Wellness is no longer an add-on in hospitality. It is increasingly the reason guests choose a destination, and then a hotel within it. It now reaches well beyond the spa, into the bedroom, the restaurant and the bar.
This article looks at how the shift is playing out in food and drink, which wellness brands are moving into hotels, and what it means for the people building and running them.
Why wellness went mainstream
Guests increasingly arrive tired and overstimulated, and they want somewhere that helps them recover. Trade press now describes recovery as a lasting shift in premium travel rather than a passing trend, and the Global Wellness Institute's 2026 travel trends paint the same picture: deep rest, breathwork and slow movement, time in nature, and privacy and quiet as the new status signals.
Food and drink sit at the heart of it. A wellness stay is not only the treatment room. It is what you eat at breakfast, what you order at the bar, and whether the restaurant makes the healthy choice feel like the good one.
Wellness food and beverage brands are moving into hotels
The most interesting development is that hotels are no longer building every wellness food and drink idea themselves. They are bringing in brands that already have a following.
Erewhon at Grand Wailea. The Los Angeles wellness grocer and café brand opened a presence at the Waldorf Astoria resort in Maui in January 2025, serving its kefir sodas, juices and partner products through the resort's Loulu café. It also created an exclusive Aloha Sunshine Juice inspired by Maui flavours. The resort's managing director called the partnership "a natural extension" of its wellness offering.
Sweetgreen with Function. In January 2026 the salad brand launched a functional health menu with the science-based health platform Function, built around nutrients such as omega-3s, fibre and antioxidants under the line "Eat What Loves You Back". It is not a hotel partnership, but it shows how far a mainstream food brand will go to put health at the centre of the menu.
Pillar Kitchen at Raffles London. Accor points to its nutrition-led menus as an example of making healthy choices appealing through pleasure rather than restriction.
The pattern is consistent. The wellness brand brings a loyal audience and a clear identity, and the hotel brings the setting and the guests. Both gain.
What guests want at the bar
Drinks are moving just as fast. The National Restaurant Association's 2026 What's Hot forecast lists low- and no-alcohol drinks and gut-friendly drinks such as kombucha and prebiotic sodas among the leading beverage trends, and says younger diners in particular want to take part socially without alcohol's downsides.
That does not mean taking alcohol away. A Hotel Online longevity piece suggests focusing on atmosphere and community, and treating mocktails and zero-proof options as a proper part of the offer rather than an afterthought.
What this means for developers and operators
Three practical lessons stand out:
Partner with a wellness brand that already has a following. It is faster and more credible than inventing a healthy concept from scratch, and guests recognise the name.
Make the healthy choice the pleasurable one. The strongest menus do not feel like a diet. They feel like somewhere you want to eat.
Treat drinks as seriously as food. A strong no- and low-alcohol offer, and a good functional drinks list, now belong in the concept from day one.
At Luxxe Hospitality we connect international restaurant, hospitality and lifestyle brands with hotels and developments. If you are a wellness food or beverage brand looking at hotel and resort venues, or a developer who wants the right wellness brand in your project, get in touch with Luxxe Hospitality
Francis Carroll is the founder of Luxxe Hospitality, an international F&B advisory specialising in placing world-class restaurant brands and culinary talent into hotels and mixed-use developments across Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. He has four decades of experience across 500+ projects in 20+ countries.
luxxehospitality.com