All my life I have categorized myself as a “good” sleeper. My evidence is mainly based on the fact that I can fall asleep pretty much anywhere, sleep ridiculously long, and rarely wake up during the night.
But recently I’ve come to the realization that the amount of sleep I get doesn’t always necessarily translate to quality of sleep I get: I often stay up late, end up oversleeping, and usually feel tired all day, all of which are red flags telling me to take action. So, in the health, well-being and “sleep maxing“, I decided to chase after a good night’s rest – by going on a trip to Mexico, of course.
Thanks to Hilton Honors and the American Express team, I was whisked away to Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal to experience the luxury amenities of the property, invest in some R&R and hopefully come out the other side a new person (or at least with a new sleep routine).
A growing number of people are seduced by sleep tourism, a trend that involves traveling with the stated goal of improving sleep. Hotels and resorts have begun offering sleep-related packages, which often include sound healing, guided meditations, spa visits, pillow menus and state-of-the-art sleeping accommodations.
Some are more intense than others: For example Preidlhoflocated in northern Italy, offers a program that includes a comprehensive sleep analysis – tracked by a small device worn by visitors – along with a personalized sleep massage, sleep rituals, acupuncture, as well as sound and quartz classes. Oh, and everything is overseen by sleep experts and an on-site doctor.
Absurd? Maybe, but travelers are into it – according to Hilton’s 2025 Trend Report49 percent of travelers said one of the reasons they plan to travel is to rest and recharge, and two-thirds of respondents say they sleep better in hotels. And from 2020 to 2022, wellness travel increased by 30 percent annually, according to Global Wellness Institutewith spending on these experiences rising 36 percent each year.
Experts featured in this article
Phyllicia Bonanno is an Alo Moves instructor specializing in yoga and meditation.
May. Allison BragerPhD, is a neurobiologist with expertise in sleep and circadian rhythms for the US Army.
Admittedly, I’m not the kind of person who takes wellness trips. When I travel for pleasure, I try to pack in as much as possible: sightseeing, going on adventurous side quests, and eating and drinking my way through wherever I land, often exhausted and feeling like I need a vacation from my vacation when I get back .
But what I have learned in my short time on earth is that traveling is not the same as vacationing. To travel is to go and experience a new place and culture; it requires effort, time and energy. Vacations, on the other hand, usually involve going and specifically prioritizing relaxation. It’s supposed to give you total refreshment and escape from the daily, hectic life, and mixing the two can cause a serious rift in your sleep schedule. So I embarked on an intentional sleep vacation with one goal in mind: to rest and recharge as much as possible.
The itinerary for the trip was a sleepy girl’s dream: slow morning yoga, poolside leisure, sound baths, spa treatments, and mindful yoga classes taught by Phyllicia Bonanno, an Alo Moves instructor who has been on sleep vacations before (and highly recommends them). And while I thought I could get away queening in Cabo I was very wrong. The trick to optimizing rest, says Bonanno, is to still be active. “Moving your body throughout the day is really important for rest,” she says. “If you’re always resting, it’s not beneficial. If you’re always moving, it’s not beneficial. You need the two of them.”
Our mornings began with a yoga practice led by Bonnano, and our afternoons were free for us to roam the property on our own terms. I posted. I ordered an absurd amount of nigiri by the pool. I drowned in my room’s personal plunge pool. I spent time at the spa—which, thanks to the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, allows hotel guests to earn 14X Hilton Honors points on property purchases, including spa services—and received a lymphatic drainage massage that may have changed my life.
I didn’t work or think about work—at least I tried—and I spent the evenings hanging out with the other people on the trip, eating excellent food (and drinking even better tequila), and participating in relaxing sound baths and even a gratitude-focused cacao ceremony. And of course I slept.
“Sleep is another form of food for our bodies and our minds,” says Bonnano. If so, I was fed. Between 10pm and midnight every night I was back in my room getting ready for sleep. My normal bedtime routine mainly consists of skin care and doom scrollingbut once tucked away in the 400-thread-count sheets, I made a conscious effort to only use my phone to listen to self-guided meditations courtesy of Alo Move’s QR code on my nightstand.
The rooms were equipped with custom Waldorf Astoria mattresses (which I can’t stop thinking about now that I know they can be purchased online) and lush pillows equipped with silk pillowcases. I brought my own silk sleep mask to cover my eyes, but also used the huge blackout curtains to block light from entering the vicinity. And even though my room wasn’t too close to the beach, the waves were still audible enough to lull me to sleep.
I got more than seven hours of good sleep every night, and by the time I was ready to leave the Waldorf Astoria and go home, I was in full zen mode. My mind felt clearer. I felt more grateful and free of my persistent brain fog, all of which spilled over into my non-vacation life and sleep cycle. During those few days, I did absolutely nothing either – and I feel better for it. “Eighty percent of Americans are chronically sleep-deprived, so if you spend a vacation resting and recuperating, you’re setting yourself up for success afterward in paying off that sleep debt,” says neurobiologist Maj. Allison Brager, PhD. told me when I got home.
Of course, we cannot ignore the inherent privilege that comes with being able afford to take a vacationespecially a trip completely focused on resting and relaxing. People have jobs, kids, families, and responsibilities, and putting them on hold to focus on yourself is a huge benefit. But you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on a hotel sleeping package. You can still reap the benefits of prioritizing rest, even if you’re at home.
Dr. Brager recommends focusing on the SLANT acronym, which stands for Surface, Light, Air Quality, Noise and Temperature. “(When) you sleep on a good surface, you control the light, you have good air quality, you can control the sound and you sleep in a cool environment, then you get a much better night’s sleep,” she says.
Prioritizing quality sleep has become imperative for me since returning from Mexico. Instead of feeling guilty about not doing something every now and then, I’ve reframed it as necessary for my well-being and putting myself first—two things we should all be doing more often.
Elizabeth Gulino is a freelance writer covering trends, wellness and all things lifestyle. Previously, she was a senior staff writer at Refinery29. Her work has been featured in Cosmopolitan, PS, Bustle, Wirecutter and more.
