As the holiday season approaches, the pace of daily life in New York City only seems to accelerate. In some ways it’s exciting. In many others, it’s anxiety inducing. Calendars fill up, stress levels rise, and moments of rest become more difficult to enjoy as people try to cram what’s left of the year into a few short weeks. Samsung Galaxy offered a welcome pause to help with its exclusive event, the NYC Wellness Tour. The thoughtfully curated escape was designed to help guests slow down and reset.
Hosted by wellness aficionado and Samsung partner Claire Holt, curated by NYC tastemaker Uncover More, and attended by health, fitness and lifestyle enthusiasts, including myself, the immersive one-day experience invited attendees to recharge while exploring some of the city’s most beloved wellness destinations.
After navigating early morning rush hour traffic, I started the day a little frazzled. And cold! But when I stepped inside Ora Method in NoHo, I was immediately hit with a sense of calm. Inside the acupuncture and wellness haunt, attendees eased into the morning with tea, ear seed application, and mini acupuncture treatments. I got there a little later than expected but walked into a moment of guided meditation and journaling that brought a sense of tranquility and helped us all set positive intentions for the day.
From there, we got to enjoy some healthy breakfast treats offered by New York grocer Happier Grocery. (Listen, the Happier Coconut Smoothie in the Coco flavor is easily one of the very best, richest, most flavorful smoothies I’ve had in my life. And I’ve had many.) The time together, attendees dressed in matching workout gear from Vuori, helped us connect with one another and also be present. In addition, it offered a chance to test out the brand’s popular Galaxy S25 Edge and Galaxy Watch8, tracking wellness data and capturing some fun moments along the way.
Afterward, we boarded a branded hop-on, hop-off bus, that took us to private membership club and hotel Casa Cipriani. Inside a movement studio on the wellness floor of the property, The Ness, we certainly put the Galaxy watches to work, taking part in a sculpt workout that despite a lack of cardio blasts, still had our heart rates jumping and tested our strength and ability to push the limits of mindfulness. Once finished, we did a cool-down stretch and meditation with fitness influencer Erika Holguin, before we returned to the morning’s calm through a sound bath experience. In transparency, it was so soothing, I did fall asleep. But no snoring! (this time…)
We would eventually wind down the day with a family-style sit-down lunch inside The Greenwich Hotel’s absolutely breathtaking Locanda Verde restaurant. The space where we met to break bread was so rustically chic, and filled with beautiful holiday decor, including a large, lighted Christmas tree in the corner, and a fireplace heating up the space. Over delicious, wholesome dishes, including breads, ricotta, pasta, salmon, roasted chicken, sorbets and more, we connected.
We snapped photos of food on the Edge, which captured everything in stunningly clear form, and we lost track of the time on the Galaxy Watch8. People slowly but surely heading out to return to work or to wrap up the day. An experience that started with calm ended with laughter, which is honestly the perfect way to bring some joy and self-care to overwhelmed movers and shakers in a city that never, ever, sleeps.
By the end of the day, the Samsung Galaxy Wellness Tour felt less like a traditional “come-and-test-this-product!” event and more like a reminder: wellness isn’t about doing the absolute most, but about moving with intention and purpose, and having some really cool, really effective tools to support you along the way.