For the past 2 years, we’ve been working on developing a new side to our business.  One that will complement our three existing brands (namely, in:spa, fitscape and destination yoga) and provide the ever growing numbers of people who are seeking to enjoy a holiday that returns them home looking and feeling fantastic.  At the moment, The Healthy Holiday Company is simply an ‘umbrella’  name that owns and operates our 3 current niche brands, but shortly it will enter the travel market as a brand name in its own right.  We are all very excited about this!

At the end of May (rather than April, as originally envisaged) our gorgeous new site will go live offering a comprehensive selection of enticing experiences and destinations around the world, all with a healthy theme.  For example, and perhaps most obviously, we’ve hand-picked the best spas and spa resorts across the globe, from Vietnam to South Africa, and Thailand to the Caribbean.  Whether you want to lose weight, detox, tone up or just relax and be pampered, we can advise on the best option for you.

Other experiences and destinations include (but are most definitely not limited to!):

• Road biking in Majorca or Cape Town
• Mountain biking in Ibiza or the Alps
• Hiking in Borneo or the Atlas Mountains
• Family multi activity adventures in Mauritius, Italy or Oman
• Sailing in Croatia
• Golf and wild life in Kwazulu Natal
• Desert safaris in Ras al Khaimah or Dubai
• Yoga holidays in India
• Diving in Mexico or the Maldives
• De-stressing in Spain or the Seychelles
• White water rafting in Zambia
• Surfing in Cape Town or Bali
• Kayaking in Thailand
• Trekking in Malaysia
• Fitness training in Spain, Italy or France
• Via ferrata in the Dolomites or Swiss Alps

We hope those are enough ideas to whet your appetite and get you thinking about where and when you want to go off on your next adventure.  Either on your own, with your other half, or with friends or family we will look after you every step of the way!  We have a fantastic team of travel specialists in the office and an exceptional diary of friendly professionals around the world just waiting to meet you and look after you.

We are expecting our portfolio of luxury private villas and residences to also be popular, particularly as we can supply you with all your needs during your stay.  Everything from personal trainers to yoga teachers, chefs to baby sitters, and massage therapists to surf instructors.  Our collection of wonderful private villas includes destinations such as Ibiza, Majorca, Mauritius, Cape Town, Franschhoek, Stellenbosch and Marrakech – anything from romantic hilside cottages to large beach front residences.

If you would like to be notified when our new site goes live, please register here

We’re hosting our third ski, fitness and yoga holiday at the fabulous 5 star hotel Rosa Alpina in the Italian Dolomites from 24-31 March.  It’s the perfect Spring ski week, and suitable for all levels of experience.  The snow is fantastic – but we only have a few rooms left!  However, we’ll be back again just before Christmas from 9-16 December.

Luxury accommodation:   As you would expect at a 5 star Relais & Chateaux hotel, the bedrooms are all spacious and exceptionally comfortable.  We have a selection of deluxe rooms and suites available, for both single and double occupancy.  View pictures of the hotel and ski resort

Guided skiing:   All our guests are invited to join one of our expert ski guides in small, same level groups to explore the magical Dolomiti Superski and its 740 miles of piste. If you’ve never experienced the famous Sella Ronda, now’s your chance!  Find out more about guided skiing

Delicious, healthy diet:   Michael Arthur, one of our most popular chefs, will be overseeing preparations for delicious, healthy dinners at the end of the day. Those of you who have experienced his cooking before will know how much of a treat this is.

What’s a typical day? After breakfast and a good stretch, head up the mountain for a day of guided skiing, tea at the hotel, and optional fitness training classes and a wonderful restorative yoga class in the evening.  Or just relax in the award winning spa.  View outline daily programme

Sunday Times review:   Sean Newsom, intrepid Sunday Times reporter, experienced the first ever Fitscape ski and fitness holiday to the Dolomites.  His conclusion was:  shouldn’t more ski holidays be like this? If you would like to read his article, please click here

Guest comments:   We love getting so much positive feedback from guests after our Fitscape weeks, and if you would like to find out what our ski guests at Rosa Alpina thought about their ski, fitness and yoga holidays in the Italian Dolomites, please click here

Enquiries and reservations:  You are welcome to enquire online or to call us in the office on 0845 458 0723 for further information.  Only 5 rooms left, so please act swiftly to be sure of a place on this great week of ski, fitness and yoga.

Those of you who have been keeping an eye on our plans for launching a new tailor-made healthy holiday division for our travel company will be pleased to know that we are making excellent progress and expect to open for business in April 2012.  For those of you who are reading our blog for the first time, we hope that this will be of interest to you too!

The concept is to create bespoke luxury healthy holidays for the discernbing traveller who would prefer to return from their holiday looking and feeling amazing, rather than feeling like they need another holiday to recover from the one they’ve just been on.  Admittedly, our three current healthy holiday brands – in:spa retreats, fitscape fitness holidays and destination yoga – all provide guests with this opportunity, whether they’re after a healthy detox, a serious boost to their fitness or an inspiring yoga holiday.

Our new brand, which will be called The Healthy Holiday Company (now to be a public facing brand, rather than just the holding company for fitscape, in:spa and destination yoga) will offer a selection of the best spas and wellness programmes around the world, covering destinations like the Maldives, Vietnam, the Caribbean, Mauritius, Thailand, Bali, Mexico and, of course, Europe.  In addition, it will offer mountain biking, hiking, skiing and ski safaris, surfing, river rafting, sailing, road biking, golf, horse riding and numerous other activities – whether individually or as part of a tailor-made combination – at a selection of fabulous, hand-picked locations across the globe.  Guided hiking, for example, will be offered in the Italian Dolomites, the French Alps, the Atlas Mountains, on the islands of Ibiza and Majorca, and at various beautiful spots in South Africa.

For all our holidays, guests will be able to choose from fully serviced luxury villas (or self catering), or 4 or 5 star hotels.  Our local experts in each destination will include chefs, massage therapists, nannies and baby sitters, cultural guides, chauffeurs and, of course, a full range of activity experts covering biking, hiking, scuba diving, surfing etc. etc.

This has been over 2 years in the making, although we have been building and developing our contacts and expertise ever since the launch of in:spa retreats back in 2003.  For the last two years, our team have been researching, travelling, interviewing, hiring and contracting the very best destinations and experts.  And now, it’s just a few more weeks until everything will be ready for our launch in April.  We are very excited about this and hope you are too!

So, if you are interested in individually tailored holidays for both adults and families that are both fun and healthy and you would like to be notified when our new website goes live, please register here

We are pleased to announce that destination yoga will be hosting a 6 day / 5 night yoga retreat to sunny southern Spain over New Year, from 28 December to 2 January.  The retreat will be hosted at Shanti Som, a delightful slice of South East Asia, but only 20 minutes north of Marbella in beautiful rolling countryside.  Why fly long haul to Asia when you can simply nip down to Spain?

Once you step through the doors of this boutique 14 bedroom residence, you enter another world.  Its stylish and elegant design, high beamed ceilings, thatched roof-tops, tinkling water and liberal sprinkling of giant Buddhas all create the sense of being on another continent.  It’s delightfully welcoming and instantly calming.  The perfect haven for a 5 night yoga retreat over New Year, allowing you to return refreshed and energised and ready to face 2012 with a smile.

Tucked away in a shallow valley, surrounded by rolling hills and open countryside, Shanti Som lets you escape the hustle and bustle of modern life and immerse yourself in all things healthy and peaceful.  The food is delicious, nutritious and healthy; the spa offers an excellent array of treatments and therapies; the yoga pavillion is a triumph; the hillside pool is a tranquil oasis and the bedrooms are supremely comfortable, and all with stunning en suite shower rooms.

Liz Lark, one of our much loved and highly acclaimed yoga teachers, will be teaching guests on this New Year retreat, with morning and evening classes every day.  Between classes you can walk in the countryside, relax by the pool, treat yourself to a massage in the spa, or enjoy a session in the steam room or sauna.

Prices include 5 nights accommodation, brunch and dinner every day, all yoga classes, and free use of the sauna, steam room and pool.  We hope you will agree that this is great value for a luxurious New Year getaway in the Spanish sunshine.

For full details about this retreat and to view the picture gallery for this stunning property, please see New Year retreat

Now that it feels like the summer is coming to an end and autumn’s just around the corner, you just know that in a couple of weeks time your going to start dreaming about escaping to somewhere warm and sunny – especially if it enables you to return home fully equipped to deal with the Christmas party season….

The luxury in:spa villa in exotic Marrakech will be hosting four retreats over the winter, where the warm sunny days are followed by cool nights, and provides the perfect environment for a re-energising and rejuvenating week.  Join us in November or over New Year or, if you’d prefer your holiday to help you tackle the (possible?!) excesses of  Christmas instead, join us in February or March 2012.  It’s a great way of ensuring you start the year looking and feeling amazing.

If you can’t wait until November and would like to join an earlier in:spa retreat, our team of chefs, nutritionists, personal trainers, massage therapists, yoga teachers and hiking guides will be in sunny southern Spain at our charming boutique hotel in Andalusia from 12-19 October.  We’re also here in January and most of the summer next year.

How about some skiing? Fitscape will be hosting two ‘fitness and ski’ holidays in the mighty Italian Dolomites (this December and next March), staying at the superb 5 star Hotel Rosa Alpina.  A wonderful base for a week of healthy food, daily guided skiing in same level groups, stretching and fitness sessions, and restorative yoga in the early evening.  The perfect wind-down at the end of a great day on the slopes.

However, the spa at Rosa Alpina – recently voted by Conde Nast Traveller readers as the ‘best spa hotel in Europe’ – is absolutely worth a visit and provides the perfect alternative to your afternoon fitness session or yoga class.  It’s your holiday, so it’s totally up to you!  There’s also a swimming pool, steam rooms and saunas, and a jacuzzi.

If you’re just looking for an exceptional fitness holiday, with no skiing, we have fitscape weeks to the South of France in October and Andalusia in November and over New Year.  We promise you’ll come home much fitter after a fun, inspiring and rewarding holiday.

Yoga holidays are another option for you.  Our destination yoga brand is hosting a 5 night / 6 day yoga tour to New York, under the guidance of Katrina Repka.  Stay at the chic Hotel on Rivington in the hip Lower East Side, and join Katrina at some classes (once or twice daily) with her favourtite teachers at a selection of different yoga studios.  From 19-24 November, it’s also the perfect pre-Christmas shopping trip to the Big Apple.  Stay on a couple of days and celebrate Thanks Giving.

Alternatively, we have an 8 day yoga holiday to the spiritual home of yoga: India.  This is our third January in a row here, and our guests love it.  We stay at a superb Relais & Chateaux country retreat, about an hour from Bangalore, which is stylish, clean, and very comfortable.  The food is delicious and the spa is lovely, with great treatments.

Please call us if you’re after some further ideas or advice on which trip would suit you best, we would love to hear from you.  Call us on 0845 458 0723 or email emily@thehealthyholidaycompany.com

in:spa has been hosting retreats to exotic Marrakech since 2004.  It is definitely one of our cornerstone destinations that is perennially popular with both new and long standing in:spa guests.  We will be hosting retreats at Dar Liqama, an exquisite luxury villa located in the smart Palmerie district of this ancient city, conveniently located just 20 minutes from both the airport and the world famous Medina, a UNESCO world heritage site.  Dar Liqama is a relatively new building (with all the mod cons our guests like) but feels much older.  It has been inspired by the traditional riads of Morocco with open courtyards, elegant archways, grand columns and opulent textiles recurring throughout, creating a warm and welcoming space.  Set against the truly magnificent back drop of the towering Atlas Mountains.

Wander around the four acres of lush lawns and walled gardens that surround the villa and enjoy the scent of orange, lemon and apricot trees. It’s easy to find a shady spot in the grounds with a choice of courtyards, canopied alcoves and tented terraces all offering refuge on a hot day, with nothing but the sound of trickling water from a nearby fountain to disturb the tranquility.  And, with two inviting swimming pools, there’s everything you need for a perfect re-energising and re-juvenating week with in:spa.  However, all this charming luxury would be nothing if it was not for the expert friendly team of in:spa chefs, nutritionists, masseurs, yoga teachers, chefs, personal trainers and hiking guides.  Their mission is, quite simply, to create the environment to enable all our guests to return home after just one week looking and feeling amazing.

in:spa retreats will be hosted in Marrakech on the following dates in 2012:

• February 15 – 22
• March 14 – 21
• November 15 – 22
• December 28 – January 4 2013

See all in:spa dates and prices

All inclusive prices for 7 nights start at just £2,095 per person.  Prices include:  ensuite accommodation, all meals and beverages, airport transfers with recommended flights (but not the flights), all group physical activities (i.e. hikes, yoga, fitness training), one on one personal training session, one on one nutritional consultation, a cookery demonstration, two massages, and constant access to the in:spa team throughout the day and evening.

If you can’t wait until next year to discover the delights of Marrakech, you will be pleased to hear that we will be hosting retreats here this year in November and over New Year.  For full information about our retreats to Marrakech, please click in:spa retreats marrakech

We have just returned from a research trip to south west France to visit Chateau Dumas, about 45 minutes north of Toulouse. Located on top of a hill with panoramic 360 degree views of rolling countryside and medieval towns and villages in the distance, this comfortable, elegant Chateau looks like it will be joining our portfolio of properties for 2012 as a destination yoga venue. The beautiful, oak beamed yoga studio is light and airy and just a short stroll across the Chateau’s formal gardens from the main building. There are currently 12 bedrooms, ranging from large suites to smaller studio rooms, and – by next Spring – 3 or 4 new bedrooms will be added in the delightful gate house.

The 18th century Chateau was purchased by an English couple six years ago and been lovingly restored and updated. The bedrooms all now have sleek, contemporary bath or shower rooms, and the feel of the place is like that of a large privately owned country house. Which, effectively, is what it is.

The property sits in 22 acres of gardens, parkland and woods with plenty of wonderful places inside and out to relax and enjoy. There are some great walks and cycling trails too for guests to explore when not enjoying a yoga class or relaxing by the sheltered swimming pool.  For example, 6 km/4 miles away and visible from the Chateau is the delightful medieval hilltop village of Montpezat de Quercy with its 14th century church (Collegiale St Martin) and 16th century tapestry.  Definitely worth a visit!

We look forward to formally introducing this terrific new addition to our detination yoga portfolio in a few weeks time, once all the paperwork etc. has been completed. If this destination is of interest to you, please be sure to sign up to our destination yoga newsletter in order to be notified when specific dates and prices for Chateau Dumas are available.

For information about all our yoga holidays, please click destination yoga or call us on 0845 458 0723

We are really pleased by the performance of all our brands in 2011, and look forward to 2012 with considerable optimism.  We have been busy negotiating rates with our various properties and have today published a raft of dates for 2012.  Please see all holiday dates However, as you will see, whilst we have published a reasonably comprehensive selection of fitscape fitness holidays, there are only a few in:spa retreats, and only one destination yoga holiday.  This is, of course, a temporary state of affairs and we very much look forward to adding to our 2012 listings over the coming days and weeks.

To be notified of new dates, please sign up to the newsletter of the brand(s) that interest you the most on our newsletter page or check our websites again in the near future.

Venues:  In 2011, we introduced a wonderful new venue in the quiet rolling hills of southern Spain and – since it has had such rave reviews – will be available for many more weeks next year for both fitscape fitness holidays and in:spa retreats.  Likewise, our magical chateau in the South of France will also offer both in:spa and fitscape holidays 2012.   Marrakech remains extremely popular in our winter months from November to March, when it is delightfully warm and sunny in north Africa, so our luxury 15 bedroom villa in exotic Marrakech will play host to several in:spa retreats next year too (dates to be announced shortly).   The 5 star Hotel Rosa Alpina in the Italian Dolomites is an exceptional destination for fitscape fitness holidays, for both summer adventures and winter ski and fitness weeks, and we very much look forward to lots of trips to Italy in 2012.

As mentioned above, thus far we have only published one destination yoga holiday in 2012: to Shreyas in India We will shortly be announcing 2012 dates and prices for trips to Italy, Greece and a wonderful new venue on the coast in Turkey.

This is a rather different style of holiday from our usual destination yoga trips, but we very much hope you find it interesting!

Katrina Repka, who has lived and taught in New York, will be hosting our 5 night / 6 day yoga holiday to the city.  Stay at the sleek and chic Hotel on Rivington on Manhattan’s hip and historic Lower East Side (see hotel reviews), and join Katrina at her personally selected yoga studios and teachers for one to two inspirational yoga classes every day.  She will be choosing from a number of New York’s most celebrated studios and will likely include the following:  ISHTA yoga, Jivamukti, Virayoga, OM Yoga, Yogaworks, Laughing Lotus, Kula Yoga, The Shala, I am You.  We will publish the complete itinerary once studios and all yoga teachers are confirmed.  But this promises to be a truly awesome trip to the Big Apple, combining wonderful yoga classes with all the joys of the city.  And that probably includes some shopping!   Particularly handy with Christmas just round the corner.

Our recommended flight for the trip is with British Airways, departing London Heathrow at 11.00 on 19 November and arriving in New York at 13.40  The return flight departs 24 November at 18.25 and arrives Heathrow at 06.20 on 25 November.  Of course, guests are welcome to travel before or after the dates we are suggesting, particularly as some may wish to stay on a little longer to join friends and family for Thanks Giving.

Prices include: 5 nights accommodation with breakfast at the Hotel on Rivington, and all yoga classes.

Click here for further information about Hotel on Rivington

Click here for further information about all our yoga holiday destinations

The guests on our recent 8 night destination yoga holiday to India, staying at Shreyas, have all returned safely. We are delighted to report that everyone loved their trip and the holiday was such a great success that we have already confirmed another week over roughly the same dates for next year. Namely: 28 January to 5 February 2012. British Airways flys direct from London Heathrow to Bangalore, and local transfers – which take about an hour – are provided within the holiday cost which starts at £995 per person all inclusive (ex flights).

Everything is so well managed at Shreyas and all the staff are exemplary. Nothing is too much trouble. This allows Katrina Repka, our much loved and very highly regarded yoga teacher, to concentrate on her guests and their yoga classes, and therefore maximise the benefits and the experience of all the guests.

Shreyas is a haven of luxury in the countryside an hour from the hustle and bustle of Bangalore. The indoor and outdoor yoga spaces are magnificent; the bedrooms are all meticulously prepared, stylish and very comfortable; the tranquil spa has a wonderful range of sublime treatments on offer; the swimming pool is heaven for a cooling dip; the food is delicious; and there’s even a private cinema! No wonder everyone had such a wonderful time and are already planning to book for next year.

For full details about our next trip to India, please see destination yoga shreyas