WellnessMatters

EUROPEAN SPA SHINES A LIGHT ON THE LATEST GLOBAL WELLNESS TRENDS AND MODALITIES

European Spa looks at the role spas can play in providing a space for people looking to reset their health through nutrition, nature healing and finding joy

Global wellness destinations have responded rapidly to the challenges of the past year, and as guests now seek to reboot their wellbeing leading spa operators are refocusing their programmes, often tailoring their offering to a more localised audience.

“Now more than ever, we need to care for ourselves on a deeper emotional level,” explains Diana Stobo, founder of The Retreat Costa Rica. “Our ability to understand our bodies and how they heal and reset is important for our overall health and there are two major components that we identify as ultimate healing: food and nature.”

Anne Biging Co-founder, Healing Hotels of the World

Patrizia Bortolin Wellness project manager, Hotel Piedlhof

health and healing is central to a new Feel Alive Again programme at Euphoria Retreat in Greece, which includes dance, Qi Gong, breathwork, vocal exercises, movement and meditation in nature.

“I want to help others to adapt and live with the pandemic by providing solutions and ways to lift their spirits, to feel joy again, and learn how to reconnect with themselves and others,” explains the resort’s founder, Marina Efraimoglou. “Resting in nature and being nourished with good food and rejuvenating treatments while having fun is key.”

Further validating the therapeutic power of health and healing retreats, Healing Hotels of the World has introduced a new Healing Certification that will enable its associated hotels to demonstrate their commitment to both safety and holistic levels (see interview on p94).

The group’s co-founder, Anne Biging, told European Spa: “Healing is in huge demand across the globe as we are all affected physically, emotionally and spiritually by the trauma the world is encountering. People are looking for hotels that can credibly cater to the growing demand for a healing experiences to recover and reset.”

Other leading international wellness destinations have introduced similarly focused programmes, including SHA Wellness in Spain, Park Igls in Austria and Clinique La Prairie in Switzerland, while Germany’s Buchinger Wilhelmi has adapted its fasting programmes to help reboot and reset guest health.

“I hope people will choose a retreat now, instead of single treatments, ideally in nature and with an integrated approach,” says Patrizia Bortolin, wellness project manager at Italy’s Dolce Vita Hotel Preidlhof. “Nature is the great guide for our lives and is not to be taken for granted; we must be sensitive enough to benefit from its healing effect. We need to become more self-aware and loving in this phase.”

Diana Stobo Founder, The Retreat, Costa Rica

Marina Efraimoglou Founder, Euphoria Retreat