SIRO, One Za’abeel: Dubai’s ‘first fitness hotel’ is taking health technology to the next level | CNN

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Stepping into SIRO’s ‘recovery lab’ is more like walking through a space station than a spa. There are cryogenic chambers, non-contact sound therapy beds and an MRI-like infrared capsule that looks clinical rather than soothing.

“The industry is evolving,” says Desmond Cawley, hotel manager at SIRO, One Za’abeel. Self-described as Dubai’s ‘first fitness hotel’, catering to professional athletes and their fitness-centric lifestyles, it was designed in consultation with AC Milan football club, Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty and boxer Ramla Ali.

The 2,000-square-foot fitness center is packed with state-of-the-art equipment that can track and analyze performance, smart scales and body composition analyzers, and an app that helps guests customize their stay, from nutrition to exercise. Meanwhile, the rooms feature alarm clocks linked to the guest’s circadian rhythm and anti-gravity rocking chairs; and in the recovery lab, treatments are less about relaxation and more about muscle recovery.

“An example of that is the cryotherapy: great for (reducing) inflammation and kick-starting your metabolism,” says Cawley, adding that people generally need to have experience with ice baths before trying the freezer chamber, which is cooled to a crisp minus 85 °C (minus 121 Fahrenheit).

Another “cool piece of space-age technology” is the MLX i3Dome, which uses “far-infrared technology for muscle soreness,” says Cawley. This type of phototherapy has its roots in NASA’s experiments with red light therapy in the 1990s to increase plant growth in space and help heal wounds in astronauts. Since then, it has been explored for a variety of uses, including most recently, skin care. While the “dome” functions as a sauna, a phototherapy helmet provides a non-contact facial, with red light for collagen production, green light for antibacterial cleansing and blue light for “problem skin” such as eczema, psoriasis or acne.

These are specialized treatments, rarely found outside of boutique health centers—and certainly not in most hotels, which, even in the five-star category, have often treated fitness and health as “an afterthought,” Cawley says.

But wellness is now a multibillion-dollar global industry that brands like SIRO (and its parent company Kerzner International) are integrating into the foundation of their hospitality philosophy. Its Dubai location is just the beginning: SIRO, Boka Place in Montenegro will open later this year, and three more locations are already in the works.

“Everyone has a unique physiology, different health goals, expectations,” says Cawley. “Everything (we do) is about maximizing performance, reducing recovery time to get the individual back to doing what they love, whether it’s on the football field, the tennis court or the gym.”

This tech-centric version of wellness is a marked departure from the “Goopy Decade” of yoga, crystals and green juice detoxes, says Beth McGroarty, director of research at the Global Wellness Institute.

“It’s something that’s been popularized by billionaire technocrats who are chasing, in some cases, $2 million a year to try to fight death,” McGroarty says of the “super-medical, very high-tech, very complex” aggressive care strategy that is to appear. Known as “biohacking,” the trend includes longevity clinics and diet pills like Ozempic where people try to lower their biological age.

One factor driving this trend is the pandemic: not only did it create a need for “no-touch” treatments, but it also fueled a desire for more scientific health solutions, says McGroarty.

But high technology doesn’t always equate to science. “Some of it feels semi-scientific,” says McGroarty, pointing to nutrient boosts IV drips, which have very little evidence to support their effectiveness outside of the hospital as prescribed by a doctor. “Sometimes I think there’s a bit of scientific washing going on,” she adds.

SIRO isn’t alone in targeting sports travelers with high-tech treatments: fitness group Equinox opened its high-tech flagship hotel in New York City in 2019 and plans to open 33 properties over the next decade. Established spas SHA Wellness and Clinique La Prairie are both expanding beyond their European flagships, with the latter opening an “urban center for longevity” at One&Only One Za’abeel, just a few floors above Dubai’s SIRO.

And at home, people might not be using cryogenic chambers every night, but data-driven wellness is quickly becoming the norm. Most smartwatches can now collect medical information about your heart rate, sleep patterns and blood oxygen, and these wearables are “only going to get more sophisticated” and sleeker, like the Oura ring, a sensitive tracker that looks like jewelry, says McGroarty.

With the increased availability of creative AI, McGroarty sees even greater potential for smart analytics — but adds that there is a need to create boundaries and assess where it is useful. “We underestimate the stress and anxiety of being constantly connected — to work, to the news, to bad information, to social media,” she adds.

But not everyone is on board with this high-tech approach to wellness.

While “hard care” has been a growing space in wellness, so has “soft care.” In the rejection of the last decade of ultra-optimistic, ultra-commodified wellness practices, McGroarty sees more people – especially Gen-Z and Millennial women – adopting “ultra lo-fi, low-key wellness,” which places social experience and emotional. euphoria, such as “rotting in bed” and “hot girl walks.”

“People spend a lot on wellness and want radical simplicity,” she adds.

Even at SIRO, with all its state-of-the-art technology, Cawley has observed a growing interest in mindfulness activities such as meditation. “Historically, group exercise schedules had a lot more strength or cardiovascular training sessions. Now you see more mindfulness classes, like yoga and sound healing,” he says.

Of course, at SIRO, there’s even a high-tech alternative to this: “vibroacoustic therapy,” the equivalent of a gong bath. Lying on a massage table with a waterbed in the middle, guests wear noise-canceling headphones and listen to the carefully orchestrated sounds of waves crashing against a background of hypnotic synth music. The waterbed vibrates at the sound, it is believed releases stress in the body and SIRO says it is designed for those who struggle with sleep problems, stress, depression or anxiety.

Technology to help you disconnect may seem excessive, but for SIRO, health data integration is the future of wellness, providing guests with a data-driven, personalized wellness program.

“We want to use technology as a tool, as opposed to a distraction,” says Cawley.