Come Together

With loneliness on the rise worldwide, health-minded resorts are leaning into the power of friendship.

- Jen Murphy

A sound session at Scorpios Bodrum

MY ABS ARE SCREAMING, but I haven't done a single sit-up. I'm lounging on a swinging daybed at The Retreat, a wellness resort hidden in the Costa Rican rainforest 45 minutes west of the country's capital, San José. My core workout is courtesy of my new friend, Marco, who put me in stitches recounting his first hot yoga class some years ago. “She told me a Speedo was mandatory,” he said, nodding in the direction of his wife, Anna, who was soaking in the hot tub. “Of course everyone was dressed in shorts and I looked like an Olympic swimmer.”

Ahãma's wellness space

I had met the couple two days prior at The Retreat's daily restorative yoga class and found myself reconnecting with them, and other guests, over mocktails and during hikes throughout my four-day stay. It was a delightful departure from my recent experiences at destination spas where the majority of my interactions were with clinicians and therapists behind closed doors.