Zem Wellness Clinic, Altea, Spain

Why go?

In the quest for a long and healthy life, few places can beat Zem Wellness Clinic. Just 45 minutes from Alicante on the Costa Blanca, it sits between Valencia’s soaring Sierra de Aitana mountains and the twinkling Mediterranean. The design is dazzling: acres of warm gold paint, cream-ivory marble, sparkling chandeliers, and gardens filled with palms and formal planting. Many of the impressive staff have jumped ship from the nearby SHA wellness clinic, and the food by chef Javier Dias is spectacular. During a fortnight stay, one never eats the same dish twice – unless it’s so delicious you request an encore.

What’s the backstory?

A Spanish family investment group with extensive experience in hotels, private medical clinics and a keen interest in longevity decided to marry all those elements and create the Zem Wellness Clinic.

What’s the wellness concept?

Mediterranean longevity (hence the ‘m’ replacing the ‘n’ at the end of Zen/Zem). The team believes in integrating the best of Mediterranean culture, including diet, produce, sunshine and positivity, combined with Blue Zone longevity principles, alongside the most cutting-edge preventive, precision medical care.

What are the signature treatments?

The latest is Zem Cell Plasma Renewal, aimed at high-performing, super-achievers and athletes who experience fatigue, brain fog, and slower recovery. The guest’s blood passes through a sterile filter to remove inflammatory cytokines, oxidised lipids and cellular debris. The filtered plasma is then replaced with medical-grade albumin solution and electrolytes to support cell rejuvenation and restore osmotic balance.

Which therapist?

Spend as much time as possible with longevity expert, Dr Tanya Alvarez, a geneticist with a keen interest in precision, preventive and predictive medicine. In a world of over-supplementation, Alvarez is a firm believer in precision supplementation using genetic profiling for pinpoint accuracy. She’s bright-eyed, charming, and able to normalise the awkwardness of having certain procedures done. Dr Alvarez also oversees the impressive regenerative gynaecology and andrology departments, looking specifically into areas that many competing longevity clinics have so far overlooked. Zem is bang into it.

What makes it different?

The food – it’s incredible, and the ingredients are often picked that same morning from Zem’s 75,000 square metre organic farm, which grows more than 60 varieties of fruit and vegetables just five minutes away. This finca is also a place of beauty where guests come to take walks, pick produce for cookery classes or take yoga classes overlooking orange groves amid the scent of blossom.

Anything else to mention?

Yes – the spa. They’ve gone all in and ordered every toy imaginable: hot and cold pools, a Himalayan salt room, and all sauna types – there’s even a snow cabin because… why not lie down and make snow angels in the height of summer? They’ve also invested heavily in Gharieni Metawell technology – beds with different forms of heat, light, flotation, pulsed electromagnetic frequency and audio binaural beats. It’s a great opportunity to sample different ways of relaxing and to tap into the parasympathetic nervous system.

Final word?

Book a suite with a bathtub on the balcony – there’s nothing quite as delicious as a magnesium-salt-filled soak under the stars as the moon rises over the sea.