Draining and Cleaning Your Blood: The Most Extreme Wellness Retreat at Germany's Lanserhof Tegernsee

The blood leaves the body for three minutes and flows back in feeling cold. Justin Fenner lay on the hospital bed, IV lines inserted in both arms, as he was wheeled into a treatment called Inuspheresis, commonly known as "blood washing"—the newest offering at Lanserhof Tegernsee, said to filter out unwanted substances from the plasma. As the cleaned blood re-entered his veins, the chill pulled him back from a dreamlike state into reality, forcing him to start processing everything he'd learned over the past eight days here.

Lanserhof's flagship location opened in Austria in 1984, with two locations in Germany and another set to open in Marbella next year. Fenner chose Tegernsee, about an hour's drive from Munich, surrounded by lake views, pastures, vegetable gardens, and herb gardens—even the angles of the hotel room windows were carefully designed. His Elysium Loft suite came with three balconies and a private sauna; room categories are tiered by floor, and those seeking ultimate privacy can request a second-floor suite or the standalone villa.

The program's foundation comes from Dr. F. X. Mayr's early 20th-century fasting theory: modern diets damage the gut, which drags down the entire system, and the solution is dietary restriction combined with extensive rest. Lanserhof expanded this theory into the "Lanserhof Concept"—guests first fill out a detailed questionnaire, meet with a dedicated physician, undergo a comprehensive round of diagnostics, and then receive a personalized treatment schedule, which might include physical therapy, facial treatments, and psychological counseling.

Fenner's test results weren't entirely reassuring: his heart and arterial ultrasounds came back normal, but tests revealed a genetic predisposition toward high cholesterol, prompting his doctor to recommend cutting gluten and dairy. Within a week, he completed four personal training sessions, two spinal adjustments, one three-minute cryotherapy session at negative 110°F (about negative 166°F Celsius—actually approximately -79°C), a lymphatic drainage massage, and was wrapped in seaweed mud and placed in a steam room like a dumpling.

The food side is even more hardcore. The restaurant has a modernist aesthetic, with refined dishes served in deliberately small portions: the lowest tier, Phase 0, provides only about 100 calories a day, mostly clear vegetable broth; the highest tier, Phase 4, delivers roughly 1,700 calories made up of vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein. Fenner spent most of his time at Phase 2, around 750 calories a day, yet said he barely felt hungry—the trick is chewing every bite 30 to 40 times to aid digestion. One server told him that eating a bowl of vegetable soup properly should take a full half hour.

Solo guests are seated with other guests at meals, and Fenner's table included a young mother with an Ivy League law degree, a political consultant from the Carolinas, a Moroccan businessman, a creative director from a Spanish fashion brand, and a jewelry dealer from the American Northeast—they told him that a formidable African beauty queen had checked out just a day earlier.

The night before the blood washing treatment, guests receive a substantial dinner, and a hearty breakfast is served that morning as well, since the body needs calories to sustain itself through this invasive procedure. Even so, after two hours of Inuspheresis, Fenner felt so lightheaded that a nurse specially requested the kitchen make him a protein shake, and he even took a nap afterward—something he never does under normal circumstances.

What really hit him wasn't the next day, but the day after that: that near-buzzed quietness only understood by people who live in a state of constant overstimulation—except this time, the "hangover" never came. Weeks after returning to New York, his Spanish tablemate emailed to check in, signing off with "P.S. Did you get to pet the farm sheep?" He hadn't. But she was right about one thing: this trip was exactly what he needed.

Rates for the Elysium Loft suite start at approximately $4,500 per night, excluding medical treatment costs. For specific programs and pricing, contact Lanserhof Tegernsee directly.