I know that I’m not alone when I click to book a hotel, it’s after careful consideration of the fitness facilities. But lately, hotels have taken a huge leap forward from providing a tiny basement gym to, on my last hotel stay at The Berkeley in London, a curated trolley of bespoke weights, straps and medicine balls, ready for a workout session in the comfort and privacy of my room.
Wellness tourism has been on the rise for years. In fact, the 2025 Global Wellness Economy Monitor reported a new market peak of $6.8 trillion. And while retreats are a significant driver, more and more of us want health and wellbeing integrated into our regular travel experience. “Wellbeing is no longer resigned to the spa, but has become an ecosystem with touchpoints that span across the entire aspect of a stay, and guests expect this to extend to their bedrooms too,” Aimee Hodgkin, hotel curation and partnerships director at Mr & Mrs Smith, says.
I’ve been covering wellness for nearly 20 years, as well as travelling the world for my job, and I’ve slowly been seeing hotels up their game from frankly poor offerings – even at the smartest addresses – to something that makes you feel genuinely excited about travelling. In the last few months, I’ve opened mini bars to find CBD drops and sleep patches, or pulled out an LED red light mask from my bedside drawer, or worked out with a weights trolley or a Peloton bike, perhaps followed by an IV recovery drip on the sofa, or eased my muscles in a steam pod.
The reason? Because it is increasingly important to guests, says Hattie David-Wilkinson, global head of wellness and longevity at Maybourne, which has recently invested heavily in in-room options. “Gone are the days when a holiday or trip automatically equals a pause from health routines. We view travel as an opportunity to support performance and recovery, not disrupt it. We want to ensure guests have the tools to return home feeling better than when they arrived.”
Many new hotels know that wellness is an important selling point and that in-room offerings set the best apart. “We recognised early on that wellness is no longer confined to a spa visit, gym session or indeed a physical space. This led to us bringing different elements into the design of the room,” says Oliver Milne-Watson, general manager at The Newman in London.
What’s interesting is the variety of wellness options available in-room at hotels embracing the trend. Because, as Milne-Watson notes, “wellness is not prescriptive, it is personal.” And as these are not health retreats, there is no shame in balancing wellness with a well-earned glass of something from the traditional mini bar, later. “We give our guests the freedom to shape their own experience,” he says. And there’s no better place to do that than in the privacy of your own room.
The best hotels offering in-room wellnessThe Berkeley, London
When Maybourne posted a picture of its newly-launched Surenne trolley, it went viral, such was the lust for bespoke weights gear at the foot of your bed. When you see it in person, it’s even more impressive: a chicly designed bespoke trolley with gorgeously muted equipment that looks at home amongst the wood-pannelled suites. Add in the newly launched wellness menu by Rosemary Ferguson, available for in-room dining, which she created for the group due in part to her own frustration as a frequent traveller at not always being able to access healthy food, and a selection of beauty products in the fridge, and you’ll leave The Berkeley feeling better than when you checked in.