As wellness reshapes how Americans spend, the country’s heritage resorts are starting to feel the pull.

In PwC’s Voice of the Consumer 2026 survey, released last June, 80 percent of shoppers said they use an app or wearable for at least one health or wellness activity, and 58 percent now judge purchases by value, measurable results and personalization. For heritage properties long defined by golf, pools and grand lobbies, that shift is a reason to rethink the spa.

Among those leaning in is The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island. The historic resort on Florida’s northern coast has spent the years since the pandemic reengineering its spa into a wellness-forward hub — running everything from red-light pods to crystal-bowl sound baths — without shedding the brand’s heritage polish.

The economics help explain the push. The global wellness economy is projected to hit $9.8 trillion by 2029, according to the Global Wellness Institute, with spas and wellness tourism — up 14.6 and 13.8 percent respectively — among the fastest-growing segments.

“Our guests may not be checking into a destination spa, but they want destination-level wellness,” said Melissa Warren, the property’s assistant spa director. “Whether you’re somebody who’s worried about the way you look or [about] pain, it really doesn’t matter, because you’re going to get all of it.”

Building the Menu, One Device at a Time

The evolution has come in deliberate stages. “Core to wellness is calming inflammation — that’s where so much of the discomfort starts,” Warren said.

The hotel invested in a top-of-the-line, medical-grade TheraLight red-light therapy pod two years ago, and it became a breakout hit. Marketed not just for antiaging but for sleep, jet lag, skin conditions and inflammation, red light has category momentum: the global market, about $534 million in 2025, is growing nearly 10 percent a year. “Once we started getting guests into the TheraLight, the feedback would be, ‘Oh my gosh, I slept so wonderfully last night.’”

HydraFacial followed and is now the most popular facial on the menu; LPG endermologie, added this year, extended the focus from the face to full-body contouring, lymphatic drainage and post-travel recovery.

LPG endermologie taps another fast-growing corner of the wellness-luxury crossover: non-invasive contouring and lymphatic work, a device category expected to reach roughly $3 billion by 2029. First developed in Europe to treat burn patients, it uses motorized rollers and gentle suction to mobilize tissue and move fluid. At the spa, it draws two very different guests: vacationers who want to look their best in a bikini or little black dress, and those managing pain, post-surgical recovery or chronic inflammation.

“When guests say they saw immediate results, it’s because of that lymphatic drainage,” Warren noted. “You fit better in your clothes, and then you feel better about yourself.”

Feedback has been strong. “Guests often say, ‘I saw immediate results,’ it’s because of that lymphatic drainage,” Warren noted. “You fit better in your clothes, and then you feel better about yourself.”

Rituals, Retail and a Wellness Curator

Beyond the machines, the spa is betting just as heavily on ritual, anchored by their wellness experience curator who works with guests to create relaxation rituals that resonate beyond the stay. The crystal-bowl sound bath is her signature — a monthly after-hours, new-moon edition is the spa’s latest ritual launch — but her repertoire also runs to fire-circle meditations, where guests write down what they want to release and burn it; individualized yoga tuned to a guest’s flight or event, and mala bracelet-making for adults and children. MindSink chairs in both lounges pair audio with synchronized vibration, free to spa-goers.

Warren’s wellness lens extends firmly into retail. She said their boutique, now the top-performing spa shop across all The Ritz-Carlton properties, has a curated offering that resonates with guests. Personal care and beauty is one of the wellness economy’s steadiest engines, and the shop is among the highest-margin ways to capture it. Warren said their merchandise is an extension of the treatment room: Symbiotica’s high-dose liposomal supplements — vitamin C, magnesium and Irish moss sachets — sit alongside Neuromints adaptogen mints and H2 hydrogen tablets. Things that are the perfect take homes after red-light session, she said.

For a heritage resort not marketed as a pure wellness retreat, layered results have been the aim. “Families still come for golf and pool time while fitting in clinical-grade recovery that includes red-light pods, lymphatic tech and meditation chairs,” Warren explained.