Welcome to the third iteration of Vogue’s global spa guide, a compendium of the 100 best spas in the world, compiled based on first-person reviews and careful editing. This year, we’ve renewed our focus on establishments that have established a reputation for exceptional care of body and mind, though there is a great variety in the list. Whatever you are seeking when it comes to wellness, there is something here for you.
Why go here?
Lanserhof Sylt defies easy categorization—“spa” undersells it, “medispa” gets closer, but neither quite captures the life-changing experience of a stay here. At its core, this wellness destination in the Frisian Islands of northern Germany is grounded in longevity: specifically, the Mayr Method, where diagnostics, monitored fasting, and gut-focused protocols replace the typical spa menu. People come when they’ve hit a wall—when they’re feeling burned out, depleted, or simply aware that something is off. Many also come to fix the gut, which underpins the entire Mayr philosophy: digestion, immunity, energy, and mental clarity are all traced back to the same source. Others come for the monitored fasting and metabolic reset—graduated diet levels, blood work, diagnostics—approached with a rigor you won't find anywhere else.
But the location alone turns out to be as much a part of the cure as anything prescribed here. Traditional Frisian island cottages with curved thatched roofs, a path that leads straight to the ocean, sea grasses swaying with the wind. There's a stillness here that does something to you before the treatments even begin—and the digital detox only makes that reset complete.
How does it work?
The main tiered programs, the Cure Classic and Cure Classic Plus, include a schedule of personalized nutritional guidance, medical consultations, diagnostic tests, targeted treatments, and daily therapies, all built around the Mayr Cure. Founded by Austrian physician Dr. Franz Xaver Mayr around 1920, the core premise is simple: modern eating habits, characterized by “too much, too fast, too often,” are linked to chronic disease. His cure focused on resting, cleansing, and retraining the gut through monitored fasting, mindful eating, and digestive detoxification. Lanserhof has since evolved the classical Mayr Cure into a more modern framework. “We combine naturopathic therapy with school medicine,” explains medical director Dr. Jan Stritzke. “And I think this combination is great, because most of these chronic diseases can be easily prevented—like heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, or diabetes—just with the early detection of the diseases. Most of the time, you don’t need drugs; just subtle changes to your lifestyle.”
How personalized is the experience?
What sets Lanserhof Sylt apart from other medical spas around the world is the refusal to apply a blanket fix. “I don’t like biohacking, because we all age in a different way,” says Dr. Stritzke. “The therapy that is effective for you might not help me.” So, the program is built entirely around you: your gut, your liver, your baseline. Your diet shifts as your stay evolves, moving fluidly from a gentle detox to something closer to a medically monitored fast, depending on what your body needs and how it responds. Some guests eat very little; others eat quite a lot. Everyone follows the same philosophy, yet no two experiences are alike. “The great advantage of the Lanserhof cure diet is that we can adjust it to the needs of the patient,” explains Dr. Stritzke.
A blood sample taken on arrival makes it possible to design a diet that adapts to wherever you’re at—recovering from chemotherapy, training for a marathon, managing food intolerances, dealing with sleep issues, or rehabilitating after a joint replacement. The through-line across all of it is food that is natural, organic, handmade, and easy to digest.
What’s the vibe?
From the moment you walk in, a sense of calm descends. An elegant white spiral staircase rises between the medical centre and the hotel reception. Along the wall leading to the dining room, a buffet table of fruit-infused waters, herbal teas, and supplements lines the passage; inside the restaurant, guests are seated at assigned tables throughout their stay, their nutritional plans already known to every member of the team. From my first day, that routine was part of the prescription: I was given bitter fermented drops before meals to support the liver and curb hunger, told not to eat carbs after dark, and was supplied with water at moments around eating, never during.
The vibe here is restrained, and a little clinical: there are no cavernous lounges or candlelit treatment rooms. An indoor-outdoor pool sits alongside a sauna, hammam, and relaxation room with views across the rugged landscapes. Throughout the day, guests move through the complex with their appointment books in hand, pausing in the fireside library with a book and a cup of tea, Sylt’s dunes and the North Sea always visible through the glass. Optional group activities, like Nordic walks, yoga or mobility classes, and evening seminars, punctuate the week, and e-bikes are available for those who want to wander deeper into the island.
The history?
Lanserhof’s underlying philosophy is partly based on the theories of turn of the century Austrian holistic physician Franz Xaver Mayr, originator of the Mayr method, a highly restrictive method involving the elimination of sugar, dairy, gluten, and caffeine for 14 days (remember the importance of the gut!). Many clinics throughout Austria were founded upon these principles, and it is the foundation for Lanserhof as well. The original company, Lans, was founded in 1984, and throughout the early 2000s, investments and extensive renovations were made to the various locations, making them the kind of place where oligarchs as well as artists and celebrities go for a draconian reset. The Sylt location opened in 2022.
What should you try?
Beyond the classic cure program, you can choose from hundreds of additional treatments to address whatever your body needs most. I particularly enjoyed my experience with Cellgym, which I received with an energy infusion IV. Cellgym is a non-invasive therapy where you breathe alternating low- and high-oxygen air through a mask. It gently activates your mitochondria (your cells’ natural energy engines) to support renewal, boost energy, and improve how efficiently your body functions. It’s ideal if you’re dealing with fatigue, stress, or metabolic issues. (I’d also recommend a facial with Gabi and a reflexology foot massage with Tobias.)
Lanserhof Sylt’s newest, exclusive offering is their Neuro Sleep Reset, which is a three-day intensive program (built into a seven-night stay) designed for people who struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep. Over 15 sessions, the nervous system essentially relearns what restorative sleep feels like, with results that last well beyond your stay and no medication involved.
How environmentally friendly is it?
With its emphasis on health above all, even the buildings have been constructed from health-friendly materials. Mentioned in almost any write-up of the spa is the fact that the central building contains the largest thatched roof in all of Europe. (Thatch is considered a particularly green building material.) Extensive insulation and other geothermal measures mean that whatever energy is expended is conserved as much as possible. A respect for nature is built into the fabric of this place.
What else should we know?
If you’re expecting a more spiritual or holistic medical spa, this isn’t it. Lanserhof Sylt is the most medicalized of all the Lanserhof properties, a distinction reflected in its practice of taking bloodwork on both arrival and discharge. And the specialists here are equipped to address a wide range of conditions. The facility includes cardiologists, gynecologists, urologists, general practitioners, internal medicine specialists, and orthopedic physicians, and the property even holds a clinic license, which allows it to accommodate patients with more serious illnesses.
Shorter-term stays are available: The standard Cure program is seven days, though some guests stay for months. For those with less time, Lanserhof recently launched four-day programs across all of its properties. Those briefer programs include the Longevity check with a focus on aging, a sports and meditation program, as well as a performance check, which is more diagnostic. And in order to optimize your experience, light preparations are encouraged. “Guests should reduce coffee intake in preparation, otherwise you will have a severe headache,” explains Dr. Stritzke. “Also, try to reduce the amount of carbohydrates, especially with sugar and alcohol, otherwise the change in your metabolism will take longer.”
Most importantly, you should think about what you want to take away from it—and how to incorporate the “Lanserhof way” into your ongoing lifestyle. Specialists, from fitness trainers to nutritionists, will work with guests to build plans they can take home in order to do just that. “The great thing is our guests are different from patients—they actually want to be here,” notes Dr. Stritzke. He encourages guests to continue with some fasting protocols at home. “In most men, longer fasting periods, such as 24 to 36 hours, may be well tolerated and can enhance metabolic flexibility, encouraging the body to efficiently switch between glucose and fat as energy sources,” he says. “For many women, particularly those under higher stress or with sensitive hormonal balance, shorter fasting windows—such as time-restricted eating or occasionally skipping dinner—are often more suitable.”
Who can go?
Lanserhof’s facilities are open only to guests.
--Adapted from Vassi Chamberlain
Booking details for Lanserhof
Address: Am Lanserhof 1-8, 25992 List, Germany
Read more from Vogue’s Global Spa Guide.
This spa has been re-evaluated in 2026 with additional reporting.
