Last Saturday, I found myself horizontal on a heated lounger overlooking the Dubai skyline, a jade-coloured matcha latte sweating gently in my hand, while a therapist with the hands of a minor deity worked a infused balm into my shoulders. I was at Serenity spa – The Art of Well Being at Fairmont The Palm, and I was, for the first time in approximately three years, not thinking about my inbox. I wish I could tell you I was reflecting on Plato or drafting a mental gratitude list. Honestly, I was wondering whether it was socially acceptable to move in. Permanently. As a modern art installation titled Woman Who Finally Logged Off.
Serenity is celebrating its tenth anniversary this month, which in wellness years is roughly a century. A whole decade of convincing us that true luxury isn’t a thread count or a tasting menu, but the ability to slow your nervous system down from a permanent state of fight, flight or Instagram doomscrolling. Founded in 2016 in Portugal’s sun-bleached Algarve, the brand has quietly evolved into one of those names that pops up in group chats alongside breathwork app recommendations and links to that ice-bath TikTok. Now, it’s marking the milestone not with a self-congratulatory gala, but with a “10 Years | 10 Days | 10 Offers” campaign throughout July – because the best way to celebrate a decade of mastering the art of care is, quite literally, to give it away.
The offers are the kind that make you sit up straighter on your reformer. Complimentary pool and beach access? Check. Fifty per cent off the entire matcha menu at Mashrabiya Lounge? For anyone whose personality is 40% oat flat white and 60% ceremonial-grade matcha, this is basically a spiritual summons. Personalised physical assessments and – wait for it – a complimentary session in the Aurum Suite when you book a couple’s treatment. That’s the gold-infused cocoon where you lie on a water mattress while warm quartz sand embraces you like a hug from the universe. It’s the closest thing to being a Bond villain’s pampered cat, minus the villainy.
I called my friend Karim, a perpetually over-caffeinated architect who thinks a wellness routine is doing planks while listening to a podcast on ancient Stoicism at 1.5x speed. “They have an ice bath,” I told him, referring to the recovery programmes that form part of Serenity’s ACTIVE concept. “It’s not suffering; it’s nervous system regulation.” He made a noise somewhere between intrigue and terror. I booked us in.
Here’s the thing about Dubai in July: the city becomes a choose-your-own-adventure novel where every chapter ends in air conditioning. We either flee to cooler climes or lean into the luxurious cocoon of a staycation, and Serenity has timed this anniversary perfectly. It’s a love letter to everyone who’s ever stared at their screen after a three-hour Zoom marathon and felt their soul leave their body. The campaign runs for ten days, with each one unlocking a different experience, like a beautifully curated advent calendar for adults who’ve outgrown chocolate and now crave longevity.
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Walking into the spa, you’re enveloped in Serenity’s signature scent – a subtle alchemy of something herbal, something woody, something that whispers, Leave your tote bag of existential dread at reception. The design isn’t the typical gold-and-marble maximalism that screams “Dubai” so loudly it gives you tinnitus. Instead, it’s deeply calming and quietly sophisticated. Think quiet luxury, but the kind that knows the difference between a silk eye mask and simply borrowing your boyfriend’s hoodie. (Both are valid.)
Maria d’Orey, the brand’s Founder and Global Director, has spent the past decade anticipating what our frazzled, hyper-connected generation actually needs before we even realise we need it. She started in Portugal when “wellness” mostly meant a sad sauna and a cucumber-water dispenser, and has since built a 360° ecosystem that bundles movement, nutrition and mental clarity into one seamless offering. ZEST, the healthy restaurant, doesn’t preach deprivation; it serves food so vibrant you’ll photograph it for your Close Friends story with the caption, “POV: you’re finally that girl.” (That girl, in this case, eats roasted cauliflower with tahini and genuinely enjoys it because it’s delicious, not punitive.)
What struck me most, midway through my treatment, was how the entire experience felt like a gentle reproach to the toxic side of hustle culture. Serenity’s longevity offering – intravenous therapies, health optimisation and specialist recovery programmes – could easily tip into biohacker-bro territory, all cold-plunge grunts and testosterone tracking. Instead, it feels almost poetic. A decade ago, we measured self-care in bubble baths and face masks. Now we know it’s about regulating our nervous systems so we stop bursting into tears in the Spinneys car park. As Maria puts it, well-being isn’t an isolated moment but “a continuous and conscious practice woven into clients’ lifestyles”. That’s the vision: not an escape from life, but a richer, slower and more present way of moving through it.
And the brand is still expanding. In 2026, three new spaces are opening, including another one right here in Dubai. That’s the thing about Serenity – it plants itself in cities where people are chronically excellent at doing and teaches them the radical art of being. In a place where brunch lasts four hours and everyone’s side hustle has a side hustle, that’s a quiet revolution.
Afterwards, wrapped in a robe and sipping a matcha that tasted like self-respect, Karim turned to me with the dazed expression of a man who’d just spent twenty minutes in a gold suite being gently baked. “I think I just met my inner child,” he said, “and she told me to quit my job and open a pottery studio.” I told him that was just the CBD talking. But maybe it wasn’t. Maybe that’s the point. True luxury, the kind Serenity is banking on for the next decade, isn’t about escaping your life. It’s about getting quiet enough to remember which parts of it are actually yours.
So, happy birthday, Serenity. Ten years of teaching us that slowing down is the most glamorous thing we’ll ever do. If you need me, I’ll be poolside, pretending the complimentary beach access is a personality trait and wondering whether it’s too late to become a professional matcha taster. Reservations are available via WhatsApp, and I suggest you approach them like a Gen Z fan trying to secure concert tickets: swift, determined and slightly unhinged. Your nervous system will thank you. And your inbox can wait.
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