Essence of Wellness

Header photo: Lavender Bar at The Inn at Mattei's Tavern | Photo: ©Auberge Collection

Today’s aromatherapy transforms fragrance into healing

Take a deep inhale.

At spas across the globe, thus begins countless facials and massages as guests breathe in the scents of ubiquitous essential oils—from lavender to peppermint—and relax into heated tables. Yet, as standard as this practice has become, today’s aromatherapy is much more than just a delightful add-on. The integration of functional fragrances into beauty and wellness services, and our understanding of their potential benefits, has become progressively complex. “Aromatherapy works on a level that is both subtle and profound,” says Meagan Johnson, director of wellbeing at Lavender Barn, an expansive spa that opened in January 2025 at The Inn at Mattei’s Tavern, an Auberge Collection property in Los Olivos, California. “Scent has a direct connection to the nervous system: It can calm, energize, comfort, or ground us almost instantly. What makes it so special is that it bridges the emotional and the physical. It helps us feel safe, present, and cared for; and...also supports the body through stress reduction, improved sleep, and deeper relaxation, which ultimately benefits skin health and overall wellbeing. It’s ritual, emotion, and results all intertwined.”

Now, spas of every ilk are harnessing aromatherapy to address issues from jet lag to sleep hygiene to skin imbalance and everything in between. Their scent-based offerings may be synched with the seasons or inspired by ancient rituals and culled from indigenous plants. Oils may be applied to the body at chakra or meridian points or diffused into the air itself. Regardless, in the world of wellness, aromatherapy is everywhere.

Because aromatherapy is now so foundational, when the powers that be at Lavender Barn—a destination defined by that intangible rustic, but refined ethos of California’s Central Coast—began to conceive their menu, they knew they needed to incorporate scent. That meant not only offering aromatherapy sporadically but threading it through every element. Aroma became not only a means to treat clients, but, especially in this rich, vineyard locale, a way to communicate a sense of place and overall mood. (In fact, they source many facets locally like their lavender from a nearby farm.)

“Aromatherapy felt essential from the beginning because scent is...one of the most immediate ways
to create emotional presence,” recalls Johnson. “Lavender Barn is such a sensory experience, from the landscape to the textures to the pace, and scent is a natural extension of that. Aroma...becomes part of the story, part of the memory, and part of what makes the experience so immersive.” And, so, aromatherapy— including Johnson’s own favorite subtle lavender paired with grounding notes like soft woods or sage—is part of everything from the spa’s opening and closing rituals, and breathwork moments during treatments to an herbal steam experience.

As evidenced by Lavender Barn, aromatherapy has become so essential that launching a luxury spa today without that element would be a potential nonstarter. At Meraki Wellness, for example, a new 16,000-square-foot integrative wellness destination opening in spring 2026 in Grand Cayman, scent-inspired experience is integral. Among its personalized “high-tech and high-touch services” are less-expected, aroma-forward Spa Rituals including an Earth Ritual: Forest Bathing Massage with grounding and immune-boosting notes of cypress, ho wood, pink pepper, and juniper berry; and a Signature Full Body Ritual for which the client selects an Edeniste Booster fragrance with neuroscent technology to influence mood.

“It’s important to include aromatherapy in our offerings because Meraki Wellness is designed as a holistic wellbeing experience,” says Cofounder Shula Clarke. “Essential oils engage the olfactory system, which is linked to the brain’s emotional centers and can help reduce stress, support sleep quality, and assist immune and lymphatic function. It adds an important neurological dimension to physical touch, making the overall effect longer lasting.” Clarke herself especially likes Edeniste’s Relax LifeBoost Fragrance with notes of coconut, frangipani, and vanilla—in keeping with the tropical setting.

Sometimes, the seeming innovation around aromatherapy is actually a callback to its ancient and time-tested roots. For instance, The Spa at The Palms Turks & Caicos, a beloved 72-suite Caribbean property that recently underwent an $18 million facelift, offers a unique signature experience called the Zareeba, created by a practicing local herbalist and rooted in indigenous traditions. Zareeba translates to “protected enclosure,” and the steam cleansing, detoxification, and meditation ritual takes place in individual huts. For this guided purification experience, aromatherapy, inspired by local botanical heritage, is the whole shebang.

“In the Zareeba ritual, aromatherapy works through inhalation of freshly brewed herbs as steam,” explains Lisa A. Hall, assistant spa director. “The aroma of freshly prepared botanicals fills the enclosure, making scent both the therapeutic driver and the emotional anchor. Guests control the rhythm and rate at which they stir the herbs, influencing the intensity of the steam they inhale. This creates a deeply personal sensory experience.” The herbs included—pimento (or allspice), guaco bush, citrus, and many more—are traditionally associated with a vast array of medicinal benefits including cleansing, respiratory support, soothing muscle discomfort, easing fever, skin toning and clarifying, and more. As part of the treatment, guests are also treated to a foot ritual with hand-crushed conch shells and essential oils, and a one-hour cool- down massage with organic botanical oils—so the aromatherapy is core from beginning to end.

As with the Zareeba, during which guests take part in shaping the experience, aromatherapy is often most successful when personalized. After all, one person’s neroli is another’s eucalyptus— we all have preferences or needs in a given moment. That’s why destinations like Six Senses Crans-Montana in Switzerland, which opened in 2023, are creating opportunities for guests to create their very own blends and remedies. At this upscale Alps retreat, wellness means everything from a high-tech Biohacking Recovery Lounge to pet pampering, and, notably, an Alchemy Bar workshop where guests create their own scrubs, balms, and aromatic oils by hand, guided by their intuition or specific wellness goals, and incorporating elements from coffee grounds (leftover from breakfast) to dried lime, lemon, and orange peels. Pine essential oils, alpine salt, and cedar oils complete the sensory sense of place. “It’s special because it’s an immersive experience in which the guest connects to nature’s bounty, gets their hands dirty, and connects to the ingredients,” says Renate Hermes, the property’s cluster wellness director. “They then use these creations during treatments, in private wellness rituals, or take them home to continue their journey, extending the sensory and emotional benefits long after their stay. Aromatherapy works directly through the limbic system, the part of the brain connected to memory, mood, and emotion. This makes it uniquely powerful.”

With that power in mind, shouldn’t we be integrating aromatherapy into every facet of our daily lives? Many believe so. At The WELL Bay Harbor Islands, a wellness-centric residence in Miami, Florida, bolstering scents are not only integrated into treatments at the on-site spa, but a signature aroma with notes of bergamot, ylang-ylang, cedarwood, and frankincense is diffused into the common areas. “Our signature scent is far more than just a fragrance—it is a foundational element of our sensory experience, designed to anchor you in the present moment and set a clear intention for your wellness journey,” says Kane Sarhan, cofounder and chief creative officer of The WELL. “Aromatherapy is one of the most understated tools we have in the wellness space. Our goal is to have aromatherapy enhance each experience, whether it’s helping someone transition out of a stressful day, deepening the impact of a treatment, or creating a meaningful sense of ritual in your home life.”

As our lives, and even our wellness, become more chaotic, aromatherapy becomes more essential to beauty and wellbeing. “Aromatherapy is one of the simplest and most powerful ways to bring someone back to themselves,” says Johnson. “In a world that often moves too fast, scent has the ability to slow time down and create a sense of comfort, memory, and presence almost instantly.”