Super Slovakian Spas
Currently in Slovakia visiting two of its finest new hotels, Kempinski Hotel River Park and Grand Hotel Kempinski High Tatras – both with exceptional spas. With limited flights between London and Bratislava, we took an early morning flight into Vienna and then drove the 45 minutes to Bratislava, the bustling Slovakian capital. We arrived in time for a delicious buffet lunch at Kempinski Hotel River Park, the city’s latest and most glamorous 5-star hotel. My treatment in the Zion Spa was booked for 7pm, so after lunch we had time for a tour of a new local winery at Modra, outside Bratislava. Nigel, a Kiwi winemaker who helped set the winery up for its Slovakian owners, gave us an interesting tour and answered our many questions. We tasted the white wines first then moved onto the reds, which we...
Read MoreHomeward bound!
Now on our way back to the UK after our Spanish holiday. It’s always a wrench to leave our little bolthole, but at least we have the journey home to look forward to as we’re driving back though France. We were up before dawn (ghastly!) for our long trip, leaving Javea around 6.30am and taking the A7 motorway to the French border then on northwards to Millau in the Midi- Pyrenees. It was quite an effort in the heat, but we covered over 600 miles in a long day of shared driving with just one diversion – lunch at Llafranc, one of our old haunts on the Costa Brava. The villa we rented for a family holiday 25 years ago is still there and looks much the same. It was probably the fastest, but not the most enjoyable way...
Read MoreSummer hols!
It’s hard to believe that we’ve been in Spain over a month – the weather has been glorious – just one short refreshing rain shower in five weeks! The time time has flown – what with visits from family and friends, shopping, housekeeping, gardening and essential cooling dips in the sea and the pool. I’ve done some work on the next issue of Spa Wellbeing, written up a couple of features and made frequent visits to the internet café. The only thing I haven’t done is visit any spas. This is the peak season, so not the ideal time for a fam or press trip – these can wait until our next stay in the autumn. I’ve lots of features to write up in the meantime for the website. Working from Spain is not ideal because we don’t have...
Read MoreAustria – Achensee
After a thoroughly enjoyable and interesting stay at the AlpenMedHotel Lamm in Seefeld, (more about our amazing treatments in my longer review coming soon), we have now moved to the rural setting of the Wiesenhof Hotel in Pertisau – a short walk from the the shores of Lake Achensee and the Karwendel Alpine Park. Our lovely room has a four poster bed and a large balcony with rural and mountain views! The surrounding countryside looks beautiful in the mist and rain so must look positively stunning with blue skies and sunshine The Wiesenhof has extensive wellness facilities and after lunch, we have the first of our treatments, a 20-minute Tyrolean shale oil bath for two, which we take in a long narrow wooden bath. The shale oil is extracted from local stone and has a pleasant, slightly antiseptic fragrance. ...
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Alpine spas in the Tyrol
What a pleasure to be in Austria again! We’re visiting the Tyrol, flying into Innsbruck and then taking a half hour drive to the alpine village of Seefeld. Shame about the weather! – we leave the UK basking in sunshine and land at Innsbruck in heavy rain. The city’s spectacular mountain backdrop is completely shrouded in mist and low clouds. We’re staying at the AlpenMedHotel Lamm in the heart of Seefeld. This is a comfortable, well established hotel – with a choice of traditional or contemporary accommodation in two wings. There’s also a super modern spa with outstanding facilities, including a medically supervised cryrotherapy chamber, one of a select few in Europe. We’ll be having a few sessions in the -110° chill – and writing more about this unusual treatment in Spa...
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Portugal
Summer has arrived – at least in Portugal! Cloudless blue skies and bright sunshine from early morning until late evening – a welcome contrast to the cold weather we’ve been having in the UK this May. I’m in the Algarve for a few days to visit and experience some leading spas, including the new Longevity Wellness Resort and Medical Spa, which opens officially in July. I’ll also take a peek at Caldas de Monchique, an old village away from the coast with natural spa waters. It’s the region’s only thermal spa and is situated in the hills near the highest point in the Algarve. The village has several spa hotels and a spa centre where you can have with therapeutic and wellness treatments. This part of southern Portugal has long been a haven for spa goers and golfers alike....
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