Wellness clubs were just the beginning.
The news: Health-focused members club The WELL is pushing European expansion starting in Geneva, Switzerland, per Bloomberg.
Slated to open in 2026, the 20K-square-foot development will offer services ranging from fitness classes to cold plunges to Eastern medicine therapies, all overlooking Lake Geneva.
Changing course. More than a membership club, The WELL has tapped real estate and hospitality to grow beyond NYC.
With 12 locations in its pipeline, the company will open a wellness club, residence, and office combo in Miami next year, followed by additional South Florida properties.
Also taking up residency with Auberge Resorts, the wellness-focused hotel group has added The WELL installations in Costa Rica, Mexico, and Connecticut.
Why it matters: More than a gym or spa, social wellness clubs combine well-being and belonging.
And while The WELL helped set the mold in 2019, others are determined to break it:
- Tech-driven self-care, Remedy Place touts hyperbaric chambers, cryotherapy, lymphatic rollers, and more.
- Modernizing the bathhouse, Othership preaches group sauna, ice bath, and breathwork.
- Medical-wellness mashups, European clubs Lanserhof and Surrenne sell concierge care.
Australia’s Saint Haven and TotalFusion; Dubai’s SIRO and Six Senses Place; LA’s HUME and HEIMAT… every major population center seems to be gaining a hub.
Shifting the concept from third space to built environment, wellness microcities may be next.
Punchline: Diversified, The WELL allows its patrons to boost their health while elevating their social status — and being healthy, active, and connected is now the ultimate flex.
