MILAN — Resorts around the world are invested in wellness programs that help travelers feel not just rested, but renewed. On Tuesday, Auberge Collection unveiled its own wellness concept, which takes that a bit further. They want to help their guests find one of life’s rarest luxuries: joy.
Rooted in four major guiding principles — awe, connect, excel and nurture — its treatment menus will be handcrafted to reflect the environment, traditions and energy of each destination. Products will be curated to infuse its “Joy of Wellbeing” concept into everyday life, embracing clean, natural ingredients and locally sourced brands with a story. Immersive experiences connect guests further with nature, in the form of unique activities like watercolor painting beneath open skies, or exploring ancient traditions with local masters. Lastly, movement is also reimagined — from high-intensity sprint clinics to high-intensity interval training collaborations, to functional pilates and treks.
“Joy fuels our best days and creates the emotional texture that gives life meaning,” said Auberge Collection chief executive officer and president Christian Clerc.
By location, events vary. At Auberge Collection’s The Lodge at Blue Sky in Utah, for example, the principle of connect comes to life with the Gracie’s Farm Dinner Series, an activation that invites guests gather under open skies to share seasonal meals with local farmers and chefs. At Wildflower Farms, Auberge Collection in Hudson Valley New York, excel is embodied in their quarterly high impact movement retreats — high-intensity programs, designed to build strength, energy and resilience. In the Dallas Fort Worth, Bowie House, Auberge Collection channels nurture through the Qi facial, a soulful treatment using gold micromagnets to lift and restore the skin and ground the spirit. In Costa Rica, Hacienda AltaGracia, Auberge Collection offers the River Bath — an aura cleansing ritual that involves a detoxifying scrub and a warm herbal soak to a soundtrack of birdsong and flowing water.
In an age where travel is at an all-time high, Auberge Collection is also banking on guests coming back and building a community around the brand and its ethos.
Celebrity Partnerships
Amplifying this concept, Auberge Collection has partnered with New York Times bestselling author and manifestation expert Gabby Bernstein, as well as celebrated fitness personality Amanda Kloots, cohost of the television show, “The Talk.” The two have been appointed to curate new retreats and programs as Masters in Residence, bringing new experiences to each of Auberge’s destinations.
On Nov. 7, Bernstein will introduce her signature teachings at the Mayflower Inn & Spa, Auberge Collection in Connecticut in “An Afternoon With Gabby Bernstein: The Power of Joy.” The event will include a live talk, guided meditation and a Q&A session designed to help guests shift from fear to flow and reconnect with their joy.
Kloots will bring her high-energy teaching style to a series of movement programs launching across select Auberge properties. The first retreat will take place at Chileno Bay Resort & Residences, Auberge Collection in Los Cabos, Mexico, from Nov. 29 to Dec. 1.
In an interview, Vivianne Garcia-Tunon, Auberge Collection’s vice president, well-being, said programs like these are a sign of the times and cater to new generations, looking for more than just a hotel stay. “We know that 91 percent of luxury travelers are looking for experiences that are going to increase their joy and their well-being,” she told WWD, adding that these same travelers are spending more on well-being than they are on fashion.
Finding joy is directly associated with living longer, Garcia-Tunon underscored. “They also know that finding well-being and enjoying life on average, according to scientific research, increases their lifespan by over 10 years. And we also know that 80 percent of what drives longevity also drives joy.”
In a similar vein, hotel groups around the world are pioneering unique ways to obtain what is perhaps the rarest luxury of all: mental and physical health.
Four Seasons Hotels has a longevity clinic in its Singapore location, while its Costa Rica location has a Wellness Shalah through sound healing. Equinox Hotels, for example, has infused sleep therapy into its wellness program. The hotel firm partnered with world-leading sleep scientist Dr. Matthew Walker to redefine sleep innovation and develop personalized sleep solutions and advanced technology to help its guests rest and recover.
Clerc, who was Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts president of operations from 2000 to 2022, was hired to lead Auberge Collection in 2024. Since then, he has been on a mission to reinvent luxury hospitality experiences, in part by infusing arts and culture as well. He recently introduced a concert series introducing Grammy-winning artists to the collection’s locations. The concept, he said, emerged naturally from Auberge’s arts and culture pillar, but it carries personal significance for Clerc, whose father cofounded the Montreux Jazz Festival, one of the world’s oldest independent music festivals.
Auberge Collection was born in 1981 in what once was a quiet California wine producing area.
Part of the Friedkin Group, the company has more than 30 locations and one-of-a-kind hotels and resorts around the world.
Vivianne Garcia-Tunon
Auberge Collection
