It’s not easy to open a wellness center in the midst of a global pandemic.
But The Well managed to pull it off, recently launching a new space at Mayflower Inn & Spa in Litchfield County, Connecticut.
The uber-luxury Auberge resort, which merged the 100-year-old country hotel into its portfolio in 2018, recognized a like-minded leader in the wellness game and a chance to elevate the hotel’s popular spa — and thus, a partnership was born.
Talks for the project began in early March 2020 and were finalized (ironically) the day coronavirus lockdowns began, says Kane Sarhan, who founded The Well in Manhattan with partners Rebecca Parekh and Sarrah Hallock in December 2019.
The Well at the Mayflower, which launched in December 2020, is the brand’s first spin-off — just close enough to the city for a weekend getaway, especially for those still too nervous to hop on a plane.
(The company’s original location, in NYC’s Flatiron District, was forced to close during the pandemic, but is slated to re-open in April.)
The Well’s concept is simple: It’s a one-stop spot — or “holistic ecosystem” — for everything from regular gym classes and spa services to access to top medical-, health- and nutrition-focused coaches. The company also sells its own line of vitamins, supplements, essential oils and a 15-day cleanse. (Products are curated under the supervision of Dr. Frank Lipman, the go-to doc for celebs like Donna Karan and Gwyneth Paltrow.)
The founders’ backgrounds work, ahem, well for the concept: Parekh, is a former Deutsche Bank exec and COO for Deepak Chopra; Sarhan is the former brand chief for Starwood Capital Group’s 1 Hotels; and Hallock was a marketing exec at Vitaminwater, Bai, and WTRMLN WTR.
At the Mayflower Inn (where the hotel is also showing off a glamorous refurbish by celebrated interior designer Celerie Kemble), The Well’s focus is on Eastern and Western medicine and practices, which means traditional spa treatments offered alongside medical- and health-coaching sessions, and an option to take advantage of the outdoor setting, adding nature into the healing mix. Yoga, meditation, metaphysical tarot card and palm readings are also on the menu, along with midnight gong-baths on a vast, luscious lawn.
Think signature full-body reboots — a lymph drainage detox body treatment, for example, along with a “Biologique Recherche” facial that uses technology to micropuncture your skin and resurface it, too.
And then there’s the forest craniosacral treatment that has been known to leave clients in tears. In a good way — by releasing physical and emotional blockages that have cleared chronic neck pain and migraines.
“It is a light-touch massage that can be a very profound experience from a physical and spiritual perspective,” Sarhan says. “In a year of such craziness, the Mayflower is such an easy escape from New York to give your body a reset.”
And your whole being, too.