In newly launched retreats, the spa is the starting point for a journey of self-care.
To reach the spa at Mexico’s Rosewood Mayakoba, guests are invited to walk across a bridge to a private island hidden away by thick jungle foliage—then venture deeper into the trees. The remote setting for the 12-room, eight-suite spa not only ensures privacy and serenity, but is also a symbol of the sense of discovery that the spa celebrates. From a garden walking ritual designed to awaken all five senses and connect you to nature to treatments based on the “lost remedies” of the Mayan world, every detail here aims to take you on a journey.
And now, in a new private retreat, the destination of that journey is you. Launched this April, “Marry Oneself” is a three-day, four-night personalized program that guests experience on their own—for what Emmanuel Arroyo, regional director of wellness, Rosewood Mayakoba, describes as “the ultimate form of self-care.” “This transformative wellness experience was designed to reconnect guests with their inner selves (by) blending ancient Mayan principles with modern, spiritual pampering,” he adds.
Envisioned by the resort’s on-staff third-generation shaman, the retreat is centered on four elements—air, earth, fire and water—and includes a series of new experiences and treatments that have been crafted accordingly. During The Power of Listening session, the use of vocals, drumming and singing bowls help encourage sound healing, while the Flow & Evolve aquatic therapy session showcases the restorative power of water. A shaman-led Walk of Silence along the beach helps connect you to the earth, and the Temazcal of New Fire steam bath incorporates traditional Mayan healing methods and ingredients to highlight the purifying properties of fire—and symbolize the “rebirth” guests might undergo during the retreat. Whether led by the shaman or one of the expert therapists, each service is tailored to the individual guest’s needs, and helps them work toward the goals they’ve identified as being important to their path to self-care.
Traditional face and body care treatments are also part of the program, though even the “pampering” here has a purpose, with the customized Apothecary full-body massage and the Grounded Roots tension-relieving therapy for the hands and feet, to Lights of the Season, a holistic body treatment that uses products by Maison Caulières, made with natural and extra-virgin oils extracted in France. And in between all the time at the spa, guests have plenty of opportunity for downtime to enjoy the beach (which underwent a $13 million restoration in 2017), go kayaking or snorkeling and enjoy the restaurants, which source their sustainable ingredients from local farms and producers.
My main goal is to engage guests in enriching experiences that heal and transform whatever is keeping them from knowing peace, purpose,trust, faith, enthusiasm, joy and unconditional love and hope.
Spiritual Wellness Director, Canyon Ranch
As the retreat’s name suggests, the program culminates with a “wedding ceremony”—with the guest committing to herself, and to honoring her own well-being. Guided by the shaman, the private ceremony includes vows that reflect the guest’s personal goals, as well as mantras to guide them on the road to happiness, self-compassion and self-love—the continuation of the journey they started by crossing that spa bridge. rosewoodhotels.com
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