A spa stay can be more than just a chance to relax, writes Katie McGonagle
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Every holiday should leave clients feeling refreshed – but for some, that feeling will last longer than others.While a really great massage or soothing spa therapy provides a temporary boost, some spa hotels have taken this a step further by helping guests to make long-term changes.
Whether they want to come home half a stone lighter, with fewer wrinkles or a more positive mental attitude, pick the right hotel and they could enjoy a whole new lease of life.
John Bevan, managing director of Spafinder Wellness 365, which relaunches its travel agent portal in February to include training, exclusive commission deals and rates, says: “The focus for clients should not just be about pampering, but rather about wellness, and there are lots of different experiences available to ensure agents can help meet their clients’ needs. Understanding the customer and what they want to achieve will help agents find the right programmes.”
Fighting Fit
Forget squeezing gym visits in between work and home – holidays are a great time to focus on fitness, especially if guests get out of the gym and experience the great outdoors.
That’s key to Mauritian resort Lux Le Morne’s new five-day Wellness Adventure Retreat, which combines trail walking and mountain climbing with yoga, spa treatments and healthy cooking classes (from £1,634 for five nights, available January 15-21 or April 22-28, 2015).
The Swiss mountains around the Tschuggen Grand Hotel are the playground for the Drill Sergeant Package, which promises an intensive programme of 15 cardio and resistance sessions across three days (available November 28-December 4, from £1,255 for a single room half-board).
Those who need a goal to work towards need not fear: the Almyra in Cyprus has started weekly Winter Triathlon Camps from November until February. Participants will spend their days swimming in the Mediterranean, cycling at various gradients, and running along coastal paths.
Farther afield, Belmond La Residence d’Angkor in Siem Reap, Cambodia, is holding a training camp to prepare for the Angkor International Half Marathon in December.
Along with daily bootcamps within the temple complex – the first time this has been allowed – mountain biking, one-on-one sessions, daily spa treatments and yoga, the package price includes entry into the race. From £1,695 for seven days; book by November 1. 
Food, Glorious Food
Food goes hand-in-hand with fitness, which is why the new Bodyism programme from celebrity trainer James Duigan – Elle Macpherson, Lara Stone and Hugh Grant are said to be fans – focuses as much on its signature Clean & Lean dishes as hours spent in the gym.
Available at One&Only Hayman Island in Australia and Reethi Rah in the Maldives, as well as recent addition D-Hotel Maris in Turkey, guests will find menu options high in protein and vegetables such as salmon or red snapper.
Thai hotel chains Anantara and Dusit International also incorporate healthy eating alongside fitness and detox packages. Anantara Hotels has introduced Balance, comprising classes on themes such as ‘food as medicine’ and ‘healthy dietary alternatives’, along with fitness classes, mentoring and spa therapies.
Dusit Thani Maldives also added three wellness packages this year – Intro to Detox, Weight Management and Total Rejuventation – lasting three, five or seven days.
Medicinal Purposes
Cosmetic surgery should be left to those with a medical licence, but the growth in spas offering non-surgical techniques shows there is a market for some subtle self-improvement.
Oh! All Suite Hotel & Spa in Crete has an array of detox and slimming packages such as the Dukan diet, plus medical staff performing non-invasive treatments including laser lipolysis (liposuction), mesotherapy facials using hyaluronic acid, Botox and non-surgical facelift Ultherapy.
Fellow Preferred Hotel Group member Grandhotel Hessischer Hof in Frankfurt offers a medical spa of a different kind, assessing posture and coordination, analysing body fat and offering physiotherapy (starting at €35).
At The BodyHoliday in Saint Lucia, wellness has always been central, whether in its themed months October Yoga or WellFit Families in July and August, or its bootcamps and fitness-focused packages.
But the resort has now added a medical twist using DNA testing and pre-arrival questionnaires followed by on-site fitness tests, lung capacity, body fat and other markers to design a tailor-made exercise and diet plan (from $3,000 in addition to accommodation).
Deep Clean
Detox is a word frequently heard in spas, but cleanses come in varying levels of intensity so picking the right one depends on how far clients are willing to go.
Some programmes are as much about pampering as detox, such as the FX Mayr Health Centre in Austria, where the new Winter Vitality programme covers a medical examination, yoga, detox wrap, massages and a mud pack (from €1,100 for a week, excluding accommodation).
Similarly, the seven-day natural living programme from all-inclusive spa resort Fusion Maia Da Nang in Vietnam features two daily spa treatments, yoga, breathing exercises and a raw food diet. From £1,955 for eight nights including flights, transfers and breakfast with Premier Holidays, between August 12 and October 31.
Then there are radical detoxes that cleanse mind as well as body, such as the seven or 14-night programmes starting in December at Ananda Spa in the Himalayas, which use an intense yogic cleansing technique said to rid the body of toxins.
Alternatively, the ‘mindful meditation’ weeks introduced at selected Alila resorts by former hotelier Christian Kurmann offer an opportunity to reflect in some of the world’s most tranquil spots (from £3,325 for a six-night retreat from November 30-December 6 at Alila Jabal Akhdar in Oman).
Sweet Dreams
Holidays should be a time to rest easy, but for those who find that harder than others, Swiss resort Alpina Gstaad has added a Good Night Sleep Retreat this winter.
The package combines specialised spa treatments, yoga, meditation and shiatsu to promote relaxation, while encouraging guests to get out and enjoy other activities – skiing, snowboarding, ice climbing, sledging and snow golf.
The three or five-day retreat runs from December 5-11 or March 16-20. A three-day retreat starts at £2,500 including two nights’ accommodation.
Or if it’s an issue brought on by travelling, Maldivian resort Cheval Blanc Randheli Spa has the answer. Its Jet-Lag and Pre-Flight packages combine a facial and massage or a facial and foot ritual respectively, to help clients avoid the exhaustion of a flight.
