Escape to Somatheeram Ayurveda Village in Kerala

The Luxury Channel | 10 Apr 2017

There’s a Chinese lady sitting at lunch slavered in a red face pack. Fabric is wound around her crown, like bandages, and she’s wearing a green overall and sipping fresh pineapple juice. Nearby a Russian man wanders around the garden sporting banana, egg white and mango painted on his face. He has also just enjoyed a Thalapothichil treatment, in which the head is covered with herbal paste and topped off with a lotus leaf — a procedure that’s said to be good for depression and stress.

I’m at the Somatheeram Ayurveda Village — India’s first Ayurvedic hospital in a resort setting. Opened 35 years ago, it boasts more awards than I’ve had hot curries (a lot, in other words). It’s situated in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, above a golden beach that extends to eternity and beyond — and where groups of fishermen gather to untangle their Himalayan-size fishing nets.

• Health, Beauty & Spa,
• Travel: Asia/ Oceania

Get lean, lithe and puma-fit at Target Fitness Retreats

Our Man on the Ground | 6 Apr 2017

Tabata? Burpees? Pad work? Double Dutch to me. But, hell, I’m about to find out what these are. I’m on a Target Human Performance fitness holiday – if doing five hours’ exercise a day can be called a ‘holiday’. I’m here for a five-day ‘get fit fast’ retreat. A so-called health, fitness and wellness break.

• Health, Beauty & Spa

Gielly Green one-stop boutique salon and spa

The Luxury Channel | 23 Mar 2017

It’s like a studio that houses some of the capital’s greatest artists. Think of it as a curated exhibition or art gallery — but instead of artworks for sale, it has some of the world’s best hair maestros and therapists offering their services. These are the sorts of things that are said about Gielly Green, a tip-top boutique salon cum one-stop beauty lounge in Marylebone, London. It has also garnered glowing reviews in magazines like Tatler and Vogue.

• Health, Beauty & Spa

Our review of a facial with Vaishaly

Queen of Retreats | 7 Sep 2016

Vaishaly (like Madonna and Brad, she’s known only by her first name) is a superfacialist who works with your energy, reading your unique energy ‘signature’ and using her intuition and magic hands (plus her own brand organic products). Her treatment includes a facial massage, cranial techniques, Reiki and manual lymphatic drainage. It’s a holistic approach that takes you to heaven and back – without moving from her Marylebone clinic with its flickering candles and serene Buddhas. She has a three-month waiting list – but it’s worth the wait.

• Health, Beauty & Spa

Experience a treatment journey at the Coach House Spa

The Luxury Channel | 10 Apr 2016

The English countryside, a glass architect and a massage. What do they have in common? This is what I discover when I have a treatment in the Coach House Spa, at Beaverbrook, the luxury country estate hotel near Leatherhead, England. The Coach House was previously used for the Bentleys of the then-owner of the property, the late press baron and politician, Lord Beaverbrook. There’s little to remind of that time, given the spa’s water-blue, fern-green and poppy-red tiles and golden-leaves-on-sky stained glass skylights by Brian Clarke, creator of the world’s most monumental stained glass works. A scheme by the glass architect that evokes English country fields and water or looks like a psychedelic trip on the Underground, depending on your point of view.

• Health, Beauty & Spa

Amaveda Detox Retreat

Our Man on the Ground | 29 Feb 2016

Anyone for Abhyanga in East Sussex? Or perhaps a little Charshana? Or maybe some Panchakarma? In other words, anyone for “dry brushing of the body”, “self-oiling” or “the yogic system of detoxification”. I’m easing myself into a gentle detox. I’m not existing on gulps of air or sips of lemon water. Or even colonics. But rather on Ayurvedic practices, mindfully cooked food, yoga and oodles of downtime. I’m on an Amaveda Detox.

• Health, Beauty & Spa

Elephant Yoga at the Anantara Golden Triangle

Harper’s Bazaar | 16 Feb 2016

Calling all yoga bunnies: I’ve tried everything from ashtanga to tantra. I’ve done postures on Nicaraguan beaches, atop a Moroccan riad, in an Indian ashram and sailing down the Dalmatian Coast. But now, I’ve found something completely different. A first. Welcome to yoga on an elephant.

• Health, Beauty & Spa,
• Travel: Asia/ Oceania

My Personal Sanctuary review: roaming therapists, UK

Queen of Retreats | 5 Feb 2016

The quick read: This lovely company organises spa therapists to come to your own home or five star holiday homes anywhere in the UK outside of London. They have hundreds of high-end therapists on their books, do training and secret shopping to maintain standards, and use products by Neal’s Yard Remedies, which smell great and are effective. You can buy an amount of time and mix and match the treatments to your needs – from deep tissue massage to facials and hand and feet pampering treats. It’s great for parties, family get togethers, hen nights and corporate jollies.

• Health, Beauty & Spa

QMS Skincare popup at Liberty, London

Our Man on the Ground | 11 Dec 2015

If you’re tired of Christmas shopping and longing to be pampered, hotfoot it to the QMS Skincare Spa pop up in Liberty, London. The treatment rooms are on the first floor, a hidden world (think The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) behind a door at the rear of the shoe department. Boasting a gently clinical vibe and classical music, the rooms are simple and white-on-white – with white-clad therapists who look after you beautifully. (A hand and shoulder massage comes with the facial.)

• Health, Beauty & Spa

Mindful movement (and cake) in the Atlas Mountains

Queen of Retreats | 6 Dec 2015

The quick read: Satvada Retreats’ 5-day yoga, mindfulness meditation and walking retreat runs on set dates throughout the year and is based at a kasbah at Tahanaout, in the spectacular foothills of the Atlas Mountains. The vibe is gentle, mindful and uncompetitive, so these retreats suit beginners just as much as they do the experienced practitioner. The accommodation is traditional – in a serene setting – and the food rustic and good, including cake and wine if you want it. There are superb guided walks, a hammam (with so-so massages) or it’s just a 30-minute drive from Marrakech for the souk. You’re almost guaranteed to come back from the holiday feeling inspired and restored.

• Health, Beauty & Spa,
• Travel: Europe/ Africa

‘I tried sensory therapy for my past trauma’

Healthista | 9 Nov 2015

There was that time my house was hit by a tornado when I was at home. And then there was my physically and emotionally abusive childhood, at the hands of my mentally ill mother. Yes, I’m a good subject for trauma therapy. But actually nearly everybody has suffered trauma. You don’t have to be a war veteran or a survivor of incest or of a car crash. Even seemingly benign experiences can be traumatic for some – it depends on your attitude – from that nasty knee surgery to root canal treatment at the dentist or a ride on a roller-coaster.

• Caroline’s Life,
• Health, Beauty & Spa

Uspaah – the personal spa concierge for those too busy to visit a spa

Our Man on the Ground | 25 Oct 2015

Don’t want to leave your hotel room? Want something special in your office? Or don’t want to have to drive home from the spa after a relaxing massage? Can’t be bothered to get your pedi done in the nail bar down the road? Like to do a his and hers spa chez vous? Then USPAAH is your new personal spa concierge, bringing a spa to your door. It’s a new app that offers high-end beauty treatments from ‘spaahristas’ – think tip-top mobile beauticians – who arrive Uber-style at a tap of your finger and within the hour.

• Health, Beauty & Spa