Noctourism (the newly minted portmanteau of “nocturnal” and “tourism”) ranks among the biggest travel trends of the year. While much of the action revolves around exploring the natural world at night—whether catching a front-row view of the northern lights, stargazing, taking flashlight-lit walks through the woods, or going on twilight safaris—a growing segment of travelers is looking for something a bit more spa-like.
Luxury hotels are taking note, betting on wellness programming that trades revelry for restoration. At hotels and resorts around the world, the promise of enhanced well-being has piqued the interest of frequent flyers, the health-conscious crowd, and the wellness curious. The benefits are innumerable. “After-dark wellness is more than ambiance, it’s biology,” says Edouard Grosmangin, managing director at Rosewood Mayakoba. “Aligning massage and ceremony with the body’s natural nocturnal repair cycle amplifies every restorative process, especially sleep.”
Diving into the waters of PM wellness doesn’t mean giving up booze entirely (or even for your whole vacation), and there’s certainly no rule saying you have to start slogging green juice either. For many hotels, it’s about giving guests more options for how to spend time after the sun sets. The stock formula of getting dressed up for dinner, followed by a nightcap, isn’t enough anymore. Travelers want variety in the evening. As the appetite for wellness increases, so do the hours it needs to be available. Because nighttime carries a different physiological and emotional cadence than daytime, properties are designing evening journeys that honor this slower rhythm. Think: full-moon meditations, stargazing sauna sessions, float therapy, guided breathwork, and other calming treatments wrapped in soft light and hushed acoustics.
If you’d rather indulge in a sound bath than a stiff drink, consider booking one of these nighttime wellness programs to feel your best before bed.
Rosewood Mayakoba, situated on a peaceful stretch of Mexico’s Riviera Maya, recently introduced an exclusive moonlit wellness series called Akbal (the Mayan word for “nighttime”). Available from 8 PM to midnight at Sense, A Rosewood Spa, the evening experiences—ranging from moonlit breathwork and moonrise Yin yoga paired with quartz sound bowls to vibrational massages under the stars and calming cocoa rituals—are designed for deep restoration. Guests can choose from à la carte offerings or curate a bespoke journey. All treatments take place in secluded outdoor settings, with the jungle providing a natural soundtrack.
Perched on the placid shores of Lake Geneva, at the foothills of the Alps, Hôtel Royal Evian is renowned by well-being-oriented Europeans and pond-hoppers looking for lakeside renewal. At the five-star resort, self-care isn’t limited to daylight hours. The expansive wellness center offers a full range of evening‑only treatments, including the signature moonlight bath (a jetted full-body water massage) and floating journeys. The indoor pool, sauna, hammam, snow cave, cold plunge, and outdoor hydro-contact circuit are all open until 11 PM for late-night relaxation.
FORESTIS is a Dolomites hideaway devoted to fresh, alpine air and feeling good. Guests seeking transformation or relaxation post mountain adventures can spend two hours in the solitude of the spa without another soul (save perhaps a romantic partner or pal). Offerings include a purifying mountain pine scrub, cleansing ritual, aromatic forest oil massage, salt bath, and steam. The pool and sauna are also available for private bookings for the late evening hours.
Cliveden House, a Relais & Châteaux country estate in Berkshire, puts pampering and pastoral pleasures on the PM menu. Cliveden Dusk Delight (an appropriately plush and clever title for after-hours self-care) invites guests to trade wellies for a fluffy robe and make good use of the spa facilities—take a dip in the indoor pool, warm up in the jacuzzi, sweat it out in the sauna—and relish a signature 60-minute treatment (the Deep Sleep treatment is circadian-syncing magic) as the light fades and the stars come out.
Nestled in the high-altitude village of Grossarl in the Austrian Alps, Hotel Nesslerhof promises travelers fresh off a full day of swooshing down the slopes a place to unwind in the evening. The property’s spa—known as one of the best in the Salzburg region—keeps its doors open until 10:30 PM on Wednesday, giving weary travelers ample time to indulge in the weekly candlelight soak and schvitz experience, which includes an outdoor sauna beneath the stars, a salt-water steam bath, and a soak in the heated infinity pool.
A luxury retreat ensconced in the lush jungle of Bali, Capella Ubud is a sanctuary of stillness. This sense of quietude permeates the evening spa services performed in guests’ tents. The 60-minute Deep Sleep Therapy combines targeted head, shoulder, and foot massage techniques and magnesium oil, aromatherapy, and salt to ease muscle tension and calm the mind and body. In lieu of a nightcap? Organic chamomile tea and Tibetan bowl sound healing. Consider booking the optional bath ritual, infused with relaxing essential oils and local botanicals.
Mii amo has earned accolades for its innovative and intentional approach to well-being. So it should come as no surprise to the wellness-savvy set that the all-inclusive destination resort has a robust evening lineup—including chanting, workshops to help understand dreams, and evening sound meditation in the crystal grotto sanctuary. If it’s pampering you’re after, the spa remains open until 9:30 PM, allowing guests extra time to unwind and indulge in signature treatments such as chakra-balancing, gentle intuitive massage, and Reiki during the nighttime hours.
For a swish beach vacation with a wellness bent, escape to Four Seasons Resort and Residences Anguilla. When you want that holistic hit after the sun goes down, the sanctuary spa awaits. A relaxing alternative to the typical dinner-and-drinks date, the Night Spa Experience is an alfresco ritual for two that begins with an aromatherapy steam, followed by an 80-minute massage in a star-lit oceanfront cabana. To cap it all off: bubbles, gourmet bites, and fluffy souvenir robes.
