Three retreats to start the New Year

published 6 January 2017

826_MW_Pashmina-1200 — The unforgettable L'Occitane spa "brings wellness out of the closet"

Pashmina, Val Thorens,France

Feel on top of the world at this "airy" top-floor L'Occitane spa that "brings wellness out of the closet with glittering views on to the massive Trois Valles ski area's highest slopes", says Leslie Woit in The Daily Telegraph. "It comes with everything a luxurious refuge should indoor pool with nightclub lighting, sauna, steam room and indoor-outdoor whirlpools." As part of its "Winter Camp" themed weeks, the hotel offers cross-country skiing excursions, followed by breakfast at the Chalet de la Marine, all before the slopes have even opened, adds Constance Assor in Le Point magazine. Guests can also take a skiing lesson, go snow-shoeing or join a yoga class. Visit HotelPashmina.com for bookings.

The Orange Tree, Yorkshire

With Christmas over and 2017 already here, it's time to flush out the toxins. The Orange Tree in Rosedale East, North Yorkshire, is a good place to start for a weekend of yoga. Owner Edward Harpin and his sister Helen "teach hatha yoga and mindfulness meditation in two or three sessions a day, which may include music, periods of silence, mantras, breathing techniques and a gong bath to enhance relaxation", says Caroline Sylger Jones in The Guardian. The "lovely small retreat" also features an outdoor Jacuzzi and sauna, and massages, not to mention the famous moors, which are perfect for an afternoon stroll. Then it's back to the Orange Tree for "a three-course homemade veggie supper and yoga nidra prior to bed". The next course runs from 3-5 February. See TheOrangeTree.com.

Grotta Giusti ,Tuscany, Italy

Grotta Giusti is the only hotel in the world to offer underground thermal caves as part of its spa treatments, says Angelina Villa-Clarke on Forbes.com. "It's the ultimate place to escape." The "dramatic-looking" caves, which are 200 metres below the 19th-century villa and its "lush" 45-hectare park, are divided into three areas: Heaven, Purgatory and Hell. "Due to its natural heat, the caves act as a subterranean steam room, where you can zone out next to stalactite and stalagmite formations and swim in the sparkling warm water pool, found at bottom of the cave, and known as The Limbo'." The water in the thermal lake is close to body temperature, so "you feel weightless, as if you were floating in an anti-gravity chamber", says Villa-Clarke "it's deeply hypnotic". More details on GrottaGiustiSpa.com.

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Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

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