A holiday at this Ibiza resort could help you live longer (yes, really)
Forget cooking classes – at Six Senses Ibiza, you can learn how to stay youthful for years.
Words by Ute Junker
Photos supplied
Don’t be fooled by the techno soundtrack drifting across the loungers by the pool. The crowd here at Six Senses Ibiza, sitting above a secluded bay on Ibiza’s northern coast, has nothing in common with the club kids who power the party scene down south. This clientele tends towards stylish linen wardrobes and deep pockets (high season rates are around 1300 euros a night, a wagyu beef burger will set you back 38 euros). Some have come here to chill out in the Spanish sun; for others, however, a stay at Six Senses Ibiza is part of a quest to live longer and better.
They are the ones switching between sunbathing and sessions in the hyperbaric chamber – yes, the same equipment used by divers suffering from the bends. Sitting inside the chamber, in an artificial atmosphere equivalent to the pressure 20 metres below sea level, they use an oxygen mask to breathe in almost 100 per cent pure oxygen, in the hope of staving off the infirmities of old age.
The hyperbaric chamber is just one of a suite of tools being used as longevity therapy. “When your body is under that much pressure, your plasma, your bones, your blood are able to absorb much more oxygen,” says Kathleen Eastman.
“Research shows that enough time spent in one of these chambers can actually lengthen the telomeres at the end of your chromosomes, which tend to shorten as we age and contribute to age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia.”
Eastman is the director of operations at RoseBar, the dedicated longevity centre unveiled at Six Senses Ibiza in April this year, and Central Casting couldn’t have chosen a better representative. Her glowing complexion and general air of vitality make you want to sign up for anything she’s selling, and what she’s selling is something very specific.
At any other Six Senses property, from Thailand to Turkey, Seychelles to Switzerland, you can try a broad range of wellness treatments, from sound therapy to shamanic medicine to a dozen different kinds of yoga. Rose Bar is a next-level innovation, designing personalised anti-ageing interventions for guests.
“We are tackling ageing from the inside out,” says Six Senses CEO Neil Jacobs.
The RoseBar model – conceived by the resort’s owner, Jonathan Leitersdorf, and developed by an advisory board led by functional medicine specialist Dr Mark Hyman – draws on the latest scientific research on enhancing the body’s natural repair systems to lengthen lifespan.
Three- and seven-day programs are analysis-based, with guests either bringing results from diagnostic tests completed by their doctors or have testing done on the island. Along with a DNA test, there are comprehensive blood panels to assess risks such as diabetes, liver function, heart disease and thyroid function. Hormone levels, gut health and oxidative stress markers, which are related to cancer risk, may also be assessed.
Dr Edward Cole Miller, RoseBar’s resident doctor, also conducts an initial session with each guest before the team creates a personalised program which may include nutritional support, exercise, biohacking treatments such as IV infusions and red-light sessions that promote mitochondrial stimulation, considered one of the keys to longevity. He exudes energy and scales the tech talk up or down to suit his audience.
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