Spent last week in Kenya, visiting Ngerende Island Lodge, a luxurious new lodge in the remote wilderness of the Masai Mara national park. With just seven spacious tented cabins, the staff are able to give guests truly personalised service. There is also a delightful small spa, complete with plunge pool and two treatment beds overlooking the fast flowing Mara River.

Ngerende Island Lodge

Currently in beautiful Namibia, where the weather is hot and sunny. This enchanting and sparsely populated country offers coastal, desert and mountain landscapes and vast wilderness areas, including the Etosha National Park. one of the largest and best game viewing parks in the whole of Africa.

Okonjima Villa

While the luxurious game lodges we are staying in all have refreshing outdoor pools, none has a spa. Given the beauty of the environment, the warm climate and starry skies, a relaxing treatment would be the perfect end to a day spent exploring the bush or after an exciting game drive.

Mushara Outpost

On our second evening, we travel to the new Mushara Outpost, close to the Etosha National Park where we stay in individual luxuriously appointed cabins made of wood and canvas. Each cabin has its own verandah looking out onto the arid bush landscape. Although close to a watering hole, I didn’t catch sight of any animals, though something bumped against the cabin in the middle of the night and woke me up!

After sundowners around the camp fire followed by a delicious dinner served by Mushara Outpost’s charming staff, we drive about 3 km down the road to have a drink and look over the 5-star Kempinski Mokuti Lodge – a luxurious resort hotel with Etosha’s leading (and possibly only) proper spa facilities. Kempinski’s spas are always of an excellent standard and the Mokuti didn’t disappoint  – both  location and design are most impressive. It was late evening when we visited and the spa was closed, so I only had a fleeting tour of the facilities and didn’t try any treatments. Set in a purpose built building amid colourful gardens, the spa offers five treatment rooms including a couples suite, showers, steam bath, Jacuzzi, relaxation area, retail shop and a gym. Wellness, beauty and holistic treatments using authentic local products are featured on the spa menu.

Spa at Kempinski, Mokuti Lodge

On our last evening, we’re staying at the Olive Grove Guest House in Windhoek, Namibia’s capital. This elegant upmarket establishment has a small outdoor pool, Jacuzzi and a small treatment room offering a range of professional beauty and spa services, including massages and facials.

Olive Grove Pool Deck

We were sorry to leave Velassaru after our short but memorable stay blessed with perfect weather.

We said our farewells to the resort’s  lovely staff and left the island after breakfast – travelling 30 minutes by speedboat to Kurumba to spend a day and a night on the Maldives’ first ever resort.

Kurumba is named after the coconuts that grow on island and are still used in cocktails and desserts served in the bars and restaurants. Kurumba’s a much bigger resort than Velassaru with more rooms and larger public areas including shops, lounges, a business centre and a library.

We have a fantastic villa that comes with a sumptuous four poster bed and its own walled private  garden with a waterfall, hot tub and swimming pool! Our front door looks out onto a powder white beach and turquoise sea. A day and a night just isn’t long enough to enjoy all this!

Pathways link the accommodation with the public areas and restaurants and criss-cross the island’s lush gardens filled with exotic blooms and frangipani trees covered in pink and white flowers.

The Aqua Spa is a short walk from our villa and offers individually tailored treatments and spa rituals using Pevonia products. One of the therapists gives me a short tour of the  facilities and treatment rooms, but can’t offer me a treatment slot as they are fully booked – such is the spa’s popularity. We settle for a swim in the ocean before dinner followed by a dip in our private pool before enjoying a luxurious deep sleep in our four poster bed.

It’s back to reality tomorrow as we head back to the UK after what has been an unforgettable few days in this lovely part of the world.

After 11 hours of flying, a three-hour stop over in fascinating Dubai and a 30-minute speed boat ride, we have arrived in Velassaru, a paradise island in the Maldives. Formerly known as Laguna Beach, the resort has been renovated, refurbished and renamed. It opened in March this year.

Beach, Velassaru

We are here for four glorious days to sample the resort, the scuba diving and of course the new over-water Aquum spa. Fringed by perfect white sand beaches and surrounded by turquoise seas – you can walk or swim around the island in less than half an hour.  The weather is perfect too – blue skies, sunshine and temperatures in the low 30°s.

The warm coral seas are teeming with marine life – just walking from our water villa to the restaurants or beach, we’ve seen shoals of small fish, turtles, baby sharks, crabs, needle fish and lots more.

I couldn’t write my blog in Singapore due to technical reasons (laptop crashing whenever I tried publishing a post). So I just took lots of notes for future features about the trip which will be appearing shortly in Spa Wellbeing.

I’ll also be covering the fantastic spa on board Arcadia – which I had the pleasure of using on several occasions, as we cruised from Singapore to Sydney. Again, I intended writing the blog from the ship, but what with my laptop crashing and the ship’s satellite system often being down, it just wasn’t possible. I intend to invest in a new laptop shortly, so I can blog without problems on my travels.

Since returning from Oz, it’s been difficult getting back into my usual working routine. So many emails to deal with, post to sort out and other matters needing my urgent attention.  As soon as these are  sorted,I’ll be catching up on all my features – so watch this space!

At least I’ve had some inspiration this week. I visited the Liz Earle Treatment Rooms in Chelsea and tried out the new Signature Facial – a truly relaxing treat! Look out for my review of this lovely treatment and of Liz’s newly publshed book in Spa Wellbeing.

In the meantime,  let me know about any new spas you have tried, and whether they lived up to your expectations. Fashion journalist Liz Jones was highly critical about spas in yesterday’sDaily Mail.  Did you read her article and do you share her opinion? (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1167830/LIZ-JONES-Most-spas-overpriced-cramped-big-possible-hidden-gems.html)

Until next time – enjoy these lovely spring days and the blossom on the trees.

Catherine

Early February 2009 and the heaviest snowfalls in years have hit the UK!  Despite the snow, we depart Heathrow just an hour behind schedule. We’re exchanging ice and snow for the humid heat of the Far East and our first visit to the dynamic island republic of Singapore.

We’re in Singapore for two nights before joining the superliner Arcadia, on the third sector of her world voyage. Arcadia’s Oasis Spa is the most expansive of the entire P&O fleet and I’m reviewing onboard spa treatments as we cruise the southern Indian Ocean to Oz, calling at Freemantle/ Perth, Albany, Adelaide, Melbourne and finally Sydney.

Tropical heat envelops us like a warm blanket as we leave Changi Airport for the short drive into Singapore city. First impressions are good; blue ocean and skies, wide tree lined streets, modern apartment blocks and lots of garden areas – even the expressway is lined for miles with colourful bougainvillea. Then just before arriving at our hotel, we experience Singapore’s exotic climate when our car is suddenly engulfed by torrential rain for several dramatic minutes. Moments later, the rain stops and the sun reappears. No wonder the plants thrive here, the city is a giant greenhouse!

Grand Hyatt Hotel, Singapore

We are staying at the Grand Hyatt, a fabulous hotel located at the start of Orchard Road, in the centre of Singapore’s legendary shopping area. But then, I haven’t come to shop – I’m here to spa – and Singapore spas are reputedly among the best in the world, as I’m looking forward to discovering.

Catherine