Fitness camp in northern Italy.

Six hours of intensive workouts – followed by a sumptuous meal and wine. This is a fitness boot camp, Italian-style. Katherine Viner, Friday 27 January

I’ve never been so relieved as when Dan, one of the muscle-bound personal trainers on the Fitscape week-long holiday in northern Italy, said I could bunk off on the first day.

Arriving catatonically knackered, barely able to utter a syllable, I was in terror at the sight of the programme:  dawn runs, at least five hours’ cardio a day, an alarming amount of  “burpees” (squat thrusts). So when Dan said I should “listen to my body”, I did just that and slept for 17 hours.

After that, though, on Fitscape there’s no escape. Fitscape is sister company to the better-known In:spa (inspa-retreats.com) – but here the focus is on fitness, cardio and strength rather than detoxing and yoga. It is sort of like a boot camp, but without the deprivation – I was going to say without the unpleasantness, but that’s not exactly right. You stay in gorgeous hotels. I was at the Rosa Alpina, in the Dolomites, with large rooms, plump cushions, thick duvets, good toiletries, nice view. The food is delicious – big breakfast buffet, vast lunch, afternoon snacks (fruit, nuts and seeds) and tasty, gigantic, three-course dinners. That’s three courses including dessert. With bread, if you want it. And wine, if you’ll pay for it.

So there are no former soldiers screaming at you to work harder, and no starvation rations, and no chores. You can even choose not to take part in sessions.

But the schedule is intense, and you’re encouraged to join in: a run first thing, boxing classes, circuits every day, lessons on running technique, core stability workouts, endless mountain hikes (admittedly through mountains and forests; the area is used for skiing in the winter, when Fitscape also runs skiing-training holidays). From day three to day five I was so stiff I found walking downstairs almost physically impossible, despite the stretching sessions at the end of each day.

It was, though, a lot of fun; especially the dance classes, which were a special request of the group since one of the trainers had spent time being a dancer in the West End show Stomp. His routines, from hip‑hop to 70s disco, were a highlight, if not the hardest workout of the week. In fact all three experienced trainers were excellent, and gave lots of attention to each guest; they worked hard with us on our programme and our motivation. The well-heeled, mostly female guests got on well, and there was much encouraging of each other alongside the racing each other. The last-night celebration was a delight, and all that exercise lent a sort of pheromone-heady euphoria to the whole experience. I loved it.

Some of my fellow guests felt, in fact, that it was too much fun – there is a conflict between all those puddings and all that working out, and the people who enjoyed it most were those who came to exercise, and to get out of their heads, rather than with specific ideas about losing weight. (No one is going to force you to do the classes, and no one is going to tell you not to eat.) Over such an intense week you get a real sense of your fitness improving quite dramatically, and Fitscape is excellent if you want to get your fitness regime back on track: when you’ve been doing five or six hours’ hardcore exercise each day, then squeezing the odd hour in when you get home really doesn’t feel like much at all. Do it!

• Fitscape fitness retreats (020-8968 0501, fitscape.co.uk) cost £1,695 per week, including accommodation, all meals, fitness sessions, personal fitness consultation and airport transfers. Locations for 2012 include the Italian Dolomites, Andalucía and Provence. As a special offer, anyone who books before 31 January will receive a free flight to any Fitscape destination

Great little piece on destination yoga in yesterday’s Sunday Observer in their Great Escapes section. “Marbella may not seem an obvious destination to go in search of enlightenment and the ancient healing therapies of the Far East, but a new health resort is bringing a flavour of Bali to Spain – without the jet lag. Just a 40 minute drive from the Coast del Sol, Shanti Som takes its inspiration from Asian destination spas with Buddha statues, tropical gardens, Asian-Med fusion cuisine, eastern therapies and a programme of detox, meditation and yoga. Destination Yoga will be running its next retreat here in March. A 7 night yoga retreat from £945.”

During the course of 2012, destination yoga will be hosting 4 retreats to Shanti Som with a selection of outstanding teachers, including Sophie Coats, Emma Henry and Laura Gilmore.  And, after the success of the New Year retreat this year, destination yoga will be hosting another at the end of this year.  Dates to be announced shortly.  To be sure of receiving notification when the date is announced, please register for the destination yoga newsletter

Click here for further details about our holidays to Shanti Som

A yoga break in Puglia, Italy, with wonderful food and wine, will leave you blissed out and back on track

Yoga may be all about balance, but yoga holidays tend to fall into two extremes: hippy or chic; communal bathrooms and mountains of millet, or Heidi Klein kaftans and a sprinkling of specially harvested lavender oil so expensive it makes your third eye water. Until now.  Set up by a former banker who wanted a healthy holiday without the hair-shirt or the hassle, Destination Yoga aims to combine top-class instruction with beautiful locations and accommodation.

And where better than southern Italy, where self-denial and penance are sins outside the confession box? On a hillside in Puglia’s Itria Valley, surrounded by flower-filled meadows, ancient oaks and olive trees, Santa Maria del Sole (St Mary of the Sun), originally a monastery, then a farmhouse, is now a sanctuary dedicated to yoga and meditation. With its cluster of trulli (the fondant-icing domes that give the region its distinctive fairytale appearance), tiny white chapel, generous pool and indoor and outdoor yoga studios, it is, in short, a scrap of heaven fallen into Italy’s notoriously un-angelic heel.

The family who own it are suitably otherworldly: Giulia, a modern-day healer with a halo of blonde hair; her partner, Salvatore; and her two sons, PJ and Marco, as wholesome as muesli (apparently) and as handsome as models in an Armani ad. Not to forget the two kittens, who sleep in the chapel, and the once-wild dog who couldn’t bear to leave – and who can blame her? This place isn’t for mere mortals, but it is miraculous what a week can do.

Staying in a trullo, with its smooth, white, vaulted ceiling, is rather like sleeping in an egg – or so I imagine. And just as nurturing.  Decorated with monastic simplicity, the trulli add to the contemplative atmosphere and the sense of being somewhere special.

With only the insect-screen pulled across the little arched doorway, I would fall asleep to the night-time sounds of the Puglian meadow and wake to the Mediterranean sunshine streaming through the high window – making the prospect of a wake-up yoga session appealing in a way that the combined efforts of John Humphrys and the Heathrow flight path fail to do at home.

Classes started at a civilised 7.45am (I’ve been on yoga trips where you were saluting the sun hours before it was up to notice) and were held in an airy converted barn with views over the fields. Our days were structured (for which read lounging by the pool or in a hammock) around a rigorous two-hour morning session and another more restorative two-hour class at 5pm. With 15 hectares of fields and forests to explore, it was always possible to find a patch of sunny solitude, or to retreat to your trullo for a siesta.

If place is important in a yoga holiday, the teaching is crucial: you don’t want to feel you’ve been stuck at a week-long ante-natal class, but it isn’t supposed to be a boot camp either. Our tuition was from Sophie Lewis, a teacher at the Life Centre in Notting Hill; she is also a triathlon instructorand a muralist, restoring frescoes in old buildings. Life choices, anyone? Her down-to-earth approach (imagine if BBC economics editor Stephanie Flanders taught yoga) is both unintimidating and challenging: there’s no whiff of patchouli or hint of Gwynnie P about her classes.

We were nine students in total, of varying abilities – from complete beginners to old-timers – and ages. And everyone was stretched, in all senses of the word. The combination of a hedge-fund manager, a solicitor, an international charity worker and a psychologist meant that the conversation at mealtimes and around the pool was much more likely to be about politics or the credit crunch than postures or chakras.

The waftiest that things got – for those, like me, who are incense-and-nonsense intolerant – was a half-hour introduction to ayurverdic medicine, which was fun in the way questionnaires about yourself always are. I learnt that the reason I couldn’t work the shower (I had assumed the water was cold for character-building purposes) is because I am predominantly a vata type – an airhead, in other words.

On most yoga holidays the food is as bland and self-righteous as the ubiquitous Paulo Coelho novels. Not here. If the River Café had a yoga studio, this is what it might be like – but cheaper and sunnier. The food was strictly organic (as much as possible grown in the gardens), vegetarian and wheat-free, which, happily, didn’t mean no pizza or pasta. And there were jugs of wine with supper!

The cook, the luminous Puglian-born Ilaria, believes that food cooked in a bad temper and without love will make people sick (go figure, Gordon Ramsay). Before each meal, in front of a table laden with fat tomatoes, bowls of pale creamy risotto and gleaming zucchini, the lovely Ilaria would explain the provenance and ingredients of each dish.

Just as the food was deliciously Italian, the rest of the holiday offered chances to get under the skin of this part of Italy, with Marco and PJ as enthusiastic guides (did I mention that they are quite good-looking?).

Even our transport had good vibrations: our excursions were made in a beaten-up mini-van once owned by influential guru Sai Baba. One day – after morning yoga, of course – we visited the historic city of Ostuni on our way to the Adriatic coast. Another morning was spent exploring the market and shops in the nearby town of Martina Franca, the group buzzing after an illicit shot of coffee granita, a local speciality.

On our last evening we all went to a local restaurant, and although this was our first meal not prepared by Ilaria, the chef must have been in a very good mood. Every face glowed in a way that can’t simply be accounted for by candlelight, healthy food or a week in the sun.

No grievance goes unshared in a group holiday, especially after a glass of wine or two, so it’s a good sign that several of the guests were on their second or third trip with Destination Yoga, and that many were already planning to return with Sophie to Santa Maria in the autumn.

There is nothing like an intense (and yup, any sporty people who’ve bothered to read this far, it is intense) week of yoga, whatever level you are at, to make you feel you’ve been taken apart, dusted, oiled and put back together again tighter, straighter and saner than before.

Forget spa breaks: a yoga holiday leaves you with that blissed-out, smoothed-out feeling that no amount of whale music, massage and carrot juice is ever going to deliver. And you don’t have to be a celebrity to do it in style. Namaste to that.

• Destination Yoga’s next course in Puglia (0845 458 0723,destinationyoga.co.uk) is on 2-9 August, with prices from £895pp based on two sharing, including all classes, full-board accommodation and transfers but excluding flights. Sophie Lewis’s next course in Puglia is on 24 September-1 October. Save £50pp on any course if you book before 31 January. Ryanair (ryanair.com) flies from Stansted to Brindisi from around £225 return in August

www.destinationyoga.co.uk

Feeling tired and sluggish, editor Helena Lang signed up for a health retreat in Spain

As l boarded the Easy Jet flight to Malaga early one April morning, l knew there must be fellow retreat-ees on the flight. But where? The glamorous lady in oversized sunglasses and camel pashmina? The loved-up couple engrossed in self-help books? As the flight took off l happened to overhear a conversation mentioning in:spa – where l was heading. The group of chatterboxes were young, super-fit and gorgeous. Gulp.

Only after landing did l realise to my relief that this gaggle of winners in the gene pool were the team of trainers, nutritionists, yoga teachers and masseuses who were going to beat us into shape. On the coach from the airport l chatted with fellow guests. Like me, many had decided to travel solo; ‘This is my annual investment in myself.‘ said a successful lawyer from Dublin. Like many of the other clients – aged between 3O-65, and both male and female – she was a repeat customer and reassured me that my lack of fitness wouldn’t be a problem at the retreat.

At the hotel, a gorgeous former monastery, 20 minutes from the coast, we were each given our week’s schedule. The laid-back approach means that you can do as much or as little as you like; you won’t get ticked off or made to feel like a lazy lump. but I wanted to get my money’s worth and to do as much as possible. So mornings started with a run before breakfast. For this we were split into three groups – each accompanied by a personal trainer. One group was for the hardcore runners who sprinted off immediately, the second was for the joggers who would keep up a more achievable and steady pace. The last group, mine, was for the walkers and joggers who would jog for three minutes, walk for three minutes. l was ridiculously proud of being ‘promoted’ to the non-stop loggers group halfway through the week! If you didn’t fancy a run, you could of course stay in bed, or do a yoga class with Isaac, the sunniest, sweetest, bendiest man in the west.

On alternate mornings we went on epic hikes on reasonably tricky terrain escorted by the team and expert local guides. They were great bonding exercises where we all really got to know each other. The rest of each day was filled with individual personal training sessions, one-to-ones with Amelia the nutritionist, group talks and cookery demonstrations, indulgent massages, fitness classes and evening yoga. Relaxation time was built into each day and most of us chose to spend it by the pool or on bikes exploring the gorgeous countryside.

Those who fear ‘healthy food’, would be impressed. Chef Michael Arthur and his crew created amazing meals without using red meat, wheat, dairy, sugar or salt and there wasn’t any caffeine or alcohol available either. Who knew you could have so much fun without drinking? Breakfasts (freshly made smoothies, fruit salads, granolas, egg dishes and spelt toast) and lunches (super salad combinations alongside protein such as fish brochettes) were served buffet-style, with waiter service for the two-course dinner and a casual sit-where-you-like approach.

What stood out for me was the warmth and friendliness of the team and their obvious expertise. All the advice was practical, useful and in the main, new to me. They encouraged and motivated us without ever bullying and made every new experience fun as well as challenging, it was a week in which I made new friends – and became friends with my body again. From now on l would treat it with the love. respect and the time it needs.

Did it change my life?

It has to be yes! My family appeared to be genuinely gobsmacked at the leaner more laid back me that drifted into the arrivals lounge at Gatwick. l came back several pounds lighter and have kept that weight off ever since. Plus a couple of extra pounds too – and I love that feeling of a looser waistband on my jeans. The main changes have been to my diet; under Amelia’s direction I have cut my caffeine intake dramatically — one (or two in emergencies) cup of good coffee a day, then herbal or rooibos teas. I snack on raw nuts (just a few) rather than biscuits and always have a small supply in my handbag and I sprinkle seeds on virtually everything including salads and vegetable dishes. l now make the time to switch off, sleep better, generally feel calmer and am probably a nicer person to be around.

How to book: Helena enjoyed an in:spa retreat to southern Spain. Prices for a week start at £2,195 per person based on two people sharing, including meals and drinks, transfers, group activities, nutrition consultation, personal training session and two massages. Flights are not included but can be booked for you (0845 458 0723; inspa.co.uk)

The Luxury Camp – Fitscape, Provence

The tester – Bryony Coleman: ‘I was keen to take my exercise regime further and to have a luxury holiday that involved eating well without putting on weight.’

The lowdown – Fitscape is the antidote to hardship. Its owners very clearly state that it’s ‘no boot camp’ and they’re not wrong. The exercise is so seamlessly woven into the day that it becomes a pleasure, not a chore. It’s a clever idea. You eat exceptionally well (albeit healthily) and then work it off with a manageable regime of hiking, circuit training, yoga, martial arts, running and cycling. And lots and lots of stretching.

Fitscape hosts weeks in Italy and Spain, but my destination was Provence and a turreted fairy-tale castle dating back to the 16^th century. The five-star bedrooms and bathrooms are vast and regal, the public spaces opulent and plentiful. Joining an eclectic group of men and women, some fit and young, some (OK, me) less so, everyone had their own agenda, but the general agreement was that it was a wonderful way to eat three delicious meals a day (and snacks in between) and still manage to tone, re-energise and boost fitness levels.

The only danger for me was that the onus is on guests to manage their own portion control, which proved particularly challenging with the sumptuous buffet-style breakfasts and the plentiful supply of the Chateau’s rosé wine in the evenings.

It really was all good: fun group activities in the grounds, free time reading by the pool, hiking amidst the vineyards.

The result – I left with a healthy glow and I’d never felt better – or better fed.

www.fitscape.co.uk/provence

Thank you to Health & Fitness magazine for selecting destination yoga holidays to Puglia, Italy as one of the best holidays for 2012. Here’s what they said:

Best for: Yogis wanting luxe rest.

The holiday: This week-long yoga course held at a serene, family-run property in rural southern Italy is suitable for all
levels. Dynamic, flowing classes of up to two hours are held in the morning, and more restorative, slightly shorter classes take place in the evenings. Yoga styles vary according to the teacher, but they usually include vinyasa, ashtanga and hatha influences, allowing you plenty of opportunity to try out different poses and breathing techniques to see what suits you best. Between classes and communal vegetarian meals, yogis can swim in the outdoor pool, relax in the gardens or ensuite bedrooms, explore the local countryside or simply sit and contemplate the calming countryside views that surround the centre.

Body benefits:  Two yoga classes a day ensure everyone returns home firmer and more flexible, while oodles of space and free time guarantee relaxation.

Price:  From £895 for seven nights’ accommodation, including all yoga classes and equipment, meals, snacks, water and local airport transfers. Flights not included.

Dates for 2012: August 2-9 and 9-16; and September 24 to October 1.

To book: Visit www.destinationyoga.co.uk or call 0845 458 0723.

Once again, in:spa retreats receives an honourable mention in the annual Tatler Awards.  Here’s what they said:

Calling all stressed-out workers, the tubby and the tired.  It’s time to join the communal fun of in:spa – and put your life and your belly firmly back on track.  This is the Jimmy Choo of detoxes, guaranteed to untangle the most uptight control freak.  And what joy – blissful boutique hotels in varying destinations, from southern Spain and Marrakech to their latest venue in France, a grand and gorgeous chateau.  Come to strip toxins and naughtiness from your diet, exchange crazed caffeine hits for ginger juices, and tone up with gentle hikes.  Food is delicious; there’s a group solidarity that’s contagious; and, miraculously, the whole no-sugar experience still feels like a holiday.  This is motivating, bum-tightening and gut-cleansing – even the exercise-phobic somehow manage to hack it.

www.inspa-retreats.com

There are in:spa retreats coming up in October, November and over New Year.  Choose from sunny southern Spain or warm and exotic Marrakech.  It’s your opportunity to either end 2011 or start 2012 looking and feeling amazing.  But hurry!  Places are filling up fast….

fitscape featured in the annual Tatler Awards…

let’s get physical, physical, let me hear your body talk

Nurturing, nudging, challenging. Here is an exercise escape that won’t put the fear of God into you.  This isn’t a bullying, military-style get-up; instead, these guys foster a healthy vibe that survives long after a short-haul week away.  Clever.  Pick your location – a converted 18^th century monastery in southern Spain, for example, or the snow-capped Dolomites – and get ready to be telepathically looked after.  What makes this company so special is that you stay in proper, all-singing, delicious hotels.  The fitscape team – from personal trainers to nutritionists – are handpicked and flown in especially.  And wow, the food.  Local produce is fancied up, so it’s like having Yotam Ottolenghi travel with you.  Your days are filled with a choice of activities such as mountain biking, boxing or core training, perhaps a little yoga, but you can either work out or work on the tan – you needn’t be an exercise freak to enjoy it.  Lengthen and strengthen and you’ll leave slimmer and trimmer.  You’ll be so pepped up with energy it’ll feel like you’ve dropped 10 years, not to mention 10 pounds.

www.fitscape.co.uk

Here’s the accompanying article in the latest edition of Tatler about destination yoga…

destination yoga: Yogic Star!

What every self-respecting yogi is looking for: a week of challenging classes with expert teachers – the type who inspire, motivate and lend life wisdom – without the ashram-type suffering and soggy cabbage.  destination yoga operates in serene and lovely locations from India to Crete.  Plump for Puglia, in Italy’s deep south, for a perfect blast of stretching, sunshine, swimming, warm homemade bread and a whitewashed farmhouse with soulful, earthy vibes.  The owner, Julia, is an energy worker and healer who will calm the chattering of your mind; her two devastatingly good looking sons are like something out of Jesus Christ Superstar – one a carpenter, the other a sculptor – and they play ancient drums and chant.  The food is a delicious extravaganza: local cheeses, tons of salad, wholemeal pizza.  Even beginners blossom, learning to release stressed bodies and creaky joints, while teachers like Heather Elton know just how to push New York alpha-bendy types to new levels.  There are market jaunts and meditative walks in the forest.  And all the while the light and landscape of Puglia draw you out of yourself – raw and elemental, it begs you to reprioritise and reassess.  Time out for your mind as well as your body.

www.destinationyoga.co.uk

Each of The Healthy Holiday Company’s brands received commendations at the recent Tatler Awards ceremony, held at The Connaught in London on Monday 3 October.  But, best of all, our destination yoga brand achieved first prize in its category, being described as the Yogic Star.

It’s wonderful that in:spa retreats, fitscape fitness holidays and destination yoga all received accolades from our industry peers and journalists at the same time.  Over the years, in:spa and fitscape have both received commendations (in:spa on several occasions) but this is the first time that we have achieved a hat trick with all our brands.  It’s obviously very pleasing to be announced as the winner in the yoga holiday category, and we’re very grateful to our fabulous yoga teachers and exceptional venues for all their hard work ensuring that our guests all have a rewarding, memorable, inspiring and happy holiday.

We have lots of great destinations lined up for 2012, and if you would like to get a snapshot of where we’re going and when across all our different types of healthy holiday, please see all holiday dates

Oh, and by the way, if you book your 2012 in:spa retreat or a fitscape fitness holiday before 31 October, you will be able to save £250 or £150 per person.  That’s got to be worth it!  And it will give you something wonderful to look forward to next year….