HOLIDAYS to catch up on sleep. But snoozing was rarely a main selling point for them until a few years ago, when resorts everywhere began offering accommodation and services aimed at curing people of their deficit of sleep. Some sleep holiday innovations include pillow menus and special mattresses. Here are a few sleepcations from around the globe that look especially tempting.
Lefay Resort and Spa Lago di Garda, Gargnano, Italy
Insomnia isn’t invited to this eco-friendly hillside hideaway, where lemon groves meet lily of the valley, and every suite boasts a lake view. The five-night Sogni d’Oro (Sweet Dreams) programme, based on the tenets of classical Chinese medicine, targets energy imbalances. After a 40-minute consultation - where you’ll be quizzed on dreams, digestion and more - guests are ushered through a series of personalised treatments, such as reflexology, acupuncture and moxibustion, a form of heat therapy that uses burning herbs. Programme is $2 600 (R37 000); room rates from $325 a night. Go to
Six Senses Yao Noi, Phang Nga, Thailand
At Six Senses Yao Noi on Thailand’s Phang Nga Bay, a restful night starts with an online questionnaire that lets a designated sleep ambassador “fine-tune” your room for maximum sleep conduciveness before you arrive. The resort also provides a handmade mattress, organic pillows and a duvet with “natural breathing and cooling zones”. For an upgrade, you can be equipped with a sleep tracker and a bag filled with bedtime accoutrements such as pyjamas, an eye mask, earplugs and a “jasmine sleep spritzer”. Sleep experience upgrade $165 for first night; room rates from $540 a night. Go to sixsenses.com
Canyon Ranch, Lenox, Massachusetts
In an age of information overload, Cindy Geyer, the medical director of Canyon Ranch Lenox, says sleep has become “a skill to be cultivated”. The all-inclusive resort in the Berkshires offers an evaluation of your sleep issues, including an overnight sleep study in a lab, where machines monitor your heart rate, body movements and more. The menu of interventions includes cognitive behavioural therapy, restorative yoga and the ever-popular lavender aromatherapy massage. Rates from $1000 a night. Go to