Exhausted? Stressed? Burnt out? Give this bunch your body and they will give you back your mind…
The Ranch at Live Oak, Malibu
Best for: Going off the grid (and celebrity spotting)
If it’s not just a body, but a digital detox you’re after The Ranch is for you. A Wi-Fi-free zone, you’re encouraged to hand over gadgets on arrival, so it’s a haven for celebs and city-dwellers. Instead switch Instagram for compulsory 10-mile hikes through the Santa Monica Mountains and make the most of back-to-back workouts to occupy your time. The regimented seven-day programme encourages physical endurance, sheds unwanted pounds, tones up the body, detoxifies the mind, and most importantly, gets you back in tune with nature. Phew!
We say: You’ll leave with a new outlook - and shedloads of emails.
Try: Indulge in the daily therapeutic massage sessions in the ‘massage village,’ try the saltwater pool and practice a little yoga to ease your (now no doubt aching) muscles.
Prices start from £4,550 for seven nights. For more information, visit theranchmalibu.com
Sha Wellness Clinic, Alicante, Spain
Best for: Weight-loss, intensive detoxing, fitness, anti-stress, sleep-recovery... you name it, Sha will cure it.
Under one fabulous roof you can change your eating habits with a macrobiotic diet, be pampered to within an inch of your life and emerge feeling like someone pressed the reset button to your mind and body. When you arrive, a medical team of therapists and consultants draw up a personalised programme according to your needs. Think the Priory rehab meets five-star hotel. The futuristic complex is made up of infinity pooled-rooftop terraces, suites as large as City apartments, two floors full of hydrotherapy, treatment, relaxation and Zen zones and beautiful tropical gardens. Unsurprising, this makes the winning combination to rescue the body from burnout.
We say: It’s a paradise at the service of your health.
Try: The Indiba facial. The non-invasive, radiofrequency treatment leaves the face glowing and tingling with youth by improving the flow of oxygen between skin cells. Fancy eh!
SHA Wellness Clinic (T: +34 966 811 199) offers the 4-day Discovery Programme from €1,100 (approx. £851) per person, including all meals, consultations and treatments. Deluxe room suites start from €340 (£263) per night based on two adults sharing and €275 (£213) per night for individual use.
Orchard Spa at The Lakes by Yoo, Cotswolds
Best for: Families who need to regroup
With a brilliant children’s club and excellent watersport offerings to tempt your little ones away from their Wii’s, Yoo has got it covered for families. For you there’s the seriously cool Orchard Spa. Take a dip in the indoor pool or boost your endorphin levels with a one-on-one workout with celebrity trainer Matt Roberts, before heading back to the slick, celebrity designed, lakeside houses (Kate Moss, Jade Jagger and Elle Macpherson have all designed homes here).
We say: Entertaining little ones never felt this easy
Try: Bamford’s Signature Body Treatment, £95 for 85 minutes which combines shiatsu and Swedish massage with yogic breathing to soothe weary souls.
Prices start at £1,750 for a seven-night stay. For more information, visit thelakesbyyoo.com
Lanserhof Tegernsee, Germany
Best for: Serious destressing
Set in the Bavarian foothills and all on-trend oak floors, floor-to-ceiling windows and white washed walls, Lanserhof would not be out of place in your favourite interiors mag. In fact, it’s a serious, results-driven spa that combines the Mayr approach (think holistic, medical-based healing), with daily Kneipp treatments, muscular massage and physical therapy. Yep – you’ll find no post-treatment brownies here! The strict diet of buckwheat toast, soup and rice milk, teamed with food tolerance tests, vitamin injections and supplements might be a little hard to stomach, especially for foodies like us, but you will see results. Give it a week and you’ll be cleaner, leaner, lighter and stress-free.
We say: No pain no gain
Try: The Caviar Deluxe Facial, £190 for 90 minutes, which includes a multi-acid peel.
Prices start from £2,735 for seven nights. Visit lanserhof.com/Tegernsee
Lake House Jetty Spa, The Gilpin, Lake District
Best for: Getting some romantic headspace
The Lake House describes itself as a ‘decompression chamber for couples,’ and we can see why. Nestled within woods and overlooking a private lake, the backdrop couldn’t be more romantic (or better for finding some headspace). Devoid of people and traffic, it’s perhaps worth mentioning that the cedarwood hot tubs, warm salt snug and heated throws make for perfect proposal territory (the Lake District has incidentally been voted the most popular place to pop the question in the UK).
We say: Leave this page open by the loo…
Try: The Jetty Spa Trail is part of the platinum magic moments package an indulgent afternoon for two, includes a dip in the lakeside pool, a salt scrub shower and bespoke massage. Lovely job!
Prices start at £595 for a mid-week break. For more information, visit Thegilpin.co.uk
The Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum, Turkey
Best for: For a heady dose of health and hedonism
The Mandarin Oriental Bodrum boasts a glossy, well-heeled crowd. Coffee coloured beds perch around a sleek, slate pool with uninterrupted sea views. And even though we can reliably inform you that it’s a great destination for indulgence, there’s also the opportunity to get serious too: the spa has partnered with a New York-based medical clinic to offer everything from one-off health assessments to intensive five-day retreats. Programmes are bespoke and results driven, but no one will raise an eyebrow to a cocktail or two…
We say: Win win
Try: Oriental Harmony, £350 for 110 minutes, sees two sets of hands work in perfect harmony, pressing and pummelling bodies into hopeless relaxation. Yes please!
Prices start from £180 a night, for more information visit mandarinoriental.com/bodrum
Fletcher’s Cottage Spa, Archerfield House, East Lothian
Best for: Seeing out winter in style
With cosy log burners, sink-in-them sofas and sheepskin rugs you could probably lose your toes in, Fletcher’s Cottage Spa is the ultimate home-from-home. And as well as housing spa brand stalwarts like Aromatherapy Associates, they’re the second spa in the UK to offer the seriously luxurious Sisley treatments too. Indulge in a fireside soak in one of their private herb garden bath huts before nipping back inside for a youth-lending facial.
We say: Can we stay forever?
Try: The Sisley Supreme Anti-Ageing Facial, £130 for 60 minutes which uses innovative massage techniques to rejuvenate even the weariest faces.
Prices start at £185 per night. For more information visit, Archerfieldhouse.com
Spa Village Tembok, Bali
Best for: Those in need of a far-flung overhaul
Aiming to uproot urbanites from their concrete jungles, this spa focuses on digging deep into minds and bodies to shovel out emotional and physical pollutants. And while the prospect of finding our inner zen has always appealed, it’s even more so when there’s sunrise meditation on a black-sand beach and classes like palm-leaf weaving and stargazing involved.
We say: Be sure to benefit from the expertise of visiting experts ready to impart their wisdom on areas such as shiatsu, kinesiology and life coaching.
Try: The ‘Campur-Campur’ treatment, £225 for 100 minutes, combines Malay and Thai massage techniques. Enveloped in an exotic melange of lemongrass and pandan leaves, traditional steam pouches filled with herbs brush the skin and send you into a serious comatose.
Prices from £200 per night, for more information visit spavillageresort.com
The Scarlet Spa at The Scarlet Hotel, Cornwall
Best for: Focussing on the bigger picture
If you’re looking to leave the stress of the city/job/kids behind, get yourself to The Scarlet fast. With bathing rituals, a meditation room and lantern-lit, tented treatment areas, there’s a serious focus on wellbeing that ensures guest come away floating on (sea) air. And the relaxation room is unlike anything we’ve ever seen – instead of lounging on a bed, curl up in a cocoon-like pod strung from the ceiling. Then of course there are the panoramic cliff top views? And breathe.
We say: Belinda Carlisle was right: heaven is a place on earth.
Try: The Shirodhara treatment, £110 for 90 minutes, uses nurturing Ayurvedic therapies, including oil pouring, to release tension and blocked emotions.
Prices start at £505 per person for a three-night break. For more information Scarlethotel.co.uk
L'Apogée Courchevel
Best for: Adrenalin junkies and exercise addicts in need of down time.
There’s nothing better than heading outside and looking to the horizon to clear the mind and where better than the beautiful Courchevel? This town has more to offer than high octane skiing and excellent shopping (though we obviously love both). Enter the Alpine Sisley Spa at L'Apogée Courchevel. A dip in its glistening pool - which has its own vitality section for hydrotherapy, soon dissipates city and ski-slope-induced aches, pains and anxieties.
We say: Why not splurge out on the Russian-inspired duo cabin where you’ll find a private ice plunge pool and traditional Bania sauna.
Try: Sisley’s Phyto Aromatic After-Skin Restorative Facial, £140 for 60 minutes, injects instant vitality back into skin.
From £710 a night, for more information visit lapogeecourchevel.com
The Royal Monceau
Best for: The seasoned city breaker who's already seen the sights
Upon entering this ethereal enclave, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d wandered into a cloud. Mirrors line the walls and the colour palette is white, white and more white. Time quite literally stands still and so – away from tourist honey- pots and vin et fromage – it’s the perfect place to rest the body, and mellow the mind. And showcasing all that’s French and fancy, skincare comes courtesy of Clarins and Dr Oliver Courtin’s My Blend. Oh là là.
We say: All treatments are specifically tailored around you and your skin. Now that’s what we call getting personal.
Try: A Balance of Power face treatment, €295 for 105 minutes, where therapists select no less than eight creams and seven boosters - and that’s from a possible 400.
Prices from £635 a night, for more information visit leroyalmonceau.com
The Spa in Dolphin Square, London
Best for: A slice of Morocco in a hidden corner of the capital
For an escape from the hustle and bustle of the city without any actual travelling, head to the Moroccan inspired Dolphin Spa in London’s Pimlico. From the beautiful decor to the small details such as the Moroccan mint tea they serve, as soon as you don your robe and set foot in this oasis you will feel an instant calm. The treatment menu offers something for everyone, whether that’s an authentic Moroccan experience such as a Hammam or Rhassoul or more traditional relaxing treatments like facials and massages.
**We say: **The perfect winter warmer
**Try: **For an hour of utter bliss opt for the Warmth of the Sands Relax Massage - a unique treatment that uses warm, marine polished Lava Shells. The smooth texture, shape of the shells and use of heat allows for deeper muscle penetration and effectively reduces tension and tightness. £55 for 45 minutes, or £90 for 85 minutes.
Spa day packages start at £125 pp, visit dolphinsquare.co.uk
Best spa packages
When far flung destinations are nothing but a dream, look closer to home for a pick-me-up…
The Nourish Package, The Sanderson Hotel, London
Best for: An indulgent detox
Nourish marries a menu from health, beauty and nutrition expert Karen Cummings-Palmer with rejuvenating body and skin treatments in Sanderson’s agua spa. The menu is slimline and sophisticated winter comfort - think venison with shitake mushrooms and black rice, green tea smoked mackerel and sweet potato fries. Who said comfort food had to be smothered in cheese? You even get immune-boosting juices served straight to your room.
We say: A quick fix for summer diets which have fallen by the wayside.
Try: The Nourish Package which includes an overnight stay for two, an 80-miunte hot stone massage and NUXE Booster Facial, plus three-course lunch or dinner and a juice from the Nourish menu at The Sanderson restaurant.
Prices from £639. Available until 31st March 2016. Personal training sessions in the fitness centre are also available at an additional cost.
The Relax and Indulge Package, The Rosewood, London
Descend to the dark and ambient rooms beneath the grand Rosewood hotel. Once you've unwound in their gold leafed spa chamber, facialist Rebecca Parker gives you a distinctive three step treatment - using what look like a deep sea diver mask and a couple of electrode pads. Don't be scared: it's pleasantly tingly, and you’ll feel so zen you can just close your eyes and have a snooze. Afterwards, you'll get a glass of champagne to get the glow from within too.
We say: Forget you've got to get on the tube after, and relaaaax
Try: The full-length signature treatment was designed in Hollywood in 1972 and is often called ‘LA’s most sought after facial’. You'll come out looking like a star.
The Relax & Indulge package costs £155 and includes a 45 minute Detox Massage or Face Place signature treatment and a glass of Ruinart champagne. Room prices are extra.