Is it white robes and soft music?
For years, wellness has been sold to us in the same sort of way. White robes. Indoor pools. Soft music. Bowls of fruit and cucumber water in spotless rooms.
And whilst there is nothing wrong with any of that, more and more people seem to be craving something a little different now.
In 2026, wellness is becoming less polished and more natural. Less clinical and more connected. People are beginning to swap tiled spa corridors and treatment rooms for forests, hillsides, lakes, cabins and open skies.
The new luxury is not always about what is added. Sometimes it is about what is taken away.
Less noise. Less rushing. Less time spent looking at screens. Less pressure to do and be everything all at once.
Instead, it is about woodsmoke in the air, bare feet on cool grass, the feeling of warmth returning to your hands after being outside, and sitting quietly enough for long enough that you can actually hear the birds.
That is why the idea of the “wild spa” is becoming so popular.
Rather than relying on treatments and timetables, the environment itself becomes part of the experience. A sauna with a view. A hot tub beneath the stars. A cold plunge that makes you gasp before you laugh. A walk through wet grass in the morning. A coffee on the porch wrapped in a blanket while the hills wake up around you.
At Quabbs Cabin, we have perhaps always leaned towards this slower, wilder kind of wellness without really thinking of it as a trend.
Our Sauna Shack sits tucked into the landscape, made from wholly reclaimed materials from the farm itself, with wide views across the meadow. There is a cold plunge right outside the doors, adapted, by Paul, from a reclaimed sherry barrel, and a cold rainfall shower made from a watering can tucked amongst the trees if you are feeling brave. Then, of course, there is the wood-fired hot tub — one of our favourite places to watch the stars come out after dark.
There is something about moving between heat and cold, indoors and outdoors, stillness and fresh air, that seems to make people breathe more deeply and slow down properly.
You do not need to “do” much here.
Sometimes wellness is simply lying in bed with the windows open and hearing sheep in the meadow. It is reading a book in the rocking chair on the porch. It is standing outside in the morning with a mug of coffee in your hands and no real plans for the day. It is going home feeling quieter in your mind than when you arrived.
And if you would like a little extra indulgence during your stay, you can even book a massage from Aggie, our travelling masseuse. She comes to the cabin itself, so you can enjoy a treatment without ever having to leave your cosy little hideaway. It really is such a lovely addition to a stay and feels wonderfully indulgent.
Perhaps that is why this kind of wellness feels so appealing now.
It is not about perfection.
It is about reconnecting with the things that make us feel human again — fresh air, silence, warmth, darkness, birdsong, trees, stars and time.
Time to switch off.
Time to slow down.
Time to feel like yourself again.
