I just got back from SHA Wellness in Mexico.
I learned more about my body in four days than I have in the last decade of annual checkups.
This wasn’t a spa vacation. It was a full diagnostic and preventative health experience designed by medical doctors.
And it completely changed how I think about what wellness hospitality can actually deliver.
The origin story
SHA Wellness Clinic was founded by Alfredo Bataller Parietti, a successful real estate developer who spent 30 years battling chronic health issues that conventional medicine couldn’t fix.
His turning point came when he discovered the transformative power of integrative medicine, particularly macrobiotic nutrition and natural therapies.
He healed himself. Then in 2008, he opened SHA Wellness Clinic in Alicante, Spain with a mission: create a sanctuary where others could experience the same life-changing transformation.
Since then, SHA has become the most awarded wellness destination in the world. “World’s Best Wellness Clinic” four consecutive years from 2022-2025. Nearly 100 international awards total.
The celebrity clientele includes Naomi Campbell, Kate Beckinsale, Barbra Streisand, and Kylie Minogue.
In 2023, more than 53% of SHA Spain’s guests were returning visitors – testament to results that actually work.
The SHA Method: What makes it different
What set SHA apart from every other wellness destination was something Bataller Parietti pioneered called the SHA Method.
This isn’t a spa with some medical treatments added on. It’s a complete system built on nine interconnected pillars:
- Healthy Nutrition – Personalized macrobiotic-inspired cuisine
- Natural Therapies – Traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, osteopathy, energy healing
- Preventive & Healthy Aging Medicine – Genetic testing, regenerative medicine, proactive healthcare
- Advanced Aesthetics – Non-invasive treatments enhancing natural beauty from the inside out
- Cognitive Stimulation – Brain health programs and cognitive enhancement
- Emotional Health & Inner Balance – Mindfulness, meditation, yoga, psychological support
- Physical Performance – Personalized fitness with state-of-the-art equipment
- Holistic Medicine – Integrative approach addressing interconnectedness of body, mind, spirit
- Learning & Empowerment – The Healthy Living Academy teaching guests to maintain wellness at home
This is integrative medicine at its finest.
SHA employs over 500 professionals across more than 50 specialties. Every guest gets a multidisciplinary team collaborating on their personalized program.
The philosophy: “Add years to your life, and quality of life to your years.”
SHA offers programs ranging from 4-night introductions to intensive 7+ night transformations:
Rebalance & Energize – Restore vitality, reduce stress
Detox & Optimal Weight – Body cleansing, healthy weight management
Advanced Longevity – Slow cellular aging through regenerative medicine
Leader’s Performance – Optimize high-demand lifestyles
Tailor-Made – Hyper-personalized programs
SHA Mexico: Bringing the method to the Caribbean
In January 2024, after 15 years of perfecting the SHA Method in Spain, the Bataller family opened their second location in Costa Mujeres, Mexico.
Within one year, it won “World’s Best New Wellness Retreat.”
The architecture alone is revolutionary. Designed by Sordo Madaleno, SHA Mexico’s building is inspired by the double helix structure of human DNA. Curves everywhere. Cantilevers. Biophilic design throughout.
100,000 square feet of wellness facilities. 100 treatment rooms across six stories. 100 oceanfront suites overlooking the Caribbean.
SHA Mexico has two restaurants: SHAmadi for the signature SHA menus based on macrobiotic principles, and Earthy for live-fire Caribbean seafood. They have an on-site ecological garden growing much of the produce. True farm-to-table.
But here’s what sets SHA apart from every other luxury wellness resort:
They see themselves as clinical first. Longevity and health are the main thing.
The stunning building, the infinity pool, the pristine Caribbean beach, the architecture – all of it is almost tertiary.
At any other property, those would be the main selling points. Here, they’re just part of the overall incredible experience.
And I can say that for certain as I just spent four days there and had my mind blown.
Here’s what I learned.
How it actually works
You don’t just show up and book spa treatments.
Day one is comprehensive diagnostics.
Body composition analysis. 3D body scanning showing exactly where your muscle mass and fat are distributed. Cognitive testing. Heart rate monitoring. Physical stress assessment. Mental stress assessment. Vascular age testing to see how efficiently blood is pumping through you.
Then you meet with your dedicated agenda planner who’s been coordinating with you before you even arrived. You customize your entire program based on the diagnostic results.
I added hyperbaric chamber and advanced cell regeneration therapy to mine. My wife Allison got the Abhyanga massage – a treatment that mixes ancient Mayan rituals and chakra work with clinical medical-grade massage.
Everything is personalized, nothing is generic.
The gut health breakthrough
I’ve had stomach issues for 20 years.
I’ve tried everything. Elimination diets. Every probiotic supplement I can find. I’m literally just jamming myself with as many billion probiotics as I can get. If I find 100 billion, I’m using it.
But I realized I’ve been guessing the entire time.
At SHA, I met with Dr. Maria Riberos, a gut and sleep specialist. She showed me a GI mapping test I’d never even heard of – a full diagnostic of your microbiome.
What enzymes do you have plenty of? What are you deficient in? Do you have H. pylori affecting you?
The test can determine exactly which probiotic strands you’re deficient in and which digestive enzymes you need. They can prescribe targeted supplements instead of you just guessing.
For 20 years, I might have been giving myself way more of probiotics I already had plenty of while staying deficient in the ones I actually needed.
This is the difference between conventional medicine and SHA’s integrative approach. They diagnose root causes and create targeted solutions.
Physical stress vs mental stress
Here’s what surprised me most from the diagnostics:
My mental stress score was low. My resilience from a mental stress standpoint was solid.
But my physical stress score was through the roof.
It tracks. I’m in constant go-go-go mode. Between the kids, running Onera, building Oasi, developing Baya – I’m running from one thing to the next every second of the day.
The recommendations were specific:
Breathing techniques every couple hours. Pranayama breathing before bed to help get into deep sleep faster. Eating three to four hours before bed because digestion disrupts how fast you can get into that restorative deep sleep phase.
Deep sleep is my weakest area – I rarely get more than an hour per night. Plenty of REM, but not enough deep sleep.
More deep sleep promotes recovery and reduces that physical stress my body is constantly under.
This personalization is core to SHA’s approach. They don’t give everyone the same protocol. They design treatments specific to your biology.
The treatments you won’t find anywhere else
SHA Mexico offers treatments and technology I’ve never experienced at this level:
Hyperbaric chamber: One hour in a room overlooking the ocean. Honestly the dopest setup you could imagine for this. Used for accelerated healing and recovery.
Bioenergy assessment: They map where energy is flowing well in your body versus where it’s blocked using advanced diagnostic technology. Then they use that data to inform a completely custom acupuncture session.
The acupuncturist identified blockages in my gut, my foot, and my jaw – without me telling him about any of them. I’m a big grinder at night and have a night guard for it. He caught it immediately.
That session released tension I didn’t even know I was holding.
Advanced cell regeneration therapy: This one stood out most. I felt genuinely revitalized and energized after it. If I go back, I’m doing this again.
What shocked me most: the hospitality
I expected cutting-edge medical treatments and diagnostic technology.
I didn’t expect the hospitality to be this good.
Our dinner hostess was the warmest, most welcoming person we met. Genuinely brightened our day every night we walked into the restaurant. The wait staff was incredibly attentive and anticipatory. Service was fast.
The agenda planner felt like what Danny Meyer talks about in Unreasonable Hospitality – a dream leader who makes the impossible happen.
When my wife mentioned she really wanted to see a cenote, the guest experience team found a private tour operator who took us to Boca de la Puma after hours when it’s normally closed. They pulled this together with less than 24 hours notice.
We jumped into crystal-clear water from a 15-foot ledge inside a cave with bats flying around. It was surreal.
All because the team cared enough to make it happen.
The food paradox
No alcohol. No coffee. No red meat. Dairy-free. Primarily plant-based with some fish.
Sounds restrictive, right?
But it was legitimately the best food experience I’ve had at a wellness property.
SHA’s culinary program is based on macrobiotic principles inspired by ancient Eastern knowledge and modern nutritional science from Harvard Medical School and the World Health Organization.
I met with a nutritionist on day one who customized my entire meal plan. She looked at my muscle mass relative to my body weight and gave me extra protein. She knew I was sensitive to fructose, so she minimized fruit. We went through my supplements together.
SHA offers three menu options depending on your program:
SHA Menu – Most comprehensive and gastronomic
Biolight Menu – Intermediate with smaller portions
Kushi Menu – Most restrictive for intensive detox and weight control
Every meal felt like fine dining. Amazing taste. Beautiful sauces. Sensory experience. Textures.
They did incredible things with what’s essentially rabbit food.
It didn’t feel clinical. It felt like a Michelin-level experience that just happened to be incredibly healthy.
Wellness vs longevity
I saw an article recently claiming “wellness is out, longevity is in.”
I think that’s misframed.
Most people don’t care about living to 120. They care about what SHA calls “healthspan” – living well and feeling better for as long as possible.
That’s the blend SHA nails.
It’s not about adding years. It’s about adding quality to those years.
And the results speak for themselves. 53% return rate at SHA Spain. Nearly 100 international awards. Celebrity clientele who could go anywhere choosing to come back here.
What operators can learn from this
SHA does something most hospitality properties don’t:
They have a strong guiding light and mission. The entire staff is bought into the SHA Method. They’re knowledgeable about it. You can feel that every person believes their work actually matters and impacts people.
That sense of purpose comes through in everything. The thoughtfulness around the food. The personalization of treatments. The care in every interaction.
It’s a night-and-day experience compared to showing up at a doctor’s office for 30 minutes and going home.
For diagnostic work, preventative treatment, targeted therapies – I’d so much rather do this than traditional medical visits.
And here’s the thing: SHA sees themselves as clinical first. But they also nail the building, the pool, the beach, the hospitality, the food.
Rarely do I visit a property that nails it on all fronts like this.
It reminded me what we need to do at Baya, our next project in South Florida. The farm and nature immersion are our core. But we also need to nail hospitality, food, personalization, and create that sense of purpose among the team.
When your team feels like their work actually matters – when they believe in the mission – it shows up in every interaction.
That’s what makes a place truly transformative.
And that’s what SHA Wellness has built. A place where a founder’s personal healing journey became the world’s most awarded wellness destination. Where Western medicine meets Eastern wisdom. Where doctors design your meals and treatments based on your biology.
Where you actually learn more about your body in four days than a decade of annual checkups.
If you’re thinking about how to differentiate your property through storytelling and showcasing everything your property has to offer, let’s talk. At Oasi, we act as your outsourced Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Revenue Officer, giving you executive-level leadership backed by a full team of specialists in content, social media, ads, email, SEO, pricing & distribution strategy.
Fill out an inquiry here and let’s explore how we can work together.
See you next week.
— Ben Wolff
P.S. I’ve launched a separate newsletter for travelers and anyone who just wants to discover cool properties around the world. If that’s you (or someone you know), check out The Modern Traveler on Substack. Very different vibe from this one – less business strategy, more “here are incredible places you should know about.”
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