French do with an aromatherapeutic pillow mist and an end of the evening cup of chamomile tea. Guests of the Royal Sleep Experience at the Royal Champagne Hotel and Spa in Champillon also enjoy a pre-sleep meditation and a satin sleep mask.
Finally, and perhaps the most critical element of the perfect Sleep Staycation: solitude. Switching off, unplugging, going incognito, calling back-up, trading in favors, whatever you need to do, definitely try to get away. You can’t bank sleep, and you can’t buy happiness, but kicking off a healthy sleep hygiene routine the right way is priceless.
