The Vessyl: Inside Costa Rica’s Most Immersive New Wellness Retreat

Set beneath the rainforest canopy of Costa Rica’s iconic Arenal Volcano, The Vessyl is ushering in a new era of luxury wellness travel. Designed for just 33 guests, the newly opened retreat blends immersive sound experiences, nature-led adventure and intentional hospitality into a deeply restorative escape that challenges the conventions of the traditional wellness resort.

At the heart of the experience is the groundbreaking Frequency Dome, a first-of-its-kind immersive sound sanctuary where guests don’t simply listen to sound, they experience it through vibration, spatial audio and visual immersion. Alongside the Harmonic Hearth, chef-driven dining and thoughtfully curated wellness programming, The Vessyl offers a holistic approach to wellbeing that places presence, connection and nervous system restoration at the centre of every stay.

Founded by wellness entrepreneur Josh Stanley, co-founder of Charlotte’s Web, The Vessyl represents a bold new vision for hospitality, one where cutting-edge innovation and the natural world exist in harmony. We sat down with Stanley to discuss the inspiration behind the resort, the philosophy shaping its immersive wellness experiences, and why he believes the future of luxury travel lies not in doing more, but in feeling more.

The Vessyl has just opened beneath Costa Rica’s iconic Arenal Volcano. For readers discovering the resort for the first time, what is The Vessyl, and what inspired its creation?

The Vessyl is the world’s first 4D Sound Wellness Resort, set on 118 private acres of rainforest beneath Costa Rica’s iconic Arenal Volcano. Designed for just 33 guests at a time, it combines immersive sound experiences, nature, movement, nourishing cuisine, adventure and luxury hospitality into one intentionally curated journey.

The inspiration came from years spent exploring the intersection of wellness, human performance and connection. I kept asking myself why wellness was often treated as something you visited for an hour at a spa rather than something woven into every moment of your experience.

We didn’t want to build another beautiful resort with wellness amenities. We wanted to create an entirely new category of hospitality, where immersive sound, nature and intentional design shape how guests feel from the moment they arrive until long after they leave.

Wellness means something different to every traveller. How would you describe The Vessyl’s philosophy, and how does it shape the guest experience from the moment they arrive?

Our philosophy is simple: You are the medicine.

We live in a world that constantly tells us the answer is somewhere outside ourselves, whether it’s a new supplement, another wellness trend or another optimisation. While those things certainly have their place, we believe one of the greatest sources of restoration already exists within us.

The Vessyl was created to help people reconnect with that.

We don’t believe wellness should feel clinical, intimidating or like another item on a checklist. Instead, we create the conditions where people can slow down enough to remember what balance actually feels like.

From the moment guests arrive, every element of the experience is intentional. The rainforest, the architecture, immersive sound, movement, nourishing food, adventure and moments of stillness all work together to quiet the noise of everyday life and create space for presence.

Luxury, to us, isn’t excess.

It’s having the time, space and environment to remember that you are the medicine.

The Frequency Dome is being described as a first-of-its-kind immersive sound sanctuary. What can guests expect during the experience, and what makes it unlike anything else in luxury hospitality?

The Frequency Dome is the heart of The Vessyl and the reason the resort exists.

Designed in collaboration with Grammy Award-winning acoustician George Augspurger, the Dome was purpose-built as a fully immersive sound environment where spatial audio, vibration, light and architecture come together in a way guests don’t simply hear, they experience.

Throughout the day, it hosts guided meditations, immersive yoga, breathwork, live music performances, thought-provoking conversations and signature sound journeys designed to create moments of deep presence and connection.

What makes it different is that it wasn’t added to an existing resort.

We designed the architecture around the experience itself.

Every detail, from the acoustics and technology to the physical environment, was created to support immersive sound as the centrepiece of the guest journey, making it unlike anything currently offered in luxury hospitality.

Sound is woven throughout many of the resort’s experiences. Why was it chosen as the foundation of The Vessyl’s wellness offering, and what role does it play in supporting relaxation, restoration and connection?

Sound is one of the few things every human being experiences before we’re even born.

Across cultures and throughout history, rhythm, music and vibration have been used to bring people together, create ceremony and foster moments of reflection.

Today, our lives are filled with constant noise and distraction.

We wanted to explore the opposite.

Research suggests that combining tactile vibration with immersive sound can engage multiple sensory pathways simultaneously, encouraging nervous system regulation, deeper relaxation, heightened body awareness and increased presence. Unlike a traditional sound bath, the experience is not simply listened to, it is physically inhabited.

At The Vessyl, sound becomes the thread that connects the guest experience. Whether someone is inside the Frequency Dome, participating in the Harmonic Hearth, listening to live musicians beneath the stars or simply sitting quietly in the rainforest, sound helps create moments where people feel more present, connected and grounded.

It’s less about escaping life and more about returning to yourself.

One of the resort’s most talked-about experiences is the Harmonic Hearth, which combines an ancient sweat lodge ritual with immersive sound and vibration. Can you tell us more about the concept and what guests can expect?

The Harmonic Hearth is one of the experiences guests talk about long after they leave.

Inspired by the ancient Mesoamerican temazcal tradition, we’ve thoughtfully combined heat, ritual, immersive sound and vibration to create an experience that feels both timeless and contemporary.

It’s not about reinventing an ancient practice. It’s about honouring its origins while thoughtfully integrating new elements that deepen the overall experience.

Many guests describe it as emotional, grounding and surprisingly powerful because it encourages them to slow down, breathe deeply and simply be present.

Beyond the signature wellness experiences, what does a typical day at The Vessyl look like? From dining and adventure to movement and moments of stillness, how do guests spend their time?

There really isn’t a single “perfect” day, and that’s intentional.

Some guests begin with sunrise yoga or meditation inside the Frequency Dome before enjoying breakfast overlooking the rainforest.

Others spend their mornings hiking near Arenal Volcano, exploring waterfalls, horseback riding or experiencing Costa Rica’s incredible biodiversity.

Throughout the day, guests can enjoy spa treatments, thermal experiences, movement classes, immersive sound journeys, chef-driven meals prepared with fresh, local ingredients, or simply spend time by the pool listening to the sounds of the rainforest.

Evenings often include communal dining, fireside conversations, live music and the Harmonic Hearth.

We believe some of the most meaningful moments happen when nothing is scheduled at all.

The resort welcomes just 33 guests at a time. How does this boutique approach create a more meaningful and personalised experience?

Keeping The Vessyl intentionally intimate changes everything.

With just 33 guests, our team has the opportunity to truly know every person who walks through our doors, not just their reservation, but why they’ve come and what they’re hoping to experience.

It also creates something increasingly rare in hospitality: space.

Space to breathe.

Space to think.

Space to connect.

Guests never feel rushed or like they’re sharing the experience with hundreds of other people, and that intimacy naturally creates deeper conversations and more meaningful connections.

Set within 118 acres of rainforest beneath Arenal Volcano, the location is extraordinary. How has Costa Rica’s natural landscape influenced the design of the resort and the experiences it offers?

Nature wasn’t simply the backdrop. It became our blueprint.

Everything was designed to work with the landscape rather than compete with it.

The architecture frames the rainforest instead of overshadowing it. The villas invite the outdoors in. Even the daily rhythm of the resort encourages guests to move with nature rather than against it.

Costa Rica has always represented biodiversity, sustainability and wellbeing.

Building beneath Arenal Volcano allowed us to create an experience where guests don’t simply admire nature, they become immersed in it.

Luxury wellness continues to evolve as travellers seek deeper, more intentional experiences. Where do you see The Vessyl leading that conversation, and what do you hope guests take away after their stay?

We can all agree that the wellness industry is evolving rapidly. People don’t only want massages, beautiful views or drinks by the pool. But let’s be honest, they still want those too, and we have them!

Above all, they want to be seen, heard, loved and accepted.

They want tools to bring home with them so they can show up with a little more patience and a lot more presence. A life where they go on vacation because they want to, not because they need to.

We don’t believe people are searching for another destination. We believe people are searching for purpose, for meaning and, most of all, for themselves.

I hope The Vessyl helps shift the conversation toward this type of wellness destination, where hospitality isn’t just about where you sleep, but how you reconnect with yourself, the people around you and the natural world.

If guests leave feeling calmer, more present, more inspired and with practices they can integrate into everyday life, then we’ve accomplished exactly what we set out to do.

Looking ahead, how do you hope The Vessyl will influence the future of wellness hospitality?

I hope The Vessyl encourages the industry to think differently about what wellness hospitality can become.

For too long, wellness has often been treated as an amenity, a spa, a fitness centre or a menu of treatments.

We wanted to create something where wellness informs every decision, from the architecture and programming to dining, movement, sound and human connection.

I also hope we help establish immersive sound as an entirely new pillar of luxury hospitality, not simply as entertainment, but as a meaningful way for people to slow down, reconnect and experience travel differently.

Ultimately, I hope people leave with more than memories of a beautiful place.

I hope they leave with a different relationship to themselves.

Because everything we do at The Vessyl comes back to one belief:

You are the medicine.

Our role is simply to create the environment where guests can rediscover that for themselves.

For more, follow The Vessyl here and visit Vessyl Home – Conscious Luxury