Longevity clinics and hotels are multiplying quickly, and billionaires are pouring huge sums into new treatments. This article opens a weekly series on the industry, asking what science really knows about living longer and living better, and how much of the boom is driven by money rather than evidence.
The latest twist in luxury tourism is longevity hotels, where guests do not come to relax by the spa. Instead, they get blood tests, MRI scans and medical programs designed to detect hidden or potential disease, build prevention plans, and train them in a new lifestyle during the stay. The market is aimed mainly at the wealthy, with a week at such a hotel costing tens of thousands of dollars depending on the treatments, including more conventional care and some forms of biohacking, which is illegal in some countries. The World Longevity Clinics website compares elite longevity hotels by price, treatments and ratings.
Don So, CEO of Hong Kong clinic Humansa, which recently opened a branch at the Chedi Andermatt in Switzerland, told the South China Morning Post, “The rich invest time to buy themselves more time.” Individual properties each offer their own version of the concept. SHA in Mexico provides stem cell and exosome treatments, which are illegal in most of the United States. Humansa combines Chinese and Western medicine and emphasizes the health value of thin Alpine air. At Sensei Lana'i, founded by Larry Ellison, patients are treated by Dr. David Agus, once Steve Jobs’s personal physician.
One of the leading sites is Lanserhof Sylt in Germany, part of the Lanserhof longevity hotel chain. Guests there undergo extensive medical screening, including genetic sequencing, body fat-to-muscle ratio, liver and kidney function, heart stress testing, blood sugar, and vitamin and mineral levels. Medical director Dr. Jan Stritzke said these tests help identify inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, impaired cellular repair, microbiome imbalance and frailty. He said the goal is not only to warn patients what diseases to watch for, but also what is working well so they do not invest in the wrong areas. Asked why this is done in a hotel, he said most patients cannot get such a broad evaluation by one medical team in a few days, and that leaving routine life helps them focus on optimal health without daily stress.
Stritzke said short stays can produce immediate results such as better sleep, sharper thinking and less stress. More importantly, he said, each guest leaves with a small, specific list of changes that should provide the greatest benefit, based on leading science and their own data. Reviews from guests suggest strict diets, including a menu of only a few hundred calories, juices to aid digestion, and instructions to chew food a specific number of times, with one guest saying muscle pain during a fast was described as a natural effect. The guest still recommended the experience, describing the setting as beautiful and the health conversations as empowering rather than frightening.
