Everyone could benefit from kicking off the year with some stress-relieving self-care. And what better way to meet that need than by experimenting with new skincare regimens, fitness and community programs, longevity activities and recovery treatments?
Sometimes feeling refreshed means getting better sleep or connecting with nature. Even better is working on your wellness while pursuing your permanent New Year’s resolution to travel as often as possible.
That’s where the following Southern California hotels come in. From Santa Barbara to San Diego, these luxury properties have the newest amenities, active programming and rejuvenating spa offerings to help you work on your 2026 goals.
Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Golf Club & Spa
Carlsbad
The promise to exercise more was the most commonly made New Year’s resolution for 2026, according to a recent survey. Other studies tell us that the success of that goal usually hinges on finding workouts you enjoy. Use a stay at the Four-Star Park Hyatt Aviara as an excuse to quickly explore a variety of exercise options, including bungee fitness, aerial yoga, strength training, Pilates, Barre and HIIT with props, most of which are gratis to guests.
Some of the Four-Star Miraval Life in Balance Spa Aviara programming, like gratitude walks around Batiquitos Lagoon, takes advantage of the mild weather and natural beauty of the seaside enclave in San Diego’s North County.
Nurse sore muscles back to health after class with a spa treatment that incorporates herbal poultices or a magnesium soak.
The Peninsula Beverly Hills
A mountain of evidence links quality rest with heart and brain health, tissue repair, muscle recovery and increased immunity, so you shouldn’t sleep on a new package from Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Peninsula Beverly Hills and premier Swedish bed designer Hästens. Check into the 2,250 square-foot Peninsula Sleep Spa Suite, which, like all of the hotel’s other 194 rooms, was redesigned in 2025, and toast what is sure to be a fabulous night’s slumber atop the hand-stitched 2000T king mattress with Laurent Perrier Blanc de Blanc champagne and a five-course plant-based meal.
Further enhance the experience with a 60-minute massage at the Four-Star spa and goodies such as lavender sachets, aromatherapy candles, satin sleep masks, down booties and Margy’s collagen-soaked face masks to enjoy back in the suite. And if you want to re-create the magic at home, a chauffeured Rolls-Royce will drop you off for a private consultation at the Hästens store.
Conrad Los Angeles
To combat the toll that travel and jet lag take on the body and mind, book some “me” time in a touchless recovery cabin downtown at Conrad Los Angeles’ Four-Star spa. Each unit features a HigherDose Infrared PEMF Mat with low-frequency electromagnetic pulses for muscle relief as well as NuCalm Recharge sound therapy to calm minds and promote more restful sleep despite time zone changes. Plus, Normatec compression boots reduce swelling and improve circulation.
L’Auberge Del Mar
As longevity becomes an ever bigger and trendier component of wellness, hotels rush to add centers or partners that specialize in modalities that blend ancient healing practices, cutting-edge tech and research-backed science. Such is the case with this seaside resort, 30 minutes from San Diego International Airport. L’Auberge Del Mar, which already offers a spa, a fitness center and complimentary yoga, will launch a collaboration with LIVV Cardiff, the region’s first private health club. The experience begins with elevated in-room amenities, including a welcome mocktail kit, a fresh fruit platter, a LIVV-branded tote and water bottle, and Cymbiotika supplement samples. Guests are then whisked away to partake in a four-hour spa experience that includes IV therapy, 60 minutes in an anti-inflammatory hyperbaric oxygen chamber, a wellness injection of your choosing and a contrast therapy circuit. Other services, like biomarker testing or IPL (intense pulsed light), can be added.
The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel
Dana Point
As part of a recent $50 million makeover, the Four-Star spa at Four-Star The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel was reimagined as a coastal apothecary. One of the most popular new menu options, the Pacific Purification Ritual, requires a field trip down to the water’s edge. Once you’re there, plop down in the sand for an aura cleansing with white sage, a sound bath and guided meditation before plunging into the cold surf.
Afterward, with newfound clarity, plush robes and warming snacks, reposition near a fireplace to make mala bracelets, where each bead represents a set intention.
The Maybourne Beverly Hills
It may be winter in the 90210 and the Five-Star Maybourne Beverly Hills is landlocked, but that doesn’t mean guests aren’t already California dreaming of putting their toes in the water. For those looking to boost their fitness, there’s YOGAqua, one of the original stand-up paddleboard yoga classes founded by Sarah Tiefenthaler. The 60-minute sessions take place at the rooftop pool.
If you make it through the whole class without falling, reward yourself with one of Dante’s signature martinis — there are almost a dozen — and incredible views all the way to downtown.
Ojai Valley Inn
Golden State wellness often comes with a new age spin, and that is certainly the case at Four-Star Ojai Valley Inn, a historic 220-acre oasis in the foothills above Ventura that has a resident healer/psychic on staff.
Nancy Furst, who maintains a standalone studio on the property, is available for customizable journeys that tap into the region’s “spiritual energy” and might include sage cleansings, meditative drumming accompanied by Indigenous prayer songs and intuitive psychic readings using Native American wisdom cards, crystals and gemstones.
Yaamava’ Resort & Casino
Highland
Music lovers have long headed to Four-Star Yaamava’ Resort & Casino at the base of the San Bernardino Mountains to bathe in the uplifting sounds of their favorite singers and bands in the intimate theater. Now, therapists at Five-Star Serrano Spa are conducting rejuvenating symphonies of their own as the first and only U.S. spa to offer the Gharieni Augmented Massage, which synchronizes human touch with real-time therapeutic sounds via a high-tech bed.
The music changes based on speed, flow and the specific hand movements of the masseuse. The consequent vibrations travel throughout the body, creating a unique soundtrack every time.
Alisal Ranch
Solvang
2026 is the year of ear seeding, and Alisal Ranch, a refined rustic hideaway in Santa Barbara wine country, is just the place to try it. On February 20 to 22, Alisal will host its Restore & Renew winter wellness weekend. In addition to the standard inclusions like guided hikes across oak-dotted hillsides and fireside yoga, this year showcases hands-on workshops with acupuncturist/herbalist Sherrie Matthews on intention setting, gua sha and ear seeds.
Auricular acupressure is when tiny seeds or metal pellets are stuck on pressure points on the outer ear, which Chinese medicinal practitioners believe correspond to and stimulate specific body parts to fight a wide array of ailments, including migraines, back pain and poor digestion. Add equine therapy with the resident herd of horses to truly make your time on the ranch memorable.
Santa Monica Proper Hotel
Forbes Travel Guide Recommended Santa Monica Proper is redefining “room service” with two types of wellness-centric accommodations. Restorative chambers promise to slow their inhabitants down with Eight Sleep Smart mattresses, Jaspr air purifiers, Filterbaby showerheads and faucets, upscale Italian linens, hypoallergenic pillows and a Loftie alarm clock that simulates sunrise.
Meanwhile, the Performance Wellness Room serves people who prioritize movement. They come with Pelotons, a dedicated space for yoga or stretching, daily cold-pressed juice and access to the Proper Club’s Recovery Suite. The suite has an outdoor cold plunge, a cedar sauna, Joov red-light therapy, Hyperice tools and access to the Ammortal Chamber, which mixes infrared light, oxygen therapy and PEMF to restore the mind and muscles.
