Wellness.

Wellness is the easiest category in travel to oversell. A glossy photograph tells you nothing about whether the changing rooms have a bench to sit on, whether the thermal pool has a gentle step-in, or whether the “relaxation area” shares a wall with a children’s splash zone. Those are the details that decide whether you return renewed or merely tired in a nicer setting.

So we assess for comfort, accessibility, and quiet first, and atmosphere second. We read widely across guest reviews and facility data, we note where the evidence is thin, and we are honest that a sauna’s temperature and a coffee’s warmth are things an algorithm cannot taste. Where a place has been experienced first-hand, we label it clearly as a Verified Stay.

— The TST Editorial Board