Like many destination spas, The Well NYC offers the benefits of western medicine with the wisdom of eastern healing.
It has a science-backed ecosystem of wellness where people have access to health coaches, doctors and 50 practitioners specialising in a range of modalities, from fitness and bodywork to food as medicine and mindful movement. Also on offer are Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, vibrational energy healing and emotional wellbeing.
Unlike destination wellness offerings, however, this is all available in the middle of one of the busiest cities in the world – New York.
The Well is a first of its kind, says co-founder and CEO Rebecca Parekh. “Consumers are becoming more conscientious about their health,” she explains, “but with so many different offerings in the health and wellness space, they find themselves running around town and often receiving conflicting advice.” Instead, staff at The Well “work together under one roof to build customised plans to suit each member”.
Parekh is no stranger to the wellness world. For the past five years, she’s been a COO for Deepak Chopra, working to secure federal funding for integrative health research. As a former Deutsche Bank executive, she’s also a shrewd businesswoman.
The idea behind The Well is to help “busy New Yorkers to live healthier, happier, more balanced lives,” she says. And demand is clearly there. Although it’s only been open a few weeks, there are already 400 members and the goal is to ramp this up to 2,000. Each of them pays a US$375 (€334, £302) a month, plus a one-time registration fee of US$500 (€446, £403).
For this, they get a monthly, personalised session with a dedicated health coach, plus support between visits, unlimited yoga and meditation classes and are privy to a variety of classroom programmes. They also have access to the skilled practitioners, but will pay for sessions – a 60 minute, Swedish massage starts at US$180 (€161, £145) for example.
In addition, they can enjoy amenities at the 13,000sq ft club, which include a private training gym, 10-treatment room spa with steam and sauna rooms, an organic restaurant and vitamin bar, reflexology lounge, yoga and meditation studios. “We have something for everyone,” concludes Parekh.
