Is Traveling for Stargazing the Next Big Wellness Craze? These Hotels Are Betting on It

A growing body of research confirms that silent contemplation of the night sky can help reset your nervous system.Kosmos Resort/Bliss & StarsPersonally, I have never been good at quieting my mind. It has always raced with thoughts—even when I flow through sun salutations during yoga class. And when I finally arrive in savasana (resting pose) those thoughts become louder. It’s as if the stillness stimulates my brain. But something shifted while I was living in Maui throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. During those high-stress months, I found tranquility staring at the night sky.Each night, I’d retreat to the hammock strung between two palm trees in my backyard and watch the stars pop to life like silent fireworks in the heavens. Each evening provided a show far more entertaining than anything I could watch on television. Observing the constellations, the faint glow of distant planets, and the occasional shooting star left me with a sense of awe. And that awe did more than silence my racing thoughts—it felt as if it reset my entire nervous system.A geodesic villa at Kosmos Stargazing Resort Daniel Scott JenkinsA time lapse of the night sky as seen inside the accommodations at Bliss & Stars Wilderness Retreat Elsa YoungA growing body of research confirms that what I felt wasn’t just some island reverie. We’ve long known that being in nature is good for us. However, most research has focused on daytime behavior; more recently, experts have started to look at nighttime behaviors. Inherently, the night is quieter and stiller than the day.“It naturally encourages us to shift into a different mode of awareness,” says Mark Westmoquette, an astrophysicist and meditation teacher who runs mindful stargazing retreats across the UK and Europe. “When the light fades, our other senses are heightened, helping us awaken vividly to the present moment.”Studies have shown that losing yourself in the night sky can help calm the nervous system and increase happiness. It also stimulates curiosity, and curiosity leads to wonder, says Westmoquette. “And wonder is the precursor to feeling awe,” he says. “Awe is well known to have a powerful positive effect on mental health.” Awe also produces a measurable ego reduction, says Heine Rasmussen, a Danish-born astrophysicist and co-owner of Bliss and Stars, a new retreat in Cederberg, South Africa. This psychological mechanism even has a name: the small self effect.“Your problems, your self importance, your mental chatter all briefly contract when you stargaze,” he says.The path leading up to the observatory at Cal-a-Vie Health Spa Cal-a-Vie Health SpaStargazing offers moments for contemplation that are rare in our daily lives. Cal-a-Vie Health SpaAstrotourism, meet wellness tourismEmerging research on the night sky and health has helped fuel the intersection of two of the biggest trends in travel: wellness and stargazing. New wellness resorts such as Bliss and Stars Retreat and Kosmos Stargazing Resort + Spa in Colorado’s San Luis Valley market the luxury of their light pollution-free, pitch black, star studded skies. And star bathing parties, solar hikes, and moonlight meditations have become the hottest offerings at spas, resorts, and retreats around the world. Cal-a-Vie Health Spa in California calls it galaxy wellness. The property recently introduced mindful solar hikes led by local astronomer Tim Lewis that conclude at the on-property observatory which houses a state-of-the-art Takahashi telescope. “My goal is to stimulate wonder,” says Lewis. “So often we just look and keep walking, but I encourage guests to dwell on the beauty of the sky.”The observatory at the Four Seasons Resort Lanai is home to a powerful PlaneWave PW1000 telescope that brings the minute details of the night sky to the fore. Four Seasons Resort LanaiThe observatory at Four Seasons Resort Lanai in Hawaii boasts a high-tech, PlaneWave PW1000 telescope used for identifying celestial bodies such as planets, star clusters, galaxies, and nebulae. But the telescope isn’t used for astrowellness programs, like meditation under the stars. “The experience is less about identifying stars or constellations, and more about reconnecting with the light within,” says Caroline Reese, wellness supervisor at Four Seasons Resort Lanai. Through moments of opening and closing the eyes, participants experience the changing layers of the starry night while entering a space of reflection, stillness, and presence, she explains.Whether you use a telescope or the naked eye, you still get benefits, says Dominc Vertue, Project Lead of the Astronomy for Mental Health Project at the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development in South Africa. “A telescope narrows attention and may add learning, discovery, and engagement,” he says. “Naked-eye viewing gives a broad, immersive sense of the sky and may better support awe and restoration.” And while actively trying to identify objects can create more focus, letting the mind drift can be more contemplative and calming, he says. “A good session might combine both: a little guided noticing, then some quiet open-ended looking. This fits with attention restoration theory, where ‘soft fascination’ can hold attention gently without demanding too much effort.”Bliss & Stars Wilderness Retreat overlooks the rugged terrain of Colorado's San Luis Valley. Elsa YoungCultural storytelling in the starsFor centuries, cultures around the world have harnessed the power of the night sky. More and more spas are tapping into those cultural connections. On Maui, Kilolani Spa at the Grand Wailea, a Waldorf Astoria Resort is named for the stargazers of ancient Hawaii who used the skies to navigate. The spa’s concept centers around Hawaii’s three lunar phases, and treatments range from new moon Aires somatic sound healing sessions to a full moon sound healing and cacao ceremony. “For native Hawaiians, one aspect of wellness is grounding and connection and the stories in the night sky help keep us grounded,” says Kalei Uwekoolani, Director of Culture at Grand Wailea. “And while the eyes can see the stars, moon, and maybe some planets it’s what they cannot see in the cosmos that creates that universal connection.”For the Maya civilization, the sky was a sacred space filled with spiritual meaning and knowledge, says Jimmy Herrera, a member of the Quintana Roo Astronomy Society who leads a Maya stargazing experience at Maroma, a Belmond Hotel, Mexico’s first Starlight Accommodation certified by the Starlight Foundation. “Stargazing allowed the Maya to understand the cycles of life and maintain a deep relationship with the universe,” he says. “Today, stargazing can be considered a wellness practice partly inspired by this ancestral vision. By stepping away from daily distractions and focusing attention on the vastness of the universe, individuals can experience a sense of calm and connection with their surroundings.”Celestial glamping expeditions from Santa Fe's Inn of the Five Graces are timed to rare astronomical events, like the Perseids meteor shower, and take place in some of the American Southwest's most sacred and protected landscapes, including Chaco Canyon and the Taos Plateau, both International Dark Sky sanctuaries. Run in partnership with operator Heritage Inspirations the trips feature stargazing experiences led by a Cultural Astronomer who connects the ancestral significance of the night sky.Dinner at Eden Roc Cap Cana takes place at the cenote (where the nighttime stargazing experience is also based). Eden Roc Cap CanaAll the starbathing bells & whistlesStorytelling, gentle guidance, breathing, or calming sound could deepen the stargazing experience for some people, according to Vertue. “The best enhancements are those that help people slow down, feel safe, notice carefully, and make meaning from what they are seeing,” he says. Resorts and retreats are getting creative. At Six Senses Kanuhura in the Maldives, moonlight meditations are accompanied by a soundtrack of singing bowls and ocean waves and the star bathing experience at Eden Roc Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic takes place inside the property’s natural cenote and includes energy work. In the Scottish Highlands, star-bathing parties organized by Cairngorm Excursions feature a spirits tastings of gins and whiskies from a local distillery. And in the Florida Keys, Little Palm Island’s new $50,000 Moonlit Soak experience includes a Champagne sail aboard a 36-foot Hinkcley beneath a waxing gibbous sky, lunar-inspired baths soaks, and a moonrise photography session.But galaxy wellness doesn’t have to break the bank. All you need is a clear, dark sky, says Westmoquette. DarkSky International has a searchable database of the world’s starriest skies and glamping company Under Canvas has six DarkSky-certified camps throughout the US. “I’d say put aside the telescope, binoculars, star maps, and constellation guides; lie on a blanket or sun lounger; and open your senses to what’s around you—sounds, smells, feelings, and sights,” says Westmoquette. It takes around 20 minutes for your eyes to fully adjust to the dark, so start with eyes closed and listen and feel, he says. Then open your eyes and observe. If you have trouble concentrating, try listening to one of Westmoquette’s mindful stargazing meditations.“Like all mindfulness practice, the longer you do it and the more often, the greater the effect,” he says. “And when you find awe on a regular basis, you feel connected, and it reminds us of our true place in the cosmos.”