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….

Good to know that The Times’ Travel Doctor knows all about in:spa retreats and was able to provide a reader with a recommendation for her to pass on to her husband (August 27 2011).  Here’s the exchange:

Q:  My other half has a demanding job and aims to spend a week relaxing and detoxing once a quarter. He enjoys meditation, Reiki and outdoor activities such as swimming, sailing and riding. A spa retreat would be ideal, but he’s nervous of going solo to a retreat that’s too alternative. He’s looking for a break in November, ideally with a bit of sun.

A: An in:spa retreat (0845 4580723,  inspa-retreats.com) sounds perfect. It promises a combination of hiking, personal training, yoga, massage, a cleansing diet and nutritional advice in “comfortable, harmonious surroundings” in locations including Marrakech, southern Spain and the south of France. Morocco would be best for November sun and a week in a double room at its villa just outside the Marrakech city walls would cost £2,795 (single occupancy) full board, flights extra.

Our comment:  Approximately 70% of the guests on in:spa retreats choose to come alone.  So, we are very well versed in making everyone feel comfortable and at ease from the moment they arrive.  We must be good at it, as roughly 35% of guests on any and all of our retreats have been on one before.

Marrakech in November is certainly the right advice too, as the days are warm and sunny, with cooler evenings.  Our luxury private villa is extremely comfortable and stylish, with extensive gardens and two swimming pools – all set against a back drop of the majestic snow-capped Atlas Mountains.  The villa is conveniently located just 30 minutes from the airport and the world famous Medina.

latest press snippets on in:spa and fitscape

Health & Fitness Magazine clealy understands the difference between a fitscape fitness holiday and a bootcamp. Here’s what it says in this month’s edition:

If you want to boost your fitness but can’t face a bootcamp, this is the ideal holiday for you.  Personal trainers are on hand to encourage you to get the most out of your stay, but won’t shout at you if you feel like a lie-in or lazing by the pool. Design your own daily programme and try a mix of activities; from £1,495 for 7 nights in Italy, France and Spain.

Our next fitscape week is in the Italian Dolomites from 3 – 10 September.  We also have weeks in the South of France and Southern Spain in October and November.  Plus, a week over New Year.  For full details about all dates, destinations and prices, please visit our website at www.fitscape.co.uk or call us on 0845 458 0723

Meanwhile, in the August edition of Bella Magazine, describes in:spa like this:

With destinations in the south of France and Marrakech as well as southern Spain, in:spa offers fitness training in quiet surroundings to help you unwind.  More like a fluffy slipper camp than a bootcamp, it can be as energetic as you want it to be.  A trip to one of its retreats combines gourmet cleansing cuisine with physical exercise and relaxation, all set against exotic locations in sunny climes.  Chill out by the pool, have a personal training session, or head outside for an energising walk in the local countryside.  Prices from £1,895 per person for 7 nights, excluding flights but including local transfers.  www.inspa.co.uk

The next in:spa retreat commences 14 September, with further retreats in October, November and over New Year in Marrakech.

For full details about all dates, destinations and prices, please visit our website at www.inspa.co.uk or call us on 0845 458 0723

in:spa retreats and fitscape fitness holidays are owned and operated by The Healthy Holiday Company, which also owns and operates destination yoga All provide an outstanding experience for every guest, with exceptional service at a selection of exclusive destinations around the world.  The company employs experienced, highly regarded  personal trainers, yoga teachers, massage therapists, hiking guides, chefs and nutritionists. The quality, experience and personalities of our team are essential to the success of our holidays.

Our venues are all stylish and very comfortable, set in beautiful, peaceful locations with spectacular views. With 3 healthy holiday brands to choose from, at varying prices to a selection of inspiring locations, we hope that one or more of them is perfect for you. To view a list of all our forthcoming holidays in both 2011 and 2012, please click here

Perhaps the only thing more inviting than a spa break is a spa break with guaranteed sun thrown in – so OK! didn’t need to be asked twice to spend a week at an in:spa retreat in Spain.  On arrival at Hotel Monasterio, a beautiful former monastery an hour’s drive from Malaga, we were given our schedule for the week, which included some group activities (circuit training, yoga and hikes) and some one-to-one sessions (massages, an appointment with a nutritionist and a session with a personal trainer), as well as plenty of free time.  We were also assured that none of the sessions were compulsory and we could do as much or as little as we wanted – this is no boot camp!

We might have had the odd sleepless night beforehand, in case all we’d be allowed to eat was lettuce and celery, but we needn’t have worried – the week’s cooking was done without any red meat, wheat, dairy, or added sugar, but our inventive chef Michael worked miracles and made sure no one went hungry.  The buffet breakfast set us up for the day ahead, while lunch was another help yourself affair, with dishes including salads, bean stew, spelt cous cous, fish cakes, chicken skewers and vegetable curry.  Nutritionist Melanie was on hand to offer guidance about portion sizes, but didn’t wag a disapproving finger when anyone went up for second helpings!  The two-course dinners (don’t get your hopes up – it was starter and main, not main and dessert!) always consisted of a soup or salad to start (OK! loved the white bean soup and preserved lemon soup, and the incredible gazpacho), followed by a substantial main course – the Moroccan tagine was a big hit, as was the celebratory Thai green curry on our last night. We didn’t hear a rumbling tum all week!

Personal trainers Dan and Stan put us through our paces with circuit training, dancing and boxing, and offered plenty of encouragement whenever it looked like we were struggling. We enjoyed two hikes through the Spanish countryside – the first one took three hours, and was mostly flat, while the second one, a four-hour mountain trek, was considerably more challenging; it might have left us sweaty, red-faced and breathless, but the views – and the sense of satisfaction we felt on reaching the summit – were definitely worth it.  Any aches and pains were eased by massage therapists Jo and Jon, and yoga teacher Amy, who ensured we ended the day fully stretched and relaxed.

We came home six pounds lighter and with a renewed determination to hit the gym.  We’ve taken on board some nutrition tips and – while we can’t promise never to return to Snickersville – the week was definitely a step in the right direction.

Visit in:spa website to view full details / prices

Yesterday’s Sunday Times Travel featured fitscape, in an article by Matt Rudd, under the headline: Like a Skiing Holiday.  But in Summer.  On a Bike.  Here’s the piece:

Get fit in the Dolomites

A company called fitscape (020 8968 0501, fitscape.co.uk) has made getting into shape the focus of its mountain holidays.  Each summer, it runs three one-week trips to San Cassiano, in the spectacular Italian Dolomites.  Guests develop personalised fitness programmes, which include running, hiking and mountain-biking, as well as work in the gym and the pool – the meals are low fat but delicious.  Accommodation is in the five star Rosa Alpina and the next trip runs September 3-10.  It costs from £1,795pp full board, including transfers, all fitness classes and consultations, but not flights.  Fly to Innsbruck with easyJet.

Please click for further information about our summer fitness weeks for both 2011 and 2012

Of course, it’s possible to get fit in the Dolomites in both summer and winter!  What the article didn’t mention was the fact that fitscape also run ski & fitness weeks to the same luxury hotel during the ski season.  The format is obviously radically different, but the end result is the same: return home looking and feeling amazing after a fun fitness holiday in the mountains.

For our fitscape ski weeks, this luxurious hotel, recently voted the best hotel spa in Europe by Conde Nast Traveller, is exclusively for the enjoyment of our guests and it’s the perfect haven to return to after a day on the slopes. With roaring fires, excellent service and exceptionally spacious, comfortable bedrooms, Rosa Alpina is a magical place to stay and experience a fitscape ski holiday.

What’s included?

• 7 nights ensuite accommodation in 5 star hotel
• Local transfers to / from Innsbruck on our recommended flights from London Gatwick
• Morning stretch class
• Healthy breakfast
• Fun skiing with your friends or our team
• Post-ski stretching, followed by afternoon tea
• Afternoon / evening yoga classes and fitness training sessions
• Sauna, steam room, hot tub and swimming pool
• Delicious, nutritious dinner

Fitscape ski & fitness weeks are from £1,875 per person.  Forthcoming dates are as follows:

11-18 December 2011

24-31 March 2012

9-16 December 2012

Please click for further information about our fitscape ski and fitness weeks

We hope that you will be able to join us for one of our spectacular weeks in the Italian Dolomites either this year or next.  You just have to decide whether you prefer a summer or winter adventure – perhaps both?

Good to see that The Times have picked up on the fact that we have recently adjusted the prices on our destination yoga holidays to Puglia in southern Italy.  Here’s the snippet:  “Destination Yoga has reduced its Italy weeks by up to £200 per person.  Classes are twice daily and tailored for different levels.  Various weeks over the summer are discounted and start at £825, including full board accommodation, transfers and classes, but not flights.”

Destination yoga holidays to Puglia are all for 7 nights and there are 5 weeks to choose from over the summer, with a selection of fabulous teachers, as follows:

16-23 July with Sophie Lewis

23-30 July with Liz Lark

30 July – 6 August with Graham Burns and Katrina Repka

6-13 August with Heather Elton

17-24 September with Phillipa Gendall

More about our teachers

Our destination yoga venue, Santa Maria Del Sole, is a perfect location for a week of yoga, sun, natural beauty and relaxation. There is a lovely outdoor yoga platform and indoor yoga studio. There will be two yoga classes a day and each guest will have the opportunity to practice at his/her own level making the week suitable for students of different abilities. Three meals are served daily (with one evening meal out at a local restaurant) and there will be plenty of free time to relax, enjoy the views, swim, read, sleep, have treatments or explore the local villages and countryside.

Santa Maria Del Sole is a 15-hectare property situated on a small hillock in the heart of the Itria Valley in the heel of Italy’s boot. (Nearest international airport is Brindisi). The landscape is rural and dotted with beautiful olive trees and vineyards, divided by pretty dry-stone walls. The main building is a 16th century masseria (farmhouse) that has been elegantly restored in typical, old apulian style with many of the authentic features still in place.

The grounds contain lovely gardens, a swimming pool, a wild forest and fields, and a tiny church. There is plenty of space to walk and be free.

Food: Vegetarian meals are cooked to an excellent standard using local produce. You will sample some of the traditional recipes of Puglia. If you have any special dietary requirements please notify us at the time of booking and we will do our best to accommodate these.

Treatments: There is a massage room where a range of massage treatments are offered at very reasonable rates. Advance notice of interest is preferable and sessions should be booked at the beginning of the week.

Accommodation: All rooms are en suite with shower, toilet and basin. Each room is a different shape and unique is its own way. Furnishings and fabrics complement the building and create a calm and very comfortable environment. The masseria comfortably accommodates 10 students and close by there are another 5 rooms in the trulli houses. These small, white conical buildings are one of the most magical aspects of the Puglian landscape.

View pictures of the venue

Alternatively, please enquire now or call 0845 458 0723 and we will gladly talk you through everything.

Nick Wyke joined in:spa in January for a 7 night retreat.  Article below published by The Times Online in March 2011.

Southern Spain is the new base for in:spa’s tailor-made week of fitness, yoga and fabulously healthy food.

USP Neither a bootcamp nor a loll-around spa, in:spa covers the ground in between with a well paced schedule of fitness, yoga, nutrititon and massage all overseen by experts in their field.

AMBIENCE The new venue in Andalucia is held in a hotel designed as a monastery with rooms on two levels around a central courtyard filled with fruitful orange trees. There are outdoor areas for fitness around the large pool and the hall that is used for yoga. In:spa has exclusive use of the venue so there are no distractions from the week’s goals. The hotel is about 10km from the sea. Rooms are spacious with stone floors, which keep them cool, and en-suite bathrooms.

EXPERIENCE “Just a word of warning,” said Amelia, the nutritionist at our introduction talk, “people do seem to experience nightmares on these weeks.” The crazy dreams are part of the detox deal apparently – one of the prices to pay for forfeiting sugar, salt, wheat, red meat, caffeine and alcohol – something I didn’t find out about until the night before leaving.

I thought of the two lads I’d sat next to on the plane who’d been heading straight from the airport to the bars of Malaga. Now that’s a holiday, I reflected. “Think of it as a holiday for the liver,” said Amelia.

There were 13 of us – three men and ten women – mostly aged between our mid-thirties and mid-fifties. We all had different goals for the week, from weight loss to kickstarting the New Year with a fitness regime (mine).

Each day started at 8am with either a run (a 4 to 6km trot with a hill) or yoga. On days when we weren’t out hiking, between breakfast and lunch there’d be a cross-training session, that was lively and fun in the sun. Later in the afternoon there was a fitness option that might include work with Swiss balls or Boxercise, for example, and the day would wrap up with a restorative yoga session before dinner at 7.30pm. Most of us retired to bed by 9.30pm.

Every other day there was a morning hike, starting from the hotel, and covering between 10 and 15km by lunchtime. The walks and fitness timetable build a camaraderie and talking points among the group. Scattered throughout the week are one-on-one sessions with a nutritionist, personal trainer and massage therapist.

It’s a challenging workout for the body. I felt muscles that had been dormant for years, loosened hips, learnt to stretch properly, got hydrated, rediscovered my palate and confirmed that much as I love the idea of yoga I need to start at square one. Amelia was not able to offer me alcohol but she dispensed some useful ideas on lowering high cholesterol (daily intake of omega 3, 6 and vitamin B complex) and Jo, the massage therapist, was intuitive and made me work hard as we both huffed and puffed our way through a couple of treatments that worked hard on my injured rib side.

Zakia, a four-time in:spa veteran, who’d come along mainly for Sophie’s daily double helping of yoga summed up: “I feel a sense of accomplishment – everyone’s eyes look really bright and their skin glows.”

I didn’t see the lads at the airport but we must have glowed as we boarded the plane with our specially prepared lunch boxes to keep us on the health wagon.

FOOD AND DRINK Our three meals a day were creative, colourful, tasty, healthy and plentiful. Breakfast included porridge made with apple juice and hazelnut milk, poached eggs, avocado and polenta toast, fruit smoothies, vegetable juices and freshly squeezed orange juice. There was chicken, lots of fish, including freshly seared tuna served with wild asparagus from our hikes, turkey burgers and tofu. Each day after lunch, which we ate in the courtyard sunshine even in early January, we’d pick an orange from the tree for dessert – they were cool, sweet and juicy with just the right tanginess. Drink options were fresh mint or lemon and ginger teas and water. By the time we were offered a glass of local bubbly on the last night, many of us were keen to stay in alcohol-free mode. A cookey demo showed us a few of the secrets of the chef Michael Arthur and his partner Nikki Clarke, encouraging us to season food with fresh herbs and lemon juice, rather than salt, and to grow our own alfalfa sprouts.

IN-CROWDiPad wielding company execs, business women and lawyers taking time out from busy work and family lives. Most people seemed to thrive and get a lot from the week, though there were grumbles about the intermittent wi-fi and lack of mobile phone reception.

WALLET WATCH A week, which is all-inclusive except for flights, costs from £1,995 based on two sharing to £2,895 for single occupancy of a superior double room.

www.inspa-retreats.com

0845 458 0723

We try to make it clear that the quality of the individual care, food and accommodation on fitscape fitness holidays means that our holidays are no mere boot camps, so it’s good to see that Esquire have picked up on this in the latest edition of the magazine, within an article entitled ‘How to beat Winter Lethargy’:

“Fitscape programmes cover hiking, boxercise, core fitness and lots of personal training, but it manages to retain the atmosphere of a holiday rather than a straight boot camp. With bases in France, Spain and the Dolomites in Italy, there’s something for all fitness levels, even sloths who need coaxing in to action.”

On a recent fitscape holiday, our team asked all the guests what it was that persuaded them to book a fitscape fitness holiday.  Apart from all the obvious comments like ‘it was recommended by a friend’, about half stated that the line on fitscape’s home page that said we were ‘not a boot camp’ helped clinch the booking.  Indeed, the link to the page describing what we think the difference is between a fitscape fitness holiday and a boot camp, is regularly read by visitors to the site.  Here’s what we say:

The term boot camp derives from the military, where new recruits or conscripts are hammered into submission and forced to undergo relentless, even brutal, training to lick them into shape. Break them down, then re-build them. If that’s what you’re looking for, then fitscape is not for you.

fitscape does not offer a ‘one size suits all’ approach to fitness. It is, after all, your holiday. Each fitscape guest (not conscript!) has a tailored programme designed to their individual abilities and goals, carefully monitored and adjusted by one our friendly, highly experienced personal trainers. And there’s plenty of choice throughout each day. Guests are not forced to do anything and everything. However, if you follow the advice and your tailored recommendations, you will achieve a great improvement in your fitness, encompassing cardio fitness, stamina and strength. And you’ll have fun too.

Unlike at a boot camp, you will not get shouted at or forced to peel potatoes if you feel like staying in bed one morning. Guests are, however, encouraged to take part in as much as possible and our team will drive you and motivate you to achieve your goals for the week.

fitscape destinations are stylish, comfortable and luxurious, set in beautiful locations, with delicious nutritious cuisine. No billy cans, we promise. The bedrooms are all spacious and individually decorated, with en suite bathrooms, and plenty of fluffy clean towels.

So, if you’re looking for a fitness holiday, fitscape is for you.

For further information about fitscape fitness holidays, including dates, prices and destinations, visit http://www.fitscape.co.uk/