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| Tue 20 Nov, 2012 |
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| HEALTH SUPPLEMENT – WINTER |
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The month's countdown to turkey eating, champagne popping and general over-gorging has almost begun. Join us in a bid to get healthy pre-New Year. Go for a short break to a city spa in Barcelona, a country hideout closer to home, or up sticks and go further to Arizona or The Maldives for some (literal) underwater therapy. Otherwise, get a membership at America's chicest gym, go for a jog or dance in your living room to a Step Up workout video. |
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SPA AWAY:
Hotel Omm Barcelona |
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If you don't want a completely immersive getaway but you're after some light R&R, go for a spa in the city. Oldie but goodie Hotel Omm is just the right mixture of urban life – it's a good party spot – and tranquillity. The rooftop overlooks the jumbled Barca horizon (with unrivalled views of La Pedrera), and the Spaciomm spa has a hammam, hydro-massage treatments and a hot tub with relaxation beds, as well as gravitational therapies (using gently rocking beds) and oxygen facials. The Moo restaurant, headed up by the inimitable Joan, Josep and Jordi Roca, has a health-conscious menu to match. |
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Hotel Omm, Rosselló 265, Barcelona, 08008
Doubles from £160
Click to
book or call the travel team at Mr and Mrs Smith on 0845 034 0700 |
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TREATMENT:
Underwater Treatments |
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We've been seeing a lot of underwater love in the treatment stakes lately. Huvafen Fushi in the Maldives has an underwater spa, complete with reef-facing rooms and treatments along a similar vein, using the ocean's natural ingredients (you can also go for a dip in the plunge pool out at sea afterwards). Mii amo in Sedona Valley offers bath-based treatments where you actually get into the water, and Ibiza's Atzaro and Aguas also offer submersion, Watsu-style treatments.
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Huvafen Fushi,
North Male Atoll, Maldives, 08390
Mii amo,
525 Boynton Canyon Road, Sedona, AZ 8633 |
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SPA HOME:
Herb House at Lime Wood Hotel |
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| Otherwise, go full-on immersive in the English countryside. Herb House, at boutique 13th century country hotel Lime Wood, focuses on holistic regeneration. Get fit with their new Forest Fit bootcamp or body MOT, or stick with simple pampering: yoga, a sauna with forest views, Ayurveda treatments, a mud house, caldarium and outdoor steaming hot pool. Food is all sourced from the forest, local farms and the house's own gardens (the Raw and Cured menu is especially detoxing). If you plan to stay, a Forest Suite is a must.
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Lime Wood Hotel
Beaulieu Rd, Lyndhurst, Hampshire, SO43 7FZ
Doubles from £245
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WINTER WONDER:
Fabulous Face Oil |
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| If you don't want to bother changing your facial moisturiser to something heavier for the cold, dry weather, Aesop's Fabulous Face Oil is just the tonic to add to your regime. Use a few drops before applying your usual moisturiser for non-patchy, hydrated skin all winter. |
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Aesop's Fabulous Face Oil, £39
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BOOTCAMP:
38° North at Aguas de Ibiza |
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In A Sentence: Five star fitness retreat for people who want to be treated like adults.
About: If you want some pampering with your fitness regime, then this is for you. Set in Santa Eulalia, Ibiza, this is one retreat that doesn't yell, shout, or boss you about. If you want results, you'll do it. If not, open your mini-bar and treat yourself. This is a spa-cation – so it's all up to you. Just the way it should be.
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| Read the full feature here >> |
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| UJ UNWIND |
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| OSKIA AT THE CHUAN SPA – Rebalance your yin and yang in central London |
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1c Portland Place, Regent Street, W1B 1JA | 020 7973 7550
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| Location |
| Inside The Langham, with a separate entrance on Portland Place — handy, as you'd usually find us sipping on rum in Artesian inside the hotel. Its proximity to Regent Street and Oxford Circus is a double-edged sword. |
| Vibe |
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Chuan means the 'serene course of water,' a Chinese symbol for the source of life and the balancing of mind, body and soul. It's all about harmony here: everything from the serene instrumental music and contemplation room to holistic Chinese remedies and different elemental oils reinforce its importance. On arrival, we had to fill out a form which reflected our current state – favourite colour, least favourite type of weather, food cravings, etc – in order to determine which element we currently represent and need most (we were earth). We even had to chant the word "gong" when exhaling prior to the treatment. So Zen. |
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UJ tried a new Oskia treatment, a collaboration that launched last month. We had the Chuan Harmonising Treatment for Face and Body, an exhilarating and utterly calming 90-minute facial and massage. After lying back on a heated waterbed, our therapist got to work on our face: a light acupressure massage (great for clearing stuffy winter noses) was followed by a deep cleanse and exfoliating facial. The smells of the Oskia exfoliants were intoxicating. While our mask set, she moved onto the body with similar techniques all over. We were especially impressed with the back massage – administered without having to flip over – and loved the essential oils (which matched our element), an invigorating fusion of eucalyptus and lemon. For extra pampering, head downstairs to the vitality pool and salt sauna before or after your treatment. |
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Eastern elegance: think chandeliers, southeast Asian panelling, gold accents, rose petals and dark woods. The contemplation room with its cushioned seating, headphones (through to whale music), fruit and tea is a great post-treatment finish. |
| Upshot |
| Wash away the city grit and rebalance your yin and yang in this East-meets-West haven. |
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LINK TO THIS FEATURE: Health & Beauty
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by JC & TR |
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(c)
2012 Urban Junkies. All rights reserved.
Reproductions of any portion of this website only with our express permission. Urban Junkies is a free daily mailer. All listings and features are editorial: We do not receive any payment from venues, artists or promoters. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of information listed but we cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions.
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