Luxury Resort VILA VITA Parc launches Elite Fitness Retreats hosted by leading wellness gurus

The prestigious clifftop resort, VILA VITA Parc – located in the charming town of Porches in Portugal’s beautiful Algarve – have enhanced their credentials for being Portugal’s go-to destination for wellness-seekers, with the exciting launch of the Elite Fitness Retreat hosted by the world-renowned health and wellbeing guru Harry Jameson and Alice Liveing in May 2020.

Burgenstock Resort & The Alpine Spa, Lake Lucerne

World-class beauty and wellbeing therapies in Europe’s largest spa, 500 metres above Lake Lucerne.

Nine years and a 550 million Swiss Franc investment, Bürgenstock Resort has been reborn as one of Switzerland’s most prestigious addresses. Here in the Alps the estate represents a landmark in ecological thinking due to its construction practices, the Bürgenstock Bahn, the world’s oldest electrical funicular delivers you into the lobby of Bürgenstock Hotel where the carbon neutral credentials continue.

Beaverbrook in Surrey launches its first Spring Renewal Retreat

This March, much-loved country house hotel Beaverbrook in Surrey will launch its first Spring Renewal Retreat, providing a getaway for guests to reset, revitalise and refine their day-to-day wellbeing practices as they enter into spring. Set on a 470-acre estate and centred around the nurturing Coach House Health Club & Spa, from 16 – 19 March, guests will work closely with spa, nutrition and fitness specialists to refresh their wellbeing rituals and lay strong foundations for a lasting commitment to healthy lifestyle changes. The carefully curated optimal wellness programme will leave guests feeling reinvigorated for everyday life.

Linda Meredith Oxygen Facial At Four Seasons Park Lane

By Annabel Kerman

The Four Seasons Hotel Park Lane has long been acknowledged as one of London’s big hitters, perched on a statement corner by the grand entrance to Hyde Park. So the invitation to review the new signature treatment menu at its eponymous spa is no small deal, particularly when these treatments include a 24-carat gold facial.

Ascending to the 10th floor the lift doors open to an ultra-modern circular reception area, all in white with floor to ceiling windows looking out to the city. Busy looking women sit around the circumference urgently tapping on tablets. Combined with the fact I am trialling an ‘Oxygen Facial’, the whole affair gains a futuristic edge.

Amanzoe Launches Personalised Individual Wellness Immersions.

The birthplace of modern medicine, renowned for its philosophers, natural beauty, and healthy cuisine, Greece is soon to become the fifth Aman destination to offer personalised Individual Wellness Immersions. Three life-enhancing, multi-day programmes will launch at Amanzoe on 1 April 2020, promising guests expert guidance and cossetted time in which to reflect, recalibrate and reset the course of their long-term wellbeing. Following the success of the multi-day Individual Wellness Immersions at Amanpuri in Thailand, Amanbagh in India, Amanoi in Vietnam and Amanemu in Japan, Aman is bringing the concept to the shores of the Peloponnese.

Spice Island Sensations - Jo Foley Checks In To Baraza Resort & Spa, Zanzibar

By Jo Foley

For a small island, or in truth a small group of islands, Zanzibar has always punched above its weight.

Historically it was where traders, pirates, rogues and romantics met and merged between east and west, just off the coast of Africa, a few miles from Tanzania. It was an important stopping off point for spice and silk traders alongside those carrying diamonds, porcelain, philosophy and disease…and it’s from where Dr Livingstone headed off to Victoria Falls. It was also home to the largest slave market in the east while its capital, Stone Town, became the capital of the Sultanate of Oman.

Terre Blanche Hotel Spa Golf Resort - A Super-Luxe Retreat Nestled In The Hills Of Provence

By Jody Thompson

At the height of their reign as the planet’s most famous couple, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had their pick of the world’s most exclusive resorts to escape the prying eyes of fans and paparazzi. 

One of their favourites was the five star Terre Blanche Hotel Spa Golf Resort in the beautiful Provencal hills above France’s Cote D’Azur  - and having been lucky enough to spend a few days there myself, I can totally see why. 

The place oozes class and is the ultimate in peace, tranquility and discreet luxury.

Seven Of The World's Most Luxurious Detox & Wellbeing Retreats

From stress-busting yoga retreats to gut-cleansing detoxes, a beauty overhaul to a mind and body MOT, The Luxury Spa Edit shares the world's best luxury retreats to refuel your mind and body.

The Scarlet Hotel & Spa - We Fall In Love With Cornwall's Chicest Eco Retreat

By Lisa Brown

Renowned as one of the UK’s most luxurious eco retreats, The Scarlet sits in an enviable spot overlooking the rocky shores of Mawgan Porth, North Cornwall. A trip to this grown-ups only, dog-friendly, coastal bolthole has been on my bucket list for years.

Marbella Club embraces inner healing in Transformational Breath Work Retreat with Rebecca Dennis

Kicking off the Marbella Club’s year-long retreat series, transformational breath work specialist, Rebecca Dennis, will be returning to the resort from 29 January – 2 February 2020 for a dedicated four-night retreat.

The Detox Programme At Mandarin Oriental Marrakech

By Lisa Brown

With a backdrop of the snow-capped Atlas Mountains, villas that make you want to stay forever and verdant gardens showcasing a kaleidoscope of over 100,000 roses, Mandarin Oriental Marrakech is a showstopper in The Red City. Just a fifteen-minute drive from Marrakech Menara airport and a stone's throw from the magical Medina, resort highlights include world-class eateries, super-luxe pool villas, breathtaking gardens and some seriously stunning spa and wellness facilities.

The Lanesborough Club & Spa Welcomes Tata Harper As Resident Spa Partner

The Lanesborough Club & Spa is the first spa in the UK to welcome the globally loved ‘Queen of Green Beauty’, Tata Harper as a resident partner...

Royal Mansour Marrakech - A Retreat Fit For A King

By Lisa Brown

Hidden in a verdant oasis behind ancient city walls, a feeling of calm and tranquillity ensues on entering the Royal Mansour. It feels a million miles away from the velocity of nearby Djemaa el Fna square...

Sopwell House, The Cottonmill Spa & The Club

By Lisa Brown

A hop and a skip from the market town of St Albans, and just 20 minutes by train from St Pancras, Sopwell House is a glorious Georgian country house hotel & spa, set in 12 acres of magical gardens. Once home to Lord Mountbatten, the house has played host to royalty and dignitaries since the 18th century. Nowadays the family-run abode is regularly graced by the England football team, who train nearby.

Even though the hotel has 128 rooms, the main house has an air of a boutique hotel. Flickering fires, plump sofas and floral displays create a snug and homely feel. Explore further you'll find a cool cocktail bar, three excellent eateries and the hotel's hottest new addition - a brand spanking new, 14 million-pound spa…

Laura Ivill Checks In To Cliveden House Hotel And Spa

By Laura Ivill

In its past glory as a private country house estate, it’s said that no one would turn down an invitation to Cliveden. In its 350-year history, Cliveden has hosted every British monarch since George I and is most famous as the home of the Astors and the setting for the scandal of the Profumo Affair.

Carlisle Bay & The Blue Spa, Antigua

By Lisa Brown

Sitting on the southern shores of Antigua overlooking crystal clear waters, with a verdant rainforest backdrop Carlisle Bay is a petit piece of paradise...

Lanserhof Tegernsee - A Gleaming Mayr Clinic At The Foothills Of The Bavarian Mountains

By Anna Hart

Of all the detox tribes – juicing, raw, paleo, macrobiotic – Mayr cure disciples might be the most hardcore. Named after the Austrian scientist and pioneering holistic therapist Franz Xaver Mayr, FX Mayr clinics and medispas are dotted across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, peddling a spartan, results-driven regime of fasting, chew-training and purging epsom salts. Its no-nonsense approach to digestive health is particularly popular with the international fashion crowd (Alber Elbaz and Karlie Kloss are fans), wealthy Russians and high-powered German CEOs and bankers, all of whom think that superfood smoothies are for wimps.

A Private Island That Out-Bonds Them All - We Check In To Cempedak & The Rock Spa, Indonesia

By Annabel Kerman

Two speedboats and a limousine transfer from Singapore lead us to Indonesian private island Cempedak, created by friends seeking a city escape combining a culturally sensitive ethos with barefoot chic style. Our excitement is piqued not only by its description but that Cempedak is for adults only, a prospect that has these parents of three in a frenzy over potential sleeping opportunity. As we approach, organic bamboo structures emerge from rainforest, with white sand beaches peeking out of turquoise sea. On a side of the world where every island inspires James Bond comparisons Cempadek surely out-Bonds them all.

Juliet Kinsman's Life Changing Programme At Vana Retreats

By Juliet Kinsman

Well, I’ll be, says Juliet Kinsman. I went to north India for a week’s holiday, ate to my heart’s content and spent most of my time supine. And you know what – it was the most life-changing holiday I’ve had. That’s because Vana Retreats is a new breed of destination spa with extraordinary wellbeing cuisine, ideal for anyone who fears abstinence or bootcamps. This salubrious road to wellness is smooth and only gently sloped.

Vila Vita Parc & The Sisley Spa - Alice Hart Davis Checks In

By Alice Hart-Davis

This glorious resort hotel is set in 55 acres on the Algarve coast along cliffs that lead down to the ocean – it’s the Atlantic here, creeping round the corner towards the Mediterranean. So it’s huge. There are seven swimming pools on the premises, spread around the landscaped and immaculately maintained gardens (there’s one gardener who does nothing but mastermind the bougainvillea).

VVP, as it is colloquially referred to, opened in 1992 and is constantly updating one part of itself or other. The one constant is the lovely staff, some of whom have been there all that time. I know I was there as a reviewer, I know it was low season, but they were all utterly, consistently delightful and helpful, with the sort of easy charm that makes you feel instantly at home.

Who comes here? People who have found it and love it, ranging from families to international sports stars, socialites and celebs (sorry, no names). Half of all guests are return visitors.