Travel has its stresses and challenges. But so does being at your destination. Once you hit the streets, it can be go-go-go until you hit the sheets. How do you take wellness with you?

That’s the question I confronted when I woke up in yesterday’s clothes on a hotel bed. I wasn’t hung over. I hadn’t spent the evening partying. I had just spent the day going and going until I… stopped. And, exhausted, flopped.

I’m traveling a lot these days, and it should be a good experience. I live in Toronto, and I have to make a lot of business trips to my former hometown, the home-away-from-home that still feels like home to me: New York City.

It’s only an hour in the air, but planning, landing, checking with a rush of excitement can turn into dark exhaustion fast.

At the end of a day in the Big Apple, how do I find my zen? Where can I go to get an excellent workout for my short stays? A hotel that’s more than just a bed to pass out on?

So this summer I set out to find some New York City wellness that could keep me healthy and rested. I am looking to recover and restore.  I’m taking it to the streets… and the sheets, and the eats, and the healthy treats.

Why look for wellness when you’re away from home

Hotels. You know that hotels are not all the same.

My ideal place is one that provides a variety of things to soothe me and embrace me, so I feel well inside and out. I want a hotel that gives me a sense of belonging too.

I’ve recently discovered The Assemblage in New York City. It’s “a coworking, co-living and community space.” It gives you a place not just to sleep and work but to be with other people. Events, programs, retreats, community… And, of course, as much personal space and time to yourself as you need.

How about a hotel menu of wellness treats? Something like a pillow menu, in-room one-on-one meditation sessions, REVIV IV treatments, or perhaps some Vitality NYC cryotherapy or work out at Solace (right next door to the hotel)? You can do all of that! That’s what I found at HGU, a New York Hotel.

Workouts. On longer extended trips, I have bought one-month memberships at gyms, and it has worked out very well – and so have I! But what if my trip is just a few days or a week?

There are hotel fitness centers, of course. But they’re not all equal. Some have poor-quality or old equipment. Some are dirty.

This summer I discovered many drop-in rooftop classes (no membership signup) too.

Food. You can always get food. You can’t always get food that will make you feel better, more alive, and more balanced.

The traveler’s diet is famously bad: grab-and-go eaten on the walk from a paper wrapper, fast-food stops and oversalted, oversweetened chain-restaurant food, and – as an occasional treat – pretty but rich high-end restaurant food that will leave you feeling neither pretty nor rich.

 

Spas. A good spa is not just a place I go for a man-pedi or a massage. Plus, I don’t have time when traveling to take half a day off and lounge in a whole robe (I wish).

I am looking for something more. My goal is to refuel and restore for better rest fast. Better rest means I can be more productive but also – most importantly – happy. I don’t just want to let my stress drain away. I want to be refreshed.

That’s what takes me to a special place like Kollectiv. Their specialized therapies reset your body. That pain you’ve been carrying around in your back? Those stiff legs? That numb and heavy skin?

Cleared up in minutes. You emerge with your body tingling fresh and your mind in a peaceful balance, ready for anything.

I also experienced a Cryro Facial by The Cryosphere in the Salt Cave followed by a 45 minute Salt Cave session at Montauk Salt Cave on 90 East 10th Street.

Well City Guides

All of this is why we’re adding our Well City Guides: a series of articles about places to eat, sleep, relax, and stay healthy while you’re at your destination.

So once you’ve gotten through the airport, you’ll know where you can go to keep yourself well and happy.

Look for them in our CITY GUIDE section.