It’s been a wonderful week in Marrakech over New Year, with guests enjoying gorgeous weather during their in:spa retreat.  This morning everyone headed up into the magnificent Atlas Mountains for another hike – pictured (left) during a break, on a clear sunny day, with spectacular views in all directions.  As always, we have several guides, allowing guests to travel at their own pace and enjoy the hike to maximum effect.  After the hike – around 3 hours – everyone returned to their exquisite luxury villa for a gourmet lunch cooked by one of our specialist in:spa chefs.  As always, the chefs create delicious meals without any salt, wheat, dairy, sugar or red meat.  It’s the combination of cleansing cuisine with great exercise and plenty of time for relaxation that makes an in:spa retreat so special – and why so many guests return year after year.

Our next in:spa retreat to exotic Marrakech is from 15-22 February.  Hope you can join us!  For further details, please see in:spa Marrakech

destination yoga’s third consecutive week at the delightful Santa Maria del Sole in Puglia finishes tomorrow morning, before our next group of guests arrives in the evening.  It’s the first time that we have ever done four consecutive weeks at the same venue, but we are delighted that we did.  There is a different, highly experienced and much loved yoga teacher on each week and every room for the entire 4 week period was filled.  This says a lot about the quality of our teachers (and, of course, their fan bases) and the venue.

The destination yoga teachers in Puglia were Sophie Lewis, Liz Lark, Graham Burns and Katrina Repka (both teaching on the week just finishing) and Heather Elton will be arriving tomorrow.  Please click the link for more information about these and our other destination yoga teachers

However, if you would like to join us for the last of our yoga holidays to Puglia, there is just one more week scheduled from 17-24 September with Phillipa Gendall and we currently have two rooms still available.  Visit destination yoga for full details.

Santa Maria Del Sole is a privately owned farmhouse with cottages with 15-hectares of grounds, 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 delightfully 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.

Our guests tell us that 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 are 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’s plenty of free time to relax, enjoy the views, swim, read, sleep, have treatments or explore the local villages and countryside.  Or venture off to one of the local beaches about half an hour away.

To help wet your appetite further about this destination yoga holiday, here are a selection of guest comments from Phillipa’s yoga week here last summer:

The venue was superb. Very well-maintained, tasteful and clean.

Superb service. Amazing people. I feel like I just visited friends.

Really nice place, very authentic.  Fabulous food.

Very good service and very warm people.

Philippa was able to accommodate everyone’s yoga level and progressed slowly throughout the week and each of us had progressed in one way or another – she was very open and easy going, fun to have around.

Can’t wait to go back with Philippa and most probably back to Santa Maria del Sole.

Truly excellent home cooked vegeterian food with fresh food – they were very accommodating – nothing was too much for them.

Wonderfully quiet as away from it all. Very clean.

Excellent service all round. Very attentive and keen to please but without being over the top – just right.

Very pleasant / charming hosts. They definitely made our stay and wanting to come back.

I so enjoyed Santa Maria del Sole that I am very tempted to go back next year. The people there did make the place very special.

Please click here for more details about all our destination yoga holidays

One of the magical ingredients of a fitscape holiday to the Italian Dolomites is, of course, the mountains.  Our base at Hotel Rosa Alpina, in the charming village of San Cassiano, is the perfect location for numerous incredible hikes.  Here’s a picture of the group pausing for a photograph en route today.  It’s difficult to explain to those that have never been to the Dolomites quite how powerful and awe inspiring the mountains are – so unlike anything else in Europe.

As with all fitscape fitness holidays, our guests are a variety of ages and fitness levels.  We plan for this.  That’s why on all hikes we have at least three guides and trainers so that everyone can travel at the pace that suits them best and feel comfortable doing so.  This is particularly important here in Italy where all our hikes never start below 5,000 ft.

The word from Lisa, who is hosting the week, is that everyone is getting on famously already (we’re on day two) and it promises to be a fun and rewarding week.  As always, the service at the 5 star Hotel Rosa Alpina is exceptional and the accommodation, as you would expect of a Relais & Chateaux hotel, is as wonderfully stylish and comfortable as ever.  Particularly after a make-over during the Spring.

At the end of a busy day, the hotel’s award winning spa is once again proving popular!

Click here for information about our next summer trip in September or, if skiing is more your thing, please check out our fitscape ski and fitness weeks.

Our guests have just returned from their in:spa retreat to southern Spain (13-20 July) and we’re delighted to have already received so many positive and happy comments.  Thank you!  Please see below.  Whilst several of the guests had been on holiday with us before, nothing quite compares to the fact that one of them was enjoying her 11th retreat! We have three more in:spa retreats coming up this year to our delightful property in Andalusia:  17-24 August, 14-21 September and 12-19 October.  We hope one of them will suit you.  However, if those dates do not work for you or if you would rather join an in:spa retreat to another sunny location (the South of France or Marrakech), please see dates and destinations

Absolutely loved the week … the combination of masse s of exercise, great food, fantastic massage and yoga left me feeling totally rejuvenated and full of ideas for improving my well-being.

Charlotte [the host] was very welcoming, informative, friendly and generally ‘on the ball’ – great on all levels.

Hard massage, which got rid of so many of my knots, probably the best massage I have ever had, especially considering the results I recieved.

A really good balance of activities and free time.

I had a fantatsic time, came back from holiday feeling better than I have in years.

Food was fantastic.

I had my personal training with George. He was helpful, friendly and generally brilliant at his job. He was encouraging, and if he was local to me I would definately have him as a personal trainer. He is the best personal trainer I have ever come accross.

Great boost in fitness whilst eating very healtily in a nice group of people.

Amelia [nutritionist] was very informative and helpful.

Amazingly after 11 retreats Amelia came up with some different and useful ideas.

A brilliant concept beautifully executed – a delightful experience for all whether old or young.

The team was an excellent combination of skill and personality – not a hint of weakness and keeping 23 people happy is not easy.

The second hike was amazing – quite testing but so beautiful and Aran and Krishna were great guides in terms of local knowledge of flora and fauna, also good-hearted and fun.

If you have not experienced an in:spa retreat yet, here’s our promise:

We will inspire you, energise your body, invigorate your senses, detoxify your system, normalise your body weight and calm your mind – in essence, revive and restore a sense of total physical and mental wellness.

in:spa all inclusive health and fitness holidays combine energising outdoor fitness activities and yoga, massage and gourmet healthy cuisine in an atmosphere conducive to relaxation and reflection. The number of guests on every retreat is strictly limited, allowing everyone to enjoy personal nutritional consultations, yoga instruction in small ‘same level’ groups, fitness training, regular massages and individual care and attention. The one to one focus ensures that our luxury health holidays are suitable for absolute beginners as well as the more experienced, of all ages.

Our carefully selected venues are in some of the world’s most unique and captivating settings, guaranteed to uplift and inspire.

A week with in:spa is the perfect antidote to the harmful effects modern living has on our physical and mental wellbeing.

The in:spa team will ensure that you have an unforgettable and transforming experience.

Please call us on 0845 458 0723 for further information

The inaugural fitscape ski & fitness week to the Italian Dolomites from 27 March to 3 April was a huge success.  Guests ranged from highly experienced skiers to absolute beginners but our brilliant team of ski guides and instructors looked after everybody according to their needs and proficiency levels.  And, after a good day on the mountains, everyone returned to our 5 star hotel – the luxurious and stylish Rosa Alpina in the charming village of San Cassiano – for tea and healthy snacks followed by afternoon fitness training classes (lead by George) and early evening restorative yoga classes (taught by James).  Happily the week was blessed by outstanding ski conditions (despite being so late in the season) combined with glorious sunny weather.  We are obviously delighted that everybody had such a great time and equally delighted to share the comments we have now received after the trip.

Had a brilliant week – thank you for organising everything so well – including the snow and the company!  Had the best and most fun ski holiday in ages – so much so that I am quite happy to commit to my place now for next March.

Very well-organised set-up pre-holiday.  It was great to have all my kit and lessons booked ready for my arrival.

I liked the way the schedule was very relaxed and there was no pressure to have to do anything.

It was a fantastic group. I haven’t laughed so much on a holiday for a long time.  Thank you very much for organising our holiday so well.

The food was absolutely delicious.

Stunning venue.  Beautiful rooms, very comfortable beds.

I really liked having both the fitness and the yoga after skiing.

I loved George’s classes. They were a really good mix of stretching and core exercises/circuits.

I’d never done yoga before but I loved James’ classes and I’m really missing them!

The ski guiding was very good.

The sports massage was fantastic.

My room was lovely, as was the whole venue.

The best aspect was being able to do different activities on one holiday, with great trainers, in a wonderful place.

Loved meeting a great bunch of people!

Very nice and helpful hotel staff.

Fantastic service.

The holiday was way ahead of my expectations in all aspects.

Have already booked my next Fitscape ski trip!

If you would like to join a fitscape ski & fitness holiday to the magnificent Italian Dolomites, we have a week in December and in March 2012.  For further details about the venue, the skiing, the schedule plus, of course, dates and prices, please see fitscape ski

Based at the luxurious hotel Rosa Alpina in the magnificent Italian Dolomites, we have 24 guests currently enjoying an amazing week of skiing in the exceptional Dolomiti Superski – comprising 12 valleys, 460 lifts and 760 miles of ski runs, all accessible under one ski pass.  Despite being so late in the season the snow is amazing and the word from the mountains is that everyone is having a fantastic time.  We have put the guests into a number of small groups – depending on experience – and they’re guided around the mountains by their own expert ski guide / instructor.  Yesterday, for example, one of the groups tackled the famous Sella Ronda, a 40km circuit through the mountains in glorious sunshine.  The group were under the care of Ivo, former world champion snowboarder and one of the fitscape ski guides for the week (pictured in red jacket, pointing out the loop to his group).  The circuit took 7 hours – including a delicious lunch en route – and everyone returned safe and happy to the hotel mid afternoon.

All the other guests were back by 4pm too after enjoying their own ski adventures, for a post-ski stretch, followed by afternoon tea and healthy snacks.  At 5.30pm George, fitscape personal trainer extraordinaire, put all those guests who were up for more exercise through their paces in a circuit training class.   Then at 6.30pm James, one of our much loved and highly regarded yoga teachers, taught a yoga class that provided the perfect restorative wind-down for everyone at the end of the day.

Some of the guests, very understandably, opted out of the afternoon fitness class to enjoy a good steam followed by a massage in the hotel’s award winning Danielle Steiner spa.  That’s the great thing about a fitscape holiday, guests can do as much or as little as they wish – our job is to provide everyone with lots of enticing healthy options!  Afterall, as we always say, it’s a holiday and not a boot camp!

According to Kathryn, who is hosting the week, everyone is having such a great holiday that talk is firmly focused on returning again next year and we therefore very much look forward to announcing next year’s dates shortly.  If you would be interested in joining us, and would like to be notified when we announce the date, please sign up to our free newsletter

If you don’t want to wait until next year to enjoy a fitscape fitness holiday in the Italian Dolomites, we are back at Rosa Alpina (located in the charming village of San Cassiano) for some summer adventures this year.  Join us in June, July or September.  Please click here for full details about fitscape dates and prices

Whilst the weather during our March week in Marrakech was unseasonably wet, it didn’t seem to dampen the spirits and all our guests seemed to have a great time.  And we did get a few glorious sunny days.

As always, we very much appreciate the comments and feedback we receive from our guests, and are delighted to publish these for you:

This was my best in:spa yet – as always the staff were all brilliant and made all the exercise seem like fun! The food as always was utterly delicious and even though I have never done so much exercise I didin’t feel hungry once.  And I lost 6 lbs.  Planning on keeping a lot of my new good habits for as long as possible.

I really enjoyed my nutritional consultation with Alli and have come away with some excellent ideas; confident I can keep to a healthy regime, at least until November (when I’ll be back for my 10^th in:spa!)

Love the new schedule with more activities.

The food was just DELICIOUS!  A really important element of the week for me and I lost 4 lbs!

Tremendous, definitely my favourite ever inspa venue.  Manager and staff were extremely attentive.

Such a fantastic team, really good camaraderie between them which made for a superb, revitalising week. Thank you very much!

If there is one gift you could give to yourself make it an in:spa week.  Such a superb opportunity to recharge and energise your mind, body and soul with the very best food, great company and with expert advice, every person should do this at least once in their lifetime.

Excellent schedule with a good balance of activity and rest.

Superb, healthy food as always – and such great flavours.

A first class team; worked well together to make everyone’s week run smoothly.

Best room ever; loved it !!

I came away with a fresh spring in my step; a new lease on life: lighter, more flexible, happier and determined to build on this new start. Thank you.

We’re back in Marrakech later this year, from 16-23 November and over the New Year from 29 December ’11 to 5 January ’12.  For further details about the venue and what we get up to on our in:spa retreats, please see in:spa marrakech

From 23 February to 2 March 2011, our first fitscape fitness holiday at the Monasterio in southern Spain, was a great success.   As always, the guests were an interesting and diverse collection of characters but all with the same objective: to have fun and get much fitter during the week.  After the holiday we emailed everyone a brief online questionnaire to ask for their thoughts and opinions about all aspects of their fitscape week – it’s an invaluable way for us to understand exactly the thoughts, ideas and opinions of our guests, and allows us to continuously strive to provide an outstanding and rewarding week for everyone who come on a fitscape fitness holiday.  How nice it was to get such glowing feedback and to hear how much everyone enjoyed their trip.  Please see a selection of our guest’s comments below:

The booking process was super efficient and friendly.

Perfect, tranquil, private venue.

James [host] was always there for us, ensuring we always knew what was next, taking into account everyone’s special requirements, always in a friendly way. And a really interesting person to boot!

Fantastic venue. Good, varied areas to work out including covered area. Loved the courtyard setup.

The food was simply out of this world. Never has healthy grub tasted so good!

Loved trying new activities like mountain biking or rediscovering ones I thought I didn’t like (hiking, boxing). Interesting group, whether other guests, guides or trainers.

Best one-on-one training session I have ever had.

The team were superb. Not just great trainers, but great company. I was – to be fair – a sceptic of the whole concept. No longer.

The trainers were great at explaining everything, and very motivating.

The schedule was great – v varied. Packed full without feeling rushed.

Miranda’s food was delicious and healthy. Quite a few of her dishes were the best I’ve ever tasted!

Dan [trainer] couldn’t have been lovelier. He’s an unbelievably great trainer, masseur, v knowledgeable. And so kind. I’m a big fan!

Stan [trainer] was another lovely guy & great trainer. Really enjoyed my PT session with weights – exactly what I wanted.

Tom’s [trainer] amazing. All his sessions are super tough but somehow he manages to make them fun too and you don’t really realise how hard they are at the time!

Krishna [lead hiking guide] made the hikes for me – they were varied, pace was fast enough and he was so knowledgeable about the plants, local area etc. A definite huge credit to fitscape.

Lovely room and plenty of hot water (v important!)

I loved the hotel, grounds etc.

Without exception the staff were all lovely and so helpful.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner were highlights every day.

Loved my massage. Found all the knots, which many masseurs don’t do. Best glutes massage ever. Will definitely visit him again when in London.

Very friendly and attentive service.

Loved everything about it!

If you are interested in joining a fitscape fitness holiday to sunny southern Spain and would like to know more about dates and prices, and view our Spain image gallery, please see fitscape spain We will be hosting 4 more weeks here in 2011, with the next one from 20-27 April over Easter.  Hope you can join us!

Everyone arrived at the Monasterio, the fitscape venue in southern Spain, on Wednesday afternoon last week.  Every day the weather has been a magical 25 degrees centigrade, with clear blue skies and all the oranges on the trees in the courtyard ripe and sweet.  The guests, aged from 25 to 65, all arrived with the same intentions: to have fun and get much fitter.  The fitscape team of expert trainers (Dan, Tom and Stan) were most certainly up to the task and created a daily programme of activities that included hiking, circuit training, core strength classes, jogging, boxercise, ab work, running technique, stretching and, of course, individual personal training.  Several of the guests had been on holiday with us before and knew what to expect, whilst the newcomers were warmly welcomed and got in to the swing of things very quickly.

Everyone agreed that the trainers were doing a fantastic job, keeping everyone entertained and motivated.  The lay out of the property, with its excellent selection of indoor and outdoor spaces, allows for plenty of variety and – most importantly – perfectly suits the various classes and activities that are carefully designed by the trainers.

In between training sessions, guests are able to relax by the magnificent pool, put their feet up on a comfortable chair in the courtyard gardens, or enjoy a quiet moment on their bedroom terrace.  Naturally, eating good healthy food is an essential part of any holiday – not just a fitness holiday – and there was extremely high praise for the delicious, nutritious cuisine prepared by Miranda (the fitscape chef) and her team in the kitchen.

Meal times are all informal, social and relaxing, with breakfast and dinner taken inside (despite the lovely warm weather during the day, the mornings and evenings are much cooler at this time of year), whilst lunch is enjoyed on the terrace overlooking the courtyard gardens.

The fitscape host for the week, James Giuseppi, is tasked with making sure that everything runs smoothly and all the guests have everything they need to maximise their benefits and enjoyment of the week.  All the guests mentioned what a great job he was doing!  The added advantage of having James on the trip is that he’s a very highly regarded yoga teacher too, and was able to introduce many of the guests to the delights of yoga.  An unexpected bonus!

As always after an in:spa retreat, we send our guests a feed back form in order to hear their thoughts about all aspects of their holiday.  It’s a very useful way for us to understand the guest’s point of view about every aspect of their retreat and, of course, to adapt our programme where necessary.  We are always incredibly grateful for all the comments we get, particularly when they are as wondeful as the ones we received from our Febuary 12 – 19 retreat at our luxury villa in exotic Marrakech.  We’ll be publishing some pictures of the trip shortly, but in the meantime, here are a selection of comments received over the past couple of days.  Thank you to all those who kindly took the time and trouble to write to us!

An absolutely outstanding bunch of people that ensured not only results but great fun.

The programme was very well thought out and worked perfectly, particularly as we were allowed flexibility.

Our host, Emily, was like a highly efficient ray of sunshine—she was so well organised, looked after us very well, and remained incredibly cheerful the entire week!

Lovely accommodation.

I was such a mess when I arrived and left feeling wonderful. Thank you. I would never have believed it possible to feel so much better in a week. What a lovely team of nurturing people.

Having arrived at the retreat pretty low, I left feeling wonderfully positive, balanced and happy

The best aspect was the training and the wonderful people, the team and the other guests. I am normally a very un-group person.

It was all brilliant (and that is a hard compliment to get from me!).

Delicious inspiring tastes that left us feeling calm and content.  Thank you Amanda!

Amanda turned every meal into a healthy and delicious adventure. Great team, I loved all of it.

What can I say, absolutely outstanding.

Well planned and thought out and great flexibility regarding making changes.

Have already recommended it to friends, and would definitey like to come back again

Our next trip to Marrakech is from 12 – 19 March and, if you would like to join us and experience the magic of a week with in:spa, you will probably be pleased to hear that we’re currently offering free flights (up to the value of £200 per person) on all bookings for this week.

For full details about this destination, please see in:spa marrakech