The yearning never ends to look better, younger, live longer, while understanding how to cope with the pressures of life in the 21st century fast lane. From figuring out what food is best for our microbiome, to finding the best workout routine for our busy schedule - it’s a wonder we remember how to relax.
Medical spas, like our best picks below, are one-stop shops, where you can be analysed, have your wellness plan tweaked and be offered a bespoke journey through the dizzying array of options to emerge lighter, leaner, sharper, healthier and brimming with renewed vigour — all in 24 hours.
Sha Wellness Clinic, Spain
One night at dinner there was a magician, conjuring cards from behind my ear, but honestly they all seem to be magicians at SHA. That includes the chef whose macro-biotic dishes were a constant delight from his umami-rich miso soup at breakfast (ideal for stabilising the blood pressure) to his courgette and seaweed soup at lunch, to his scallops and creamy peas with baked celery root at supper. There are three menus to chose from depending on weight-loss requirements and doctor’s orders. And with the 900 calorie menu, I lost three kilos in five days.
I was kept busy with a raft of treatments and consultations. Dr. Bruno Ribeiro measured my brain waves (tired) in a fascinating neurocognitive assessment. Dr. Mera, explained that a muscle needs 80 calories to stay alive whilst fat just needs eight and lovely Gemma told me in the midst of my colonic irrigation that “bubbles can last up to two years in the colon, so if you are going to drink them, you might as well drink good champagne”.
There was a brilliant Guatemalan dentist who can give you the perfect smile; an ozone clean and a French aesthetic doctor. Dr. Dalbos specialises in minimally invasive treatments like lasering off age spots and reversing the inevitable gravity. “I like to make people feel better about themselves,” she told me. Something I definitely felt upon departure.
Rates for the 4-day Rebalance programme at SHA Wellness Clinic start from €1,800 (approx. £1,540) per person. 7 and 14 day programmes also available; shawellnessclinic.com
Palazzo Fiuggi, Italy
Perfectly located between Rome and Naples, Palazzo Fiuggi launched last year offering a full medical clinic integrated into a luxurious hotel (evidence of which was the best bed and pillows I have had in a while). There, apart from the beneficial, purifying effects of drinking Fiuggi water straight from the thermal springs (good for expelling kidney stones), you can bathe in pools of detoxifying magnesium or opt to detox 21st century style with Far Infrared technology with plasma and light. Don’t miss though the seriously relaxing Psammo therapy where the dry heat of natural quartz sand cocoons you whilst being massaged. Blood and diagnostics happen on the first morning, ‘I am a little vampire in the morning ‘Federica the nurse said as she filled yet another phial.
Health checks done, I was started off on one of the 10 menu plans available which include immune-enhance, optimal weight, epigenetic, deep detox and ayurvedic. The culinary author of the menus is Heinz Beck, whose dedication to healthy eating is as acclaimed as his 3 Michelin star restaurant in Rome. There is no red meat served here, nor butter used in cooking but the varied and delicious dishes I had which included beetroot soup with almond cream and fillet of cod in mint crust with artichokes allowed me to lose 1.5 kilos in three days.
Swimming pools abound but I finally found something I liked doing in the gym; Reax Compact, which offers cognitive and reaction training with lights and movement. It allowed me to use the white tracksuit provided on arrival and not feel a total fraud.
Healing Holidays can arrange a 7-night Regenerate programme from £3,819 per person sharing, including British Airways flights, transfers, full board accommodation and inclusions of the programme; healingholidays.com
Estoril Wellness Centre, Portugal
Belonging to historical Palacio Estoril, famous for its glamorous parties and war-time history of spies and intrigue (Ian Fleming wrote Casino Royale here), this combination of a Banyan Tree Spa and a medical wellness centre is just across the road from the hotel (with an underground tunnel in the unlikely event of rain). Book into the hotel and you can get a personalised meal plan from the nutritionist on site. After Margarida has analysed your profile with bio feedback and dark field microscopy which can flag up food intolerances and underlying health issues. There is an emphasis on rehabilitation with Pilates Reformer and postural re-education classes, supported by hydrotherapy sessions in the therapeutic pool, there is also a wide range of pre and post-partum treatments including pelvic physiotherapy and even breastfeeding support.
Facial treatments use Sothys, the holistic brand Arôms Natur and Biologique Recherche; body sculpting treatments include cavitation, a non-invasive liposculpt which uses low frequency ultrasound to result in waste fat being expelled from the cells and eliminated through the metabolism. There is proper lymphatic drainage, ozone therapy and a brilliant osteopath, Isabel Tomáz, who rebalances the muscoskeletal and cranio-sacral systems. But under the centre’s holistic umbrella you can also find stress management, Traditional Chinese Medicine and psychoneuroimmunology. Do make sure you book time with therapist Paulo Fonte, who excels at Watsu and Qi Gong.
Healing Holidays can arrange a 7-day Physical Rehabilitation programme from £1,519.00 per person sharing, including British Airways flights, transfers, accommodation, daily breakfast and inclusions of the programme; healingholidays.com
Chenot Espace at One&Only Portonovi, Montenegro
I only had a day’s taster of this when it launched last summer but it was enough to decide to return. Advanced diagnostic tests using the trademark Chenot lifestyle biomarkers (their printer used up a lot of red ink on my stress levels) and the Chenot vitality index, alongside a consultation with the impressive head honcho Dr. Gordana RajoviÄ, allow programmes to be totally tailored to individual needs. But all aim to activate the body’s ability to heal itself, strengthen its defence mechanism and prevent diseases, pillars of founder Chenot’s concept of biontology or science of living.
His core approach was ‘you need to live in harmony with yourself to be in optimal health’. This is achieved in Montenegro through treatments such as bio-energetic massages or phyto-mud treatments, ozone therapy or nutrient therapy which sit alongside an enticing reduced-calorie Chenot Biolight menu. I lingered over my lunch time dishes of beetroot hummus and lentil crisps, a rocket salad with walnuts and rice tagliatelle with vegetables and soy sauce whilst watching the sun dapple the blue water of the Bay of Kotor through the window. All this plus state of the art fitness facilities surrounded by gleaming marble and within the sound of the sea demands our attention. I will be back.
