The best spas in Europe
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A Europe spa break is a great way to physically and emotionally reboot – often through a customised combination of hi-tech health tests by expert doctors, feel-good massages and a refined diet, all in a stunning back-to-nature setting. Of course, finding the best spa in Europe really depends on what you're looking for – do you want a retreat, where you can really get away from it all, or would you rather a chic spa housed in a hotel, where you can float in and out of your treatments with ease?
Whether for cutting-edge treatments that tackle a specific issue such as insomnia or stress, or a cosseting retreat that rebalances and energises, this is our pick of the top game-changing spas in Europe that really deliver on wellness.
Tibo Dhermy ©tibodhermyLefay Resort & Spa Dolomiti
Deciding between Dolomites spa resorts is like having to choose between a bevy of suitors, each handsome, articulate and spiritually evolved. This year, Lefay Dolomiti swooped in and stole my heart. Its mountain setting is as magic as a cover spread, the crowd skews cool but not intimidating, and I have a private sauna and hot tub in my spacious, uncluttered room. The spectacular indoor-outdoor pool is the centrepiece of public spaces, but there are all manner of saunas, steam rooms and nooks to relax in. Yet it is the spa and its ethos based on the Chinese elements that melts my heart.
The Active and Balance programme at Lefay brings me back to myself with the space to process feelings. It starts with a consultation with resident doctor Monica Colombini, a type of Yoda (if he had been an articulate, beautiful woman). She suggests concrete things to try when I get home, and how to return to activities I love. She sources equine therapy near where I live (I used to be a huge rider and have missed it terribly) and suggests slower runs in the woods instead of sprints in the open countryside, because of feeling emotionally exposed. The support gives me the confidence to believe I can work through emotional pain: in nature, on spiritual hikes, with yoga and through acupuncture, during which I cry purifying tears. Detoxing in the sauna and nurturing massages help my body feel safe. The technicians are gentle and professional, making it easy to be liberatingly vulnerable. Lefay Dolomiti is life-changing and I can’t wait to go back. Ondine Cohane
Address: Via Alpe di Grual, 16, 38086 Pinzolo TN, Italy
Healing Holidays (healingholidays.com/condenast) can arrange a four-night Purifying programme from £1,609 per person sharing, including transfers, B&B and treatments
Thomas KesslerGrand Resort Bad Ragaz
Bad Ragaz, just over an hour’s scenic rail ride from Zurich, is a mini village masquerading as a mega-resort, with four hotels (the muted contemporary mood board of the Spa Suites tower is the pick), seven restaurants, nine saunas, 10 medical departments, 30 doctors and a 92,500-square-foot spa where mineral-rich thermal pools are fed from the nearby ancient healing site of Tamina Gorge. On my last visit, fellow guests included members of the Swiss Olympic team as well as a Saudi prince with an entourage of 14 (their 210 suitcases alone took up two suites), which gives you an idea of the scope of this Swiss grande dame.
In the old days, the crowd here was well into retirement age, but since the pandemic, Bad Ragaz has attracted a younger, Covid-conscious clientele, prompting a shift in emphasis from rehabilitation to preventative medicine. The white coats have been replaced by doctors in smart casuals, but the expertise remains razor sharp. My gut microbiome was analysed by head nutritionist Sonja Ricke whose advice has given me enough energy to power a small nation. Other packages include detox, fitness, skin beauty and smart ageing. Don’t miss mindfulness training with Jurgen Albrecht. His breathing exercises have vastly improved my balance. I didn’t even have to go naked in the Sauna World, an extraordinary series of swanky heat chambers. Although swimwear is banned in most saunas, I could keep a towel wrapped firmly around my torso. Thank goodness, because not experiencing this incredible complex would be a real Swiss miss. Susan D'Arcy
Address: Bernhard-Simonstrasse 20, 7310 Bad Ragaz, Switzerland
Healing Holidays (healingholidays.com/condenast) can arrange a three-night My Microbiome programme from £5,709 per person sharing, including transfers, full board and treatments
Preidlhof Luxury DolceVita Resort
Like Preidlhof, South Tyrol is Austrian in culture (despite the best efforts of the Treaty of Versailles and Mussolini) with Italian splashes. Preidlhof attracts quantities of hiking Germans who eat heartily and get naked in the many saunas. But there’s another cohort here: those seeking answers to life in the spa, which is run by an Italian. Patrizia Bortolin is an agent of joy with a tinkly laugh, a sprite-ish quality and the knack of attracting the transformational. There’s Martin Kirchler, gifted in Traditional Chinese Medicine and other ancient practices, who sorts out my “texter’s thumbs” with Daoyin. Dr Alexander Angerer determines with heart-rate variability that I’m biologically younger, but under huge mental stress. Yaku shiatsu practitioner Andrea Martinelli reminds me of a shiatsu healer I saw in my 20s who saved me, which moves me deeply. But Bortolin also believes in lightening up – and has me doing belly dancing and laughter therapy. It’s silly and funny and a great foil. I leave Preidlhof open, sensitive, peaceful, and rippling with life. Lydia Bell
Address: Via San Zeno, 13, 39025 Naturno BZ, Italy
Healing Holidays (healingholidays.com/condenast) can arrange a four-night Zest Retreat programme from £1,749 per person sharing, including transfers, full board and treatments
VIVAMAYR Medical Health Resort Maria WörthVivamayr Maria Wörth
There is an almost religious devotion to the Vivamayr principle, with guests from all over the world flocking to Maria Wörth in search of the holy grail of holistic health. Many return year after year to manage chronic health concerns. My loft-style room is a good place to start. It has a neutral palette, an abundance of herbal teas and crystals, and soul-stirring views of Lake Wörthersee. Devised in consultation with Dr Eva-Maria Fischer, my programme is based on blood tests, applied kinesiology and the progressive belief of the late Dr Franz Xaver Mayr that a stressed digestive system leads to disease and premature ageing.
Despite my fear of life without caffeine or sugar, I quickly become immersed. I follow the daily rituals dutifully (Epsom salts, oil pulling and gentle group exercise in the morning, liver press and lights out by 9pm each night). I enjoy the gentle pace and feel cosseted as I waft between treatments, the sauna and bracing lake swims. By day three, I’m chewing each mouthful the recommended 30 to 40 times and don’t feel hungry between meals, distracted by manual abdominal treatments, electrolysis footbaths and nasal reflex therapy, cryotherapy, sea-salt peels, massages and facials. A highlight is the forest walk with Mauricio Keller, a stretch- yoga-meditation and massage master. I sob for nearly an hour during an Emotional Detox session. It’s cathartic, transformational and deeply personal. Vivamayr has a new devotee who vows to return. Louisa Parker Bowles
Address: Seepromenade 11, 9082 Maria Wörth, Austria
Healing Holidays (healingholidays.com/condenast) can arrange a seven-night Classic programme from £3,819 per person sharing, including transfers, full board and treatments
Kasper PalsnovLanserhof Sylt, Germany
Just off Germany's northern coast, Sylt is a playground with 25 miles of sugar-soft sands, boutiques and restaurants. Northern Germans flock here year after year. It's truly charming: dunes coated with marram grass and heathers, and the sky a shade of cornflower. In the northern village of List, on the cusp of Königshafen lagoon, is Lanserhof Sylt, an outpost of Europe’s grandest Mayr-style spa brand. It has the trappings of a regular spa – saltwater pool, Technogym space, climbing wall, yoga studio, sauna and steam rooms, library and indoor-outdoor lounges – but there are also white-clad medics striding around white corridors with stethoscopes, manning CT and ultrasound scanners, ECG monitors, IV lounges and colonic hydrotherapy suites. The name of the game is “vital ageing” – facing life’s declines with grace using diagnostics, Western and holistic medicine, diet and exercise.
At the heart of a stay for the majority is the Mayr Cure, a simple process of purging one’s guts of toxins, acidity and bad bacteria through fasting, invented by the Austrian physician Franz X Mayr in 1915. Guests follow the mainly plant-based, alkalising Lanserhof Energy Cuisine diet, taking Epsom salts to clear out the digestive system; and alkaline powder to neutralise acids. Beyond that, the programme – how radical the diet, what treatments to follow – is decided by the doctor. It's not easy; the Cure can purges me of more than bad gut bacteria. I cry constantly, bemoaning the griefs of my life. Then, after three days of sleep and misery, I blink awake. I am up with the moon. The nausea has vanished. I wallow in steam rooms, and pluck books from the library. I start biking to swim in sun-kissed seas at Kampen Beach – these are golden days of the bluest skies, the perfect 23 ̊C and a gentle breeze. It is impossible to feel sick, sad, or hangry here. There is nothing to do but sink into the sand, allow the warmth to kiss my detoxifying skin and revel in being alive with a rapidly improving microbiome. Lydia Bell
Healing Holidays (healingholidays.com/condenast) can arrange a seven-night Lanserhof Cure Classic programme from £3,979 per person sharing, including transfers, full board and treatments
Palace Merano, Italy
After 10 years of neglecting my body, nothing in my three appointments with Dr Massimiliano Mayrhofer surprises me. Armed with the results from a phalanx of blood tests (for cholesterol, antibodies, hormones, intolerances, tumour markers and more) and alarming data from the Dexa body scanner (which delivers body composition, bone and joint health intel), his advice is unequivocal: build muscle, lose body fat. This belle époque gem in South Tyrol was created in the early 20th century for aristocratic tourists searching for “the cure”.
Today, guests check in for the modern version: the Detox programme, which begins with a daily schedule of hydrotherapy, algae-rich mud wraps, cupping massages and energetic treatments (similar to acupuncture, but without needles). The combination of Traditional Chinese Medicine, state-of-the-art-tech and a 360-degree approach to deep cleansing the body and mind is overseen by Mayrhofer (aka Doctor Max). During my six-day stay, losing body fat does not feel like a hardship. The largely plant-based diet (no alcohol, caffeine, sugar or refined carbs) is imaginative and delicious. Four days in, and after a 24-hour fast and Epsom salts purge, I already feel 10 years younger and lighter, both mentally and physically (most guests reportedly lose around six and a half pounds). The spa’s excellent osteopath quickly addresses a niggling shoulder pain I’d had for more than 18 months. There’s a dizzying menu of bespoke interventions (IV vitamin drips, colonic irrigation, aesthetic treatments) if that’s your thing; pools, hot tubs, gym and a women-only area with sauna, Kneipp path and hammam. But I soak up my free time walking in the temperate Dolomites or on the terrace in the sunshine. I have no desire to leave this glorious bubble, where I feel put back together. Seventy per cent of guests are returnees; one tells me how Palace Merano saved her after the loss of her husband. She’s come back routinely ever since. Clare Coulson
Address: Via Cavour, 2, 39012 Merano BZ, Italy
Healing Holidays (healingholidays.com/condenast) can arrange a five-night Detox for Longevity programme from £3,929 per person sharing, including transfers, full board and treatments
Villa Stéphanie, Germany
“Neurologically unremarkable,” it says in my notes, after a four-day preventative health checkup at the exquisite Villa Stéphanie – Spa & Wellbeing, part of the grand old Brenners Park-Hotel in the belle époque German town of Baden-Baden. “Don’t be offended,” says Dr Sabine Maier, as I question this detail. “Here, unremarkable is good.” Brenners Medical Care, overseen by the wry and much-admired preventative all-rounder Dr Harry König (on holiday during my visit), is remarkable enough. I’m amazed by the doctors’ ability not just to read my body, but to quickly and seamlessly arrange urine tests, extra lung tests, lower back physio and fitted insoles. The very large cherry on top is the lovely Villa Stéphanie itself, where my mother and I largely have the spa to ourselves, due to major renovations in the main hotel. There are long frolics in the Roman-style pool, overlooking the Black Forest beyond the fast-flowing Oos river; cold plunges after sweats in the 90 ̊C sauna; and vegan mushroom risottos served in the Wintergarten restaurant, all waistcoats, soft lanterns and ceiling fans. Mum does an intensive programme of physio work on a chronically sore back, while my programme includes algae scrubs, alkaline salt baths and a signature massage by Othman Challouf. He’s one of many long-timers here, and like everyone else can read bodies intuitively (digested: less running, more Pilates). I leave neurologically unremarkable, still, but more in touch with my body than I’ve ever been. Toby Skinnner
Address: Villa Stéphanie at Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa, Schillerstrasse 4-6, 76530 Baden-Baden, Germany
Healing Holidays (healingholidays.com/condenast) can arrange a seven-night Detox and Weight Loss programme from £6,579 per person sharing, including transfers, full board and treatments
Euphoria, Greece
When Euphoria first swept onto the wellness scene in 2018, it instantly made a name for itself as a credible alternative to Asia’s destination spas, thanks to an approach that merges Hippocratic beliefs about the importance of holistic healing with Taoist spirituality. For me, the healing begins before I see a therapist. The Grecian sun warms my skin as I lie on a sunlounger, antioxidant smoothie in my hand, before dipping into the pool. Birds call and butterflies flutter around as my gaze follows the line of the forest. I feel lighter, brighter and more at peace. Perched on a pine-laced hill near the ancient site of Mystras, Euphoria Retreat restores wellbeing by drawing on ancient and modern wellness philosophies. Founder Marina Efraimoglou, burned out from a career in investment banking and recovering from cancer, noticed that spas she visited in an attempt to restore herself focused on restriction rather than renewal. So, in tandem with studying Traditional Chinese Medicine, she set upon creating a wellbeing holiday that balanced treatments, nutrition and the healing power of nature.
Cosseting therapies include the Byzantine Hammam Ritual, a sweet-smelling scrub and soothing oil massage, for which you are enveloped by the aromatic warmth of steam evaporating from marble. During the Sanctuary for Busy Minds, my intuitive therapist delivers energy healing and words of wisdom. The Five Element balancing massage wraps me in a dreamy, worry-dispersing cloud of jasmine and neroli. A pin-prick 3GL blood test upon arrival reveals how my body is metabolising food; the nutritionist then tailor-makes my meals, which are Mediterranean, seasonal and local, with lots of fresh fish, Greek cheeses, salads and colourful vegetables. My days are as busy as I want them to be, with copious classes (from breathwork and yoga to trampolining) to choose from. Every day ends in the quiet bliss of my cosy red-gold bedroom, where the soft scent of citrus and fig trees floats in with the breeze. Yasemen Kaner-White
Address: Euphoria, Mystras, Sparta, Greece
Healing Holidays (healingholidays.com/ condenast) can arrange a three-night Discovery programme from £1,459 per person sharing, including transfers, full board and treatments
Tyson SadloPalazzo Fiuggi, Italy
I’m feeling burned out from work, worried about a health scare and desperate for a midlife MOT when I arrive at Palazzo Fiuggi, an hour south of Rome. Once an aristocratic hotel – built in 1913 – it reopened in 2021 after a £26-million injection to transform it into a medical spa blending Ayurveda with Western practices, focussing on detoxing, boosting the immune system, achieving optimal weight and anti-ageing. Fiuggi is known for its groundbreaking genetic testing by Professor Giuseppe Novelli and the consultations of Professor David Della Morte Canosci, the lead doctor, genetics and senescence expert. My week kicks off with a flurry of tests: I’m weighed, 3D-scanned, plugged in for an ECG and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis, and have my blood screened for metabolic syndromes and diabetes.
I’m on the Ageing Naturally and Menopause Reset plan, so there’s a full hormone profile, ultrasound thyroid check, mammogram and lumbar spine and hip scan. My week is crammed: I’m hooked up to IV vitamin drips; try the hydrotherapy Kneipp circuit, and float weightlessly in the thalasso pools in brown, magnesium-rich saltwater that makes my skin prickle and my mind drift. I’m frozen in vaporised nitrogen during a three-minute cryotherapy session (it goes as low as -300 ̊F) that leaves me elated. I check out The Movement Lab, which offers yoga, Pilates, core and cross training. I explore the 6,000-square- foot spa and flop in the sauna, with its picture-book Old Town views. I hike across the beautiful Valle de Santi. The food-as-medicine concept behind the nutrient-packed diet here comes from lauded chef Heinz Beck, an expert in natural bio-energies and naturopathy, created the Palazzo Fiuggi Food Line, which fine-tunes menus to each guest’s physical data, packing in flavour and micronutrients. I eat tuna carpaccio with horseradish cream, and salads of asparagus, fennel and pomegranate. And leave brimming with health, energy and happiness. Karin Mueller
Address: Palazzo Fiuggi, via dei Villini 34, 03014 Fiuggi
Healing Holidays (healingholidays.com/ condenast) can arrange a four-night Taster programme from £3,189 per person sharing, including transfers, full board and treatments
Palacio Estoril, Portugal
A landmark of 1930s decadence, the aristocratic Hotel Palácio Estoril provides residence for guests on programmes at the Palácio Estoril Wellness Center (a medi-spa) and the Banyan Tree Spa (a haven for body treatments and facials). Expertly created for longevity, the de-stress and health-boosting programmes focus on the physical, psychological and emotional tolls of modern living. A lifelong insomniac in a state of overworked stress, I’m turning to unhealthy food and booze as my crutches, and need to get balance. Diagnostics include strapping me up to a machine with electrical pads for Biofeedback: a stress-busting mind-body technique that regulates heart rate, breathing and muscle responses. As we go, Dr Sandra Bensaude talks to me about sleep, solo dining and being more present. That night, I sleep like a baby.
In Darkfield microscopy blood analysis they take a single drop of my blood and look at it for insight into microorganisms, distortions of red blood cells, nutritional status and bacterial or fungal life. I discover an intolerance to gluten and dairy, which is a game-changer – I’ve overhauled my diet and am supplementing for inflammation and stress. During a holistic healing session with Desiree Huls, generational hurts come to the fore. With my eyes closed, liberating tears roll down my face and I discover a love of chakra healing. I am floated, stretched and cradled in a heated pool by Dr Paulo Fonte for Watsu, an aquatic form of bodywork. Outside of treatments, there’s water aerobics, Pilates and dance, a hammam and sauna, physio and osteopathy, and massages and facials. Back in normality, micro pleasures of drinking and eating badly no longer feel worth it. It leaves me questioning: was there something in the water? Megan Wilkes
Address: Palacio Estoril, rua Particular, 2769-504 Estoril, Portugal
Healing Holidays (healingholidays.com/condenast) can arrange a seven-night Sense of Rejuvenation programme from £1,449 per person sharing, including transfers, B&B and treatments
Clinique La Prairie, Switzerland
It’s summer’s end, and I am exhausted, regretful over my lifestyle choices and ready to kickstart a new way. A week-long Master Detox that’s aimed at eliminating toxins, cleansing the system and boosting the immune system sounds ideal for someone who spends her time eating terrible aeroplane food or rich seven-course meals in fabulous hotels, so I sign up at Clinique La Prairie in the beautiful Swiss countryside. Combining DNA diagnostics, an anti-inflammatory diet, personalised nutrition and training sessions, the programme is at the cutting edge of detox and longevity. As suggested, I give up coffee and sugar a few days prior, so the brain fog, headache and irritability have subsided by the time I arrive at the white, calm and contemporary space.
The diagnostic tools swing into action with in-depth screening hand-held by fantastic nurses, including heavy metal, minerals and vitamins evaluations, customised blood and DNA testing (genetic and epi- genetics is a huge pillar), mineral tests, and even dental and eye checkups (because of my family history of glaucoma). My tests reveal some surprises – I have a gluten sensitivity I hadn’t noticed – and some things I knew anyway (my BMI is perfect, but I lack muscle and need more movement). The nutrition is highly personalised, responding to my own state of health. It’s vegan, dairy-free, sugar-free and caffeine-free but I never feel hungry, not even on day two when I skip dinner and drink a natural laxative to encourage my gut to cleanse itself of any bad bacteria. The next morning I eat a probiotic-rich oatmeal breakfast and continue with an anti-inflammatory diet. In any case, between aerial yoga, breathwork, cryotherapy, infrared therapy, hammams, a facial, massages, the Techno gym and pool, and visits with doctors and nutritionists, I’m too busy to notice. At the end of the week, I feel refreshed, cleansed and brimming with new resolve. I don’t need any makeup for two weeks and return with supplements to help my liver and kidney continue detoxing. Months later, I still feel it’s the best thing I’ve done all year. Divia Thani
Address: Clinique La Prairie, rue du Lac 142, 1815 Clarens, Switzerland
Healing Holidays (healingholidays.com/condenast) can arrange a four-night Detox Reset programme from £8,359 per person sharing, including transfers, full board and treatments
Six Senses Kocatas Mansions, Turkey
You can't go wrong with Six Senses, but the Istanbul hotel, Kocatas Mansions, is really something special. The hotel is housed in two historic mansions overlooking the Bosphorus, and the spa can be found above the main property, on top of a hill (guests can access it via golf buggy). The result is a breathtaking view and an instantly calming environment that's particularly beautiful around sunset (if you can schedule your treatment to end at this time, you absolutely should). It goes without saying that a traditional Turkish Hammam is the treatment to have, if you must settle for just one. Any nervousness you might have about being washed down by a total stranger will immediately vanish as the passionate, well-trained therapists scrub and moisturise you to perfection, leaving you feeling brand new. If you have time, try to squeeze in a manicure and pedicure – the treatment room is a visual wonder, and it's like no other mani/pedi experience you'll have had. Abigail Malbon
Address: Merkez, Meserburnu Cd. No: 5, 34450 Sarıyer/İstanbul, Turkey
Oceano, Tenerife
Brilliantly positioned between the Anaga Mountains and the Atlantic in the quieter, unspoilt northwest of Tenerife, Oceano is a spa hotel with a FX Mayr Centre attached. It’s also fresh from an extensive refurb that includes a new sheltered rooftop terrace that’s perfect for yoga; an ocean-facing swimming pool; the Centre of Healthy Motion with a bouldering wall, gym and tennis courts; and a restaurant solely for gut-cleansing Mayr guests on the fasting cure. The medical team tailors all programmes, so acupuncture and neural therapy might be recommended to manipulate specific points of pain while shiatsu and craniosacral therapy reset the body’s rhythms to treat stress and burnout. For those wanting a less hardcore health kick, there is also thalassotherapy, meditation and a bunch of activities that make the most of the natural surroundings, from guided hikes in the jungle-like laurel forest to climbing among the volcanic craters of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Teide National Park.
Address: Océano, calle Océano Pacífico, I38240 Punta del Hidalgo, Tenerife
Chenot Palace Weggis, Switzerland
There are many reasons to make a beeline to Lake Lucerne, from the pure air to the sweeping Alpine views. But now the overriding one is the new flagship property from this renowned wellness brand. It was founded by the late Henri Chenot, creator of the Chenot Method, which fuses western medical knowledge with Traditional Chinese Medicine to create holistic preventative care. On guests’ arrival, state-of-the-art diagnostics determine which of the three programmes – Advanced Detox, Recover and Energise, Prevention and Ageing Well – is most suited to each. Treatments are personalised and complemented by a customised version of the Chenot Diet (ingredients are anti-inflammatory and antioxidant-rich). This is the group’s most advanced wellbeing centre – it includes an in-house blood-analysis laboratory, a full-body cryotherapy chamber at -110°C and dedicated sleep rooms where technology reverts body heat back into energy – and it’s seriously impressive.
Address: Chenot Palace Weggis, Hertensteinstrasse 34, 6353 Weggis, Switzerland
Lanserhof Tegernsee, Germany
Natural springs in the Tegernsee valley have long drawn health-conscious visitors to the Bavarian Alps but this wood-and-glass medi-spa, surrounded by neat landscaped gardens and fairy-tale forest, is as ultra-modern as wellness gets. Tapping into a network of nearby clinics for cutting-edge health tests, on-site doctors offer detailed diagnostics (endoscopy services, genetic analyses) plus urology, neurology and cardiology examinations. And underlying all this are the principles of Dr Franz Xaver Mayr, who believed that a healthy digestive system is the key to wellbeing – a limited intake of cleansing food such as broths and steamed vegetables allows the body to rest and rebalance. Programmes are tailored, so liver compresses and vitamin infusions might be combined with Augustinus Bader facials and a circuit of the bathhouse, which includes a steam, sauna and new therapeutic cold chamber. Brilliant for honing in on specific issues, from stress to skin problems, as well as a general reboot.
Address: Lanserhof Tegernsee, Gut Steinberg 1-4, 83666 Waakirchen, Germany
Preidlhof, Italy
Set in the scenic South Tyrolean Vinschgau Valley with a backdrop of olive trees and orchards, under-the-radar Preidlhof is all about encouraging guests to find a balance between hedonistic wellbeing and a sense of purpose. In other words, reconnect; both with themselves and others on an integrated programme of self-discovery. There are Ayurvedic therapies and morning yoga, hiking and wild forest-bathing. Plus a sauna tower of meditation cabins, salt rooms and steam baths. And a series of retreat plans that include eight new transformational journeys developed by coach and spa director Patrizia Bortolin (ideal for specific issues such as sleep disturbance as well as emotional recovery). While Stefano Battaglia’s osteopathy-based trauma therapy and bodywork releases blocked feelings, ancient Chinese breath-and-movement sessions are a chance to be still and recalibrate. Nourishing and deeply nurturing, this is wellness from Healing Holidays at its most restorative with truly meaningful results.
Address: Preidlhof, via San Zeno, 13 - I-39025 Naturno, Merano, Italy
SHA Wellness Clinic, Spain
It was a significant health diagnosis – and subsequent improvement after altering his lifestyle – that led Alfredo Bataller to open SHA near Alicante in 2008. Since then, everyone from A-listers to oligarchs has flocked to this bells-and-whistles medi-clinic. Many book weight-loss programmes but other plans include healthy ageing and now alleviating the long-term effects of Covid-19. There are also programmes that address specific issues such as insomnia and smoking, as well as osteopathy, traditional Chinese medicine and cognitive therapy. Yet despite the medical thread that runs through a stay here, it still has the care-free feel of a holiday in the sun. The calorie-balanced Mediterranean-and-Japanese influenced meals are delicious. There are hydrotherapy circuits and restorative massages alongside hi-tech facials in the wellness centre. And the Healthy Living Academy hosts a mix of daily activities from kick-boxing and Pilates to mindfulness and talks on natural therapies.
Address: SHA Wellness Clinic, Carrer del Verderol, 5, 03581 L’Albir, Alicante, Spain
Park IglsPark Igls, Austria
People go to Park Igls, on the outskirts of Innsbruck, for pragmatic, effective solutions to a vast range of health problems. I go looking for rehab, following a banal meeting with a kerb that left me with a broken left elbow and a smashed wrist. “Your whole body is out of balance,” says Feldenkrais practitioner Helga Jenewein, showing how tension in my wrist is affecting my shoulder which, in turn, is causing a hip to twist, creating lower back pain.
She works deftly, firmly but gently – I notice an immediate difference. My schedule spans medical massage and Rolfing for fascial release (strong but pleasingly so) and sessions with the PTs (all sports scientists, sports therapists or physiotherapists). As my balance has gone south, I spend time bouncing on a Bellicon rebounder and wobbling my way around the Kybun circuit, a soft unstable surface. The Panorama gym has 180-degree views of the surrounding mountains, so working out is hardly a chore. The outdoor facilities have recently been extended, with a new yoga platform, walking parkour course, balance steps and pétanque pitch.
Igls has a backbone of Mayr Medicine but it’s no hair-shirt experience: the classic Mayr diet has been given a dash of wasabi foam, thanks to head chef Markus Sorg. Everything here has been scientifically scrutinised. Intermittent hypoxic-hyperoxic treatment, which boosts resilience at the cellular level, has recently met the stringent admissions policy. A team of GPs can call on a roster of specialists, from cardiologists to sleep diagnosticians. My blood work shows high cholesterol levels, so I’m sent for a carotid ultrasound with Dr Stefan Hiehs. It’s deeply reassuring: no statins required, just a prescription for more exercise and a better diet. I leave feeling easier in my body with a clear blueprint for future improvement. The thinking at Igls isn’t just joined up – it’s a precisely calibrated equation. One that is intelligent, personalised, compassionate and approachable. Jane Alexander
Address: Igler Str. 51, 6080 Innsbruck-Igls, Austria
Healing Holidays (healingholidays.com/condenast) can arrange a four-night Detox Short Break programme from £1,779 per person sharing, including transfers, full board and treatments
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Thomas Kessler Visuals / thomaskessler.chGrand Resort Bad Ragaz, Switzerland
Bad Ragaz, just over an hour’s scenic rail ride from Zurich, is a mini village masquerading as a mega-resort, with four hotels (the muted contemporary mood board of the Spa Suites tower is the pick), seven restaurants, nine saunas, 10 medical departments, 30 doctors and a 92,500-square-foot spa where mineral-rich thermal pools are fed from the nearby ancient healing site of Tamina Gorge. On my last visit, fellow guests included members of the Swiss Olympic team as well as a Saudi prince with an entourage of 14 (their 210 suitcases alone took up two suites), which gives you an idea of the scope of this Swiss grande dame. Verve by Sven is the resort’s health-focused one-Michelin-starred restaurant where seared French quail’s breast in a whisky jus doesn’t taste in the least bit worthy. Plus, there is the three-Michelin-starred Memories where Alpine cuisine gets a lofty update.
In the old days, the crowd here was well into retirement age, but since the pandemic, Bad Ragaz has attracted a younger, Covid-conscious clientele, prompting a shift in emphasis from rehabilitation to preventative medicine. The white coats have been replaced by doctors in smart casuals, but the expertise remains razor sharp. My gut microbiome was analysed by head nutritionist Sonja Ricke whose advice has given me enough energy to power a small nation. Other packages include detox, fitness, skin beauty and smart ageing. Don’t miss mindfulness training with Jurgen Albrecht. His breathing exercises have vastly improved my balance. I didn’t even have to go naked in the Sauna World, an extraordinary series of swanky heat chambers. Although swimwear is banned in most saunas, I could keep a towel wrapped firmly around my torso. Thank goodness, because not experiencing this incredible complex would be a real Swiss miss. Susan D'Arcy
Address: Bernhard-Simonstrasse 20, 7310 Bad Ragaz, Switzerland
Healing Holidays (healingholidays.com/condenast) can arrange a three-night My Microbiome programme from £5,709 per person sharing, including transfers, full board and treatments
Marcin PtakThe Well, Norway
I’m sitting in a sauna, alongside a dozen naked men and women (Adam and Eve attire is mandatory in this particular room) during an aufguss ritual. The sauna master releases ice balls infused with essential oils before spraying us with pellets of ice and then sending us out for a cold shower. Hot and cold hydrotherapy is central to the wellness concept – switching between temperatures to reduce muscular tension, and to expand and contract blood vessels to stimulate the autonomic and somatic nervous systems. I feel invigorated, the heat easing my trapezius muscle.
The Well, the biggest spa in the Nordic region, is the brainchild of Norway’s second-richest man, Stein Erik Hagen, who poured £35 million into this vast adults-only resort and hotel in a forest in Kolbotn just outside Oslo. The Well’s core principle is the natural healing properties of water for easing joint and muscle pain, alleviating sleep problems or simply chilling out. I have joined local day-trippers and European weekend visitors to luxuriate in every version of the stuff: there are saunas, indoor and outdoor hot tubs, waterfall caves, a Moroccan hammam, a Japanese onsen with forest views and an art deco-style Roman tepidarium with gold-leaf mosaics. I roam this water wonderland, inhaling the sweet-orange aromas in a Japanese steam bath (one of several uniquely scented spaces) before lying supine in a warm banja where a therapist curates a gong bath and twirls me around like a happy embryo. Then, after lounging with a book by the 330-metre indoor pool, I stroll past the heated outdoor pool, backed by soaring pine trees, and enter the sculpture forest, which features an Antony Gormley – one of several artworks from Hagen’s personal collection scattered around. Each of my senses is indulged in this greenery. Therapy has never been so natural, non-invasive and blissful. Noo Saro-Wiwa
Address: Kongeveien 65, 1412 Sofiemyr, Norway
F Zeen, Kefalonia
Pitched on the lushly vegetated slopes of the Greek island of Kefalonia, between Mount Ainos and Lourdas beach, this adults- only Ionian Sea retreat knows how to leverage its beautiful natural surroundings. I hike at dawn in the shadow of Mount Ainos, through olive groves and past wandering sheep. To get to the beach for kayaking, paddleboarding and snorkelling in crystal clear waters among loggerhead sea turtles, I pass church ruins and fragrant cypress and pine trees.
Sundowns are for guided meditations and gong therapy on the Armonia deck, where the surrounding forest and birdsong chime with the instructor’s calming voice. This soothing backdrop, combined with the smorgasbord of guided fitness, activities, meditation and pampering, means there’s something for anyone wanting to reconnect and rejuvenate. A skilled instructor guides aerial yoga on the Zenia deck, one of four shaded, sea-facing, open-air gym and exercise pagodas smothered in oleander leaves.
At the Idor spa, I have a massage with essential oils and natural seaweed products by Voya and Ariadne Athens and sound healing therapy with Tibetan singing bowls. The bowls placed on my palm and lower back are struck gently, the vibrations sending stress-relieving shivers through me. A muscle-stretching Pilates reformer session is followed by dinner, served in two poolside restaurants. Healthy meat and vegan dishes include tasty sea bass ceviche, Greek keftedes and roasted sweet potato with vegan yoghurt and pomegranate, ingredients sourced from local producers and F Zeen’s organic garden. On my favourite night, feeling sated and relaxed, I finish the evening nodding off to Dirty Dancing in the outdoor cinema, beneath the moonlit silhouettes of cypress trees. Pardon the punchline, but I’m having the pampered time of my life. Noo Saro-Wiwa
Address: Lourdas Beach Road, Lourdata 280 83, Greece
Healing Holidays (healingholidays.com/condenast) can arrange a seven-night stay from £1,259 per person sharing, including transfers, B&B and daily group fitness classes and activities
Marbella Club, Spain
Within an hour of checking into the Marbella Club, my youngest daughter, Matilda, declares, “I never want to leave.” She is waist-high in a pool, with a noodle in one hand and a tub of ice cream in the other. A place of “elegant simplicity” is how Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe described his finca-turned-party pad on Marbella’s Golden Mile 70 years ago. The relaxed glamour with a sprinkling of magic prevails, but the hedonism is tempered by holistic health and a generous family offering.
Along with 115 rooms and suites and 16 villas, there are seven restaurants, three pools, a 53,000-square-foot kids’ club, thalassotherapy spa and holistic studio, set among luscious botanical gardens. There is so much to enjoy with my husband and two daughters, eight and 10. Aerial yoga is a success, partly because my children find my fear of being off the ground amusing, but mostly because it’s fun to try something new. My daughters develop an early taste for top-notch massages, heated bathrobes and thalasso pools.
But everyone takes something different from here. For me it’s the charming interiors (heavy on Pierre Frey fabrics), the colourful salads at El Olivar and the vast wellbeing programme. The highlights are a breath and meditation session with Antonia Pilbrow; a detoxifying Thalion ritual in which I am scrubbed to squeaky-clean perfection; and an Indiba facial that softens my facial lines with powerful Babor products. My husband loves oysters at The Grill and the slick gym. The girls enjoy the aroma workshop, and the freedom to walk unaccompanied from our room to the ice-cream station by the beach. We all agree that the breakfast buffet is the best we’ve had; that cycling by the sea is much better than in a park; and that we’ll definitely return. Louisa Parker Bowles
Address: Av. Bulevar Príncipe Alfonso de Hohenlohe, 29602 Marbella, Spain
Healing Holidays (healingholidays.com/condenast) can arrange a four-night stay from £4,615 per family of four sharing, including transfers and B&B