Hotel designers are incorporating elements aimed at influencing guests' emotions through subtle design techniques. Brian Schon, designer of Cannúa Lodge in Colombia, uses the Fibonacci Sequence to promote relaxation on a subconscious level. Similarly, Lisa Sternfeld from WLLW Studio emphasizes "invisible wellness," suggesting that factors like air quality and lighting play crucial roles in guest emotional states. Emily Johnson from Elevate Hospitality Collective highlights simpler methods for inducing positive emotions, such as adjusting meal timing or reducing decision fatigue. The Rainforest Lodge at Sleeping Giant in Belize focuses on sensory connection and calmness through its unique dining experiences, while the Inn of the Five Graces in Santa Fe offers a $2,192-a-night experience aimed at fostering presence and self-awareness.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-02,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
My Dad likes to remind me that wherever you go, you’re packing yourself.
asserted
you → like → yourself
But increasingly hotels are looking to unpack you — and send you home calmer, happier or more connected to yourself.
asserted
hotels → look → yourself
In the quaint colonial city of Marinilla, Colombia, Brian Schon designed tranquility into the heart of his Cannúa Lodge.
asserted
Schon → design → Lodge
Plans called for nothing less than the Fibonacci Sequence, what Schon calls “the mathematics of perfection,” and which is found in the structure of leaves, flower petals, seashells, sheep horns and bees.
asserted
which → call → leaves
“It’s easier for our eyes to process than ‘traditional’ shapes like squares or cubes,” said Schon.
asserted
Schon → ’ → squares
His goal was to create a hotel that shifted his guests’ frame of mind toward relaxation on a subconscious level.
asserted
that → create → level
It sounds experimental, but he’s not alone.
asserted
he → sound → ?
Whether it’s calm, happiness or excitement, hoteliers are looking to program emotion into every aspect of your stay.
asserted
hoteliers → ’ → stay
Lisa Sternfeld, founder of NYC-based WLLW Studio, studies the intersection of design, neuroscience and emotional wellness.
asserted
Sternfeld → base → design
She believes that hotels can indeed manufacture emotional restoration through careful design.
asserted
hotels → believe → design
In fact, the interior designer calls this invisible layer of emotional design “invisible wellness.”
asserted
designer → call → design
The air quality, water, light, materials, acoustics and the sensory conditions in a hotel room “all become part of how we think about caring for the guest,” she said.
asserted
she → become → guest
She predicts the next evolution of wellness hospitality will start “at the moment we begin designing the building and the room.”
asserted
we → predict → building
A spa treatment may last an hour, she says, but your body is experiencing the hotel for much longer.
uncertain
body → last → longer
Emily Johnson, the founder of Elevate Hospitality Collective in Tinton Falls, New Jersey, stressed that hotels do not always need a large spa or major capital investment to influence how guests feel.
asserted
guests → stress → spa
“They can reconsider the arrival ritual, lighting transitions, music levels, fragrance, signage, meal timing, access to outdoor space and the number of decisions guests are required to make,” said Johnson, a hospitality strategist and wellness travel advisor.
asserted
Johnson → reconsider → decisions
“The strongest experiences make the desired emotion feel natural throughout the stay.”
asserted
emotion → make → stay
The lodge’s Rainforest Tented Camp showcases floor-to-ceiling glass walls peering out at the forest, Sleeping Giant Mountain and Sibun River.
asserted
Camp → showcase → forest
Sensory connection and a feeling of calmness were also top of mind when creating the hotel’s Lights Out at Grove House, a candle-lit dining experience meant to provoke conversation and reduce electricity consumption.
asserted
connection → create → consumption
As Ian Lizarraga, chief operating officer of the Belize Collection, put it, when screens and everyday distractions are removed, guests begin noticing the river, the birds, the changing light and the people around them.
asserted
guests → put → them
The Inn of the Five Graces in Santa Fe, NM, hopes to instill a sense of presence and self-connectedness in those who participate in its new $2,192-a-night the Sixth Grace experience.
asserted
who → hop → experience
The four-night package is a gradual sensory experience culminating in what the property calls the “sixth sense:” intuition and self-awareness.
asserted
property → culminate → what
You can expect offerings like tai chi, a Himalayan salt stone massage, a sound healing session, dinner at the Pink Adobe, a Santa Fe mainstay since 1944, complete with a guided mezcal flight, and a clairvoyant reading.
asserted
You → expect → flight
Meanwhile, NYC-based Suomi Design Works was tasked with summoning a variety of emotions for the Radical in Asheville, North Carolina, which opened in 2023.
asserted
which → base → 2023
Guest rooms were designed to stir up sensuality, inspired by 1980s pop culture like the movies “Tron” and “Wall Street” and the Palladium nightclub and feature giant sculptural furniture and rich textiles to spark tactile intimacy.
asserted
rooms → design → intimacy
Up on the rooftop bar, exhilaration and belonging are the emotions du jour with sweeping views of the French Broad River for that excitement note, while inviting fire pits, circular seating and local art and music programming encourage people to gather and linger.
asserted
pits → encourage → people
“We engineered the Radical so that emotional responses shift naturally as you move from space to space,” said Michael Suomi, the design firm’s founder.
asserted
Suomi → engineer → space
“A guest experiences intrigue entering the lobby through theater curtains, a sense of rebellion walking past raw street art, and deep sensuality inside the guest rooms with draped fabric canopies inspired by 1980s nightlife.”
asserted
guest → experience → nightlife
In Paris, Maison Proust, Hotel & Spa La Mer evokes nostalgia for beautiful “things past” via interiors by Jacques Garcia: paintings and period furnishings, plus a brimming library.
asserted
Proust → evoke → Garcia
The spa, La Mer, remembers the Moroccan-style salons of Proust’s Aunt Léonie.
asserted
spa → remember → Léonie
So the next time you check out of a hotel feeling calmer, or even a little sexier, you may not be imagining things.
uncertain
you → check → things
The room is just doing its job.
asserted
room → do → job
The Aporia
