Eleven Life retreats take guests out of their comfort zone with tough physical challenges and activities for mental stimulation. The result? They leave happier and healthier than ever before, apparently. Olivia Palamountain reports
Luxury, boundary-pushing, adventure company Eleven Experience is launching its extreme wellness concept, Eleven Life, at Colorado’s Taylor River Lodge.
Following the same principles as the Eleven Life experience at Deplar Farm in Iceland, retreats are centred around a challenging, innovative and science-based approach to wellness and fitness.
The thinking is that small science-based adjustments can easily be incorporated into daily routines, which in turn will help guests eat smarter, sleep better, feel healthier and exercise more effectively, improving their overall wellbeing for years to come.
Not for the faint-hearted, this is a wellness concept that aims to push guests to test their limits and challenges them to think outside the box.
In the quest for everlasting health, wellness trends are becoming increasingly extreme. By 2022, the Global Wellness Institute predicts that wellness tourism will become a US$900 billion industry. This is up from US$640 billion in 2017.
Globetrender has reported on everything from a Dutch retreat using psychedelics to improve wellbeing and a ‘longevity’ IV drip bar in Bangkok to a €23,000 weight loss bootcamp in Portugal.
We are also seeing wellness tourism grow into a form adventure travel, with the likes of ultra-sports members club Somerton, that gives fitness-obsessed adventurers that chance to train with hundreds of elite athletes from across the globe and Cookson Adventures series of “Breathe” themed trips in which participants get to go deep-sea free-diving or learn martial arts in Japan.
Next up are games based on holistic principles but inspired by scientific studies designed to test guest’s sensory perceptions, ability to focus and stamina levels.
Finally, guests can slip into the spa (or enjoy an in-room experience) of bespoke treatments such as the Taylor River Lodge Winter Signature Massage, which uses smooth local river stones to treat aches and pains.
The price includes wellness-focussed and guided activities, all necessary gear, pre-arrival planning with an Eleven Experience manager, meals, beverages and in-room minibar. The lodge and is available for buyout for 24 guests or by room reservations.