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The Best Wellness Retreats in Missouri, From Ozark Spa Grottos to a Monastery Guest Wing

The best wellness retreats in Missouri sit in two very different traditions. In the Ozarks around Branson and Table Rock Lake, resort spas have built grottos and thermal circuits into the hills. Elsewhere, two religious houses, a Jesuit retreat on the Mississippi bluffs and a Cistercian monastery deep in the woods, offer quiet stays on a give-what-you-can basis. We picked five, each checked against the venue's own website in October 2026: Big Cedar Lodge, Chateau on the Lake, The Elms Hotel & Spa, White House Jesuit Retreat and Assumption Abbey.

The five at a glance

1. Big Cedar Lodge, Ridgedale

Big Cedar Lodge is a large wilderness resort on Table Rock Lake, south of Branson, and its Cedar Creek Spa & Salon is the most complete spa in this list. The resort describes an 18,000-square-foot building with hand-hewn timber ceilings and stone floors, and 11 treatment rooms, each with its own fireplace or candlelight. The feature people remember is the grotto pool, designed to look like an Ozarks cave. Massages, facials and body treatments are on the menu, the spa is open to resort guests and the public, and services are for guests aged 16 and over. Combine a treatment day with walking trails and time on the lake. bigcedar.com/spa

2. Chateau on the Lake, Branson

Chateau on the Lake sits on a hill above Table Rock Lake, and its spa is the main reason to choose it for a wellness break rather than a Branson show weekend. Spa Chateau covers 14,000 square feet, with 10 private treatment rooms, an infinity spa, a eucalyptus steam room and a sauna, and an outdoor Roman bath with a waterfall. Lake-view rooms, a marina reached by a free shuttle and dog-friendly rooms make it an easy base for couples, friends or a solo reset. chateauonthelake.com

3. The Elms Hotel & Spa, Excelsior Springs

Excelsior Springs, north-east of Kansas City, was once celebrated across the US for its mineral waters, and The Elms has been welcoming visitors in some form for more than 130 years. Its draw today is the Grotto, a thermal circuit that every spa guest gets for 90 minutes before a treatment: a eucalyptus steam sauna, a mineral exfoliation using Dead Sea salts, a warm whirlpool, a cold plunge shower, then rest in a quiet sanctuary with herbal tea. Spa services also include use of the outdoor pool and hot tub, the indoor lap pool and soaking tubs that day.

Two practical points. A room booking does not include spa access, so reserve treatments separately and early for weekends. And the Grotto is for guests aged 18 and over. The hotel is at 401 Regent Street, about 30 to 40 minutes by car from Kansas City International. elmshotelandspa.com

4. White House Jesuit Retreat, Oakville

White House Retreat has been running three-day retreats since 1922 on an 80-acre campus overlooking the Mississippi River bluffs, in Oakville on the southern edge of St. Louis. Retreats follow the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, with talks, daily Mass, time for confession, and plenty of downtime for walking the grounds and its shrines. Each retreatant has a private room with its own bathroom and shower. There are men's, women's and co-ed weekends, plus recovery, veterans', young adult and Spanish-language retreats, and people of all faiths are welcome.

The cost model is unusual: White House has always run on a free-will offering. Unless you come with an established parish group, you pay a $100 non-refundable deposit to hold a place, then give what you can, anonymously, at the end. whitehouseretreat.org

5. Assumption Abbey, Ava

For real quiet, Assumption Abbey is hard to beat. Cistercian monks came here from New Melleray Abbey in Iowa in 1950, and the monastery sits in rugged, wooded Ozark hills with clear streams. One wing is set aside as a guest house where men and women, Catholic or not, can make a personal retreat of a day up to a week. Meals are prepared by the monks, and guests are welcome at daily Mass and the Divine Office in the monastery chapel.

The abbey does not usually run organised programmes, so you structure your own time; groups can arrange their own schedule. There is no Wi-Fi and phone signal is weak or non-existent, which is the point for many visitors. You book by phone, and there is no public transport to the abbey: the nearest airport is Springfield-Branson. The monks support themselves by baking fruitcake, sold in the guest house shop. assumptionabbey.org

Planning a wellness trip in Missouri

• Pair the Branson spas. Big Cedar and Chateau on the Lake are both on Table Rock Lake, so you can stay at one and book a treatment at the other.
• Book treatments before the room. Weekend spa slots go first at all three resorts, and The Elms does not include spa access with a stay.
• Choose the season. Autumn colour in the Ozarks, usually October, is the most popular time; winter is quieter and suits thermal circuits and grottos.
• Know what a monastery stay is. At Assumption Abbey and White House, expect simple rooms, set mealtimes and a prayer rhythm, not spa treatments. Our guide to what a silent retreat is like explains the etiquette.

Looking further afield? Our pages on the best wellness retreats in Arkansas, the wider Midwest and the best Christian retreats in the USA cover nearby options, and the Retreat Central directory lists more by state.