Global spa development continues at a brisk pace as travelers increasingly book trips around health, recovery, and well-being rather than travel for escape alone. Health-focused trips now rank among the top booking drivers, according to the 2026 Virtuoso Luxe Report, prompting hotels and resorts to invest heavily in new spa facilities and large-scale expansions.
The wellness tourism sector is on track to exceed $970 billion in 2025, up from roughly $895 billion in 2024, with annual growth projected at 9 percent. Increasingly, travelers are using wellness trips to regulate sleep, stress, and energy levels, pushing hotels and resorts to rethink how spas are designed, scheduled, and used.
One of the most closely watched projects opens in the United States.
A Historic Resort Invests in Recovery
JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn debuts a $25 million spa renovation this month, focusing on recovery. Set on 125 acres at the base of Camelback Mountain, the resort’s new 32,000-square-foot spa places water at the center of the experience, with indoor and outdoor hydrotherapy pools, cold plunges, and heat circuits crafted for slow progression rather than quick turnover.
Twenty treatment rooms support longer sessions using regional materials such as adobe clay, prickly pear, and agave. Dedicated circuits encourage guests to shift between temperature, light, and rest as they explore the new amenities. A nutrition-focused café and a separate wellness studio for sound baths, yoga, and guided meditation reinforce a model that prioritizes time spent in recovery over the volume of treatments scheduled.
The project carries important heritage within Marriott’s resort portfolio. “As one of the first resort spas in the Marriott International portfolio, The Spa at Camelback Inn originally opened in 1989 as the largest and most extensive resort spa in the Southwest,” said Richard Romane, general manager of JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa.
Temperature Changes Everything
Heat and open sky give way to altitude and snowmelt in Austria, where Hotel Lürzerhof prepares a multi-million-euro spa expansion that emphasizes alpine scale and vertical design. Rising above the resort’s original structure in Austria’s Salzburger Land, two new floors at Hotel Lürzerhof open in late July 2026 following a four-month closure, introducing a top-level, adults-only spa designed around altitude and exposure.
A cantilevered outdoor infinity pool places swimmers above the valley with uninterrupted mountain views. Heat is the main focus throughout the interior spaces of a panorama sauna, an infrared salt dome, and steam rooms, arranged to slow movement and encourage extended use. Floor-to-ceiling glass, natural stone, and timber finishes frame the landscape throughout the spa level, placing elevation and spatial layout at the center of spa use rather than treating the facilities as secondary to accommodation.
Designing Wellness Around the Body Clock
As wellness travel takes on a more therapeutic role, nearly seven in ten say doctors should be able to prescribe vacations as medicine, and 87% would choose a getaway over therapy. Travelers want destinations that deliver measurable relief, not just relaxation, according to a national report from Flight Centre.
Mana Sanctuary opens in February 2026, moving away from large-scale spa facilities toward recovery-led days structured around circadian timing. Founded by wellness entrepreneur Janine Cottle and her husband, Trent, the retreat reflects an evolution of Cottle’s work in Bali, where she has helped shape the region’s retreat landscape over the past decade.
Daily structure follows the body’s clock rather than treatment menus, with mornings reserved for strength work and evenings structured to support sleep. An onyx cold plunge, outdoor fitness areas, sleep-focused rooms, and access to advanced therapies through partner clinics are just some of the comforts guests can look forward to.
The founders point to timing as the driver behind the structure. “When you follow the body’s clock and pair ancient practices with smart recovery, then clarity and capacity follow,” says Janine Cottle, co-founder of Mana Sanctuary.
Season Over Schedule
Three in 10 Canadians rate their current well-being as fair or poor, as stressors like financial pressure and caregiving load are cited as top strains — a backdrop that helps explain why wellness-focused destinations are investing so heavily in recovery-oriented design.
Seasonality takes precedence in northern Europe, where a retreat opens in summer 2026 on Estonia’s Hiiumaa Island. Eha Retreat has eight suites and three forest cabins set within a UNESCO-designated biosphere reserve.
Programming aligns movement, thermal rituals, and rest with the island’s five-season calendar, responding to shifts in daylight and temperature. Under the direction of Estonian-born wellness director Kai Laus, the retreat blends regional traditions with evidence-based practices, pairing breath-led movement and nature immersion with meals sourced from nearby farms and the Baltic Sea.
Scale and Tradition in Balance
Also opening this month is a newly built wellness center as part of the relaunch of Lagen Island in Palawan. The Lagen Wellness Center sits at the heart of the property in El Nido, introducing the largest spa and wellness facility in Palawan.
Guests circulate among hot and cold plunge pools, steam rooms, saunas, and private treatment rooms arranged around a spa garden and reflection pond. Treatments combine Filipino healing traditions with ESPA therapies, and buoyancy-based water therapies support muscular recovery and stress regulation. Proceeds from select treatments support local public health efforts.
Across regions, new and renovated spas opening in 2026 reflect a shift from spa-as-amenity toward spa-as-infrastructure. Timing, temperature, light, and seasonality are increasingly treated as essential inputs, mirroring a broader move toward travel as a tool for managing health rather than escaping routine.