Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishWhen I started reviewing spas three decades ago people would roll their eyes and say: ‘Nice work if you can get it!’Now they sidle up with wild eyes and remark: ‘Help! I need to fix my manic mind/insomnia/growing middle/hellish menopause/non-existent fitness/phone-addicted kid. Which spa should I go to?’These are the ones I recommend because while most still have fluffy robes, fluffy they are not. They can change your life.Lose weight and detoxMetabolic Health Programme: Combe Grove, Somerset, UK Set in 70 acres of wild woodland, this 18th-century manor house and barns has been converted into a powerhouse practice of metabolic health and nutrition. Experts espousing a low carb, high protein and balanced healthy fats diet will have you reconsidering everything you eat. The educational classes are empowering and the world class complimentary health treatments are a game changer. Osteopathy, acupuncture, reflexology and herbal medicine will leave you firing on all cylinders.Don’t miss: The Grove rooms with large private balconies and deep Japanese baths.Book it: Five nights, plus a three night Returner’s Retreat from £2,600pp, full- board (combegrove.com).Detox and Optimal Weight Programme: Sha Wellness Clinic, Spain On a hillside on Spain’s southern coast, this minimalist medi-spa featuring floor-to-ceiling glass windows blends natural therapies with traditional Chinese treatments and cutting-edge medical advancements. Weight loss and detox programmes remain high on the agenda but notable additions are their bolt-on packages including Better Sleep, Quit Smoking, Improved Sexual Wellbeing and Gut Health. For food, think ancient Asian and Mediterranean principles centred around vegetables and fish – an inspired fusion combo that works well.Don’t miss: Intestinal O-Zone therapy where O-Zone gas is administered anally to oxidise the intestines and help rebalance the intestinal microbiota. Apparently Gwyneth Paltrow loves it.Book it: Seven nights from £5,199pp, full board and transfers (healing holidays.com). Return flights from Stansted to Alicante from £214 (ryanair.com).Detox & Gut Health: Original Mayr Medical Resort, Klagenfurt, Austria Almost half a century old, this residential clinic was the mother of all Mayr Cures. On the edge of Lake Worthersee, the wooden-style chalet has expanded and is now joined by glass-panelled, light-filled buildings. Programmes integrate cutting-edge diagnostics, detoxification therapies and personalised nutrition plans with the fundamental Mayr fasts.Not for the faint-hearted, it features copious amounts of Epsom salts, a side order of gluten-free buckwheat rolls and relentless chewing – but it does bring incredible results. Minimum stay is seven days.Don’t miss: A daily dip in the pristine lake reputed to be one of the purest in Europe.Book it: Seven nights from £4,004pp, full board (original-mayr.com). Return flights from Stansted to Klagenfurt from £90 (ryanair.com).Buchinger Wilhelmi, Lake Constance, Germany Set on a hillside with Constance shimmering in the background, fasting here was developed by founder Dr Otto Buchinger in the 50s to treat his rheumatism. So successful was his approach to body and mind, he made it his life’s work. It ranges from hardcore four-day 800-calorie menus (involving solids) to ten and 28-day fasting programmes (liquid diet of broth, fresh fruit and vegetable juices) and medical tests overseen by medics administering daily health checks, vitamins, evening liver packs and colonic irrigation. But it’s the soulful side – the nature, meditation, life coaching, gentle exercise and even art classes – that get mind and body humming.Don’t miss: The numerous themed weeks.Book it: Ten-day fasting stays from around £3,400. Return flights from Heathrow to Zurich with Swiss Air from £131.Mobility supportMovement Improvement: Palacio Estoril, Cascais, Portugal If you’re physically under par, Palacio Estoril is just the ticket. A short drive from Lisbon, this grand 1930s hotel has hosted royalty. Although a little jaded, the modern wellness wing is where it’s at. Teeming with skilled practitioners, the programme combines physiotherapy, osteopathy and pilates reformers with the magical hands-on skills of Thai masseuses and acupuncturists.The thermal suite focuses on developing strength and flexibility weightlessly in water to help relieve any pain.Don’t miss: Watsu. A unique treatment that sees you cradled, massaged and delicately manipulated in a hydrotherapy pool.Book it: Seven nights from £1,689pp, half- board (healingholidays.com). Return flights from Gatwick to Lisbon from £356 (easyjet.com).Neuro Fit Programme: Park Igls Medical Spa Resort, Innsbruck, Austria Surrounded by immaculate gardens, this private hospital-esque spa sits on a sunny plateau above the city. Strict Modern Mayr Medicine principles apply and its relationship with Innsbruck University ensures it’s on top of what’s new and innovative on the medical side. Underneath, there’s an unpretentious softness. Head health honcho Dr Peter Gartner delivers advice with a warm, affable bedside manner and is fastidious about rooting out chronic conditions, of which he says ’95 per cent have their origins in the gut’. You feel you can trust him with your life and many do, flocking here with all manner of maladies for made-to-measure programmes.Don’t miss: Neuro Fit where physiotherapy, neuro-intestinal regeneration, coaching and progressive movement sessions help guests re-learn ‘lost’ movement patterns.Book it: Four nights Detox Short Break from £1,759pp, full board (healingholidays.com). Return flights from Gatwick to Innsbruck from £380 (easyjet.com).Emotional healingDiscover harmony: Euphoria, Greece Here is a holistic haven in the bosom of the pine-clad Peloponnese peninsula. The warm, touchy-feely owner Marina Efraimoglou and her team blend a hearty combination of ancient Chinese medicine, Hellenic healing and Taoist spirituality. Bathe in the array of serious but soulful treatments, ranging from transformational one-to-one coaching, chakra balancing and reiki, to gentle body therapies featuring essential oils and hypnotic sound baths. Dip in the hot and cold pools including one that pipes in underwater dolphin and whale calls.Don’t miss: The Byzantine Hammam Ritual, a fragrant floral scrub and oil massage in the steamy, pale marble chamber.Book it: Three-night programme from £1,961pp, full board. Three nights accommodation from £1,194. (wellbeingescapes.com). Return flights from Gatwick to Athens from £238 (wizzair.com).The Architects of Life Programme: Palmaia, The House of Aia, MexicoTo truly benefit from this progressive beach and jungle-based resort meets wacky wellness retreat, you need to be spiritually inquisitive. Guests can embrace Mayan-influenced rituals of self-discovery and use transformational practices based around sound. Drumming, gongs, chanting and mantras feature strongly. Visiting master guides offer even more left-field practices such as transpersonal astrology and rebirthing. It’s unusual but it works.Don’t miss: The Mezcal Ritual, a two-hour cleansing, exfoliating, mud-slathering and massaging ritual.Book it: Five nights from £959pp, full board (healingholidays.com). Return flights from Heathrow to Cancun from £1,519 (ba.com).Family bondingGenerational retreat: Preidlhof, Italy This sprawling five-star hotel and spa in South Tyrol ticks all the boxes. Nine Transformational Wellness Programmes integrate complementary, medical and preventative health expertise.There are prescriptions for general wellbeing but they can handle the big stuff such as stress, menopause, grief and trauma. A particular favourite, Glowing Flow Immersive Retreat, is a strife changer and carried out by coach and spa director Patrizia Bortolin and renowned trauma healer and body worker Stefano Battaglia.There’s also a six-floor spa tower, 16 steam, sauna and relaxation options and five outdoor pools for reflection time. Their predominantly plant-based Wellness Healing Gourmet menu is the best I have eaten.Don’t miss: Laughter yoga is bonkers but hilarious.Book it: Seven nights from £2,572pp, full board. (preidlhof.com). Return flights from Gatwick to Innsbruck from £226 (tui.com).Digital detoxTraditional Arabic and Islamic Medicine: Zulal Wellness, Qatar This modern, sleek-chic resort on the shores of the Arabian Gulf is co-created with acclaimed wellness resort Chiva-Som Gulf and blends TAIM with a holistic health and wellbeing philosophy.Their latest retreats and wellness bundles vary and offer activities for children aged nine to 15, too. The Discovery Oasis – run by child psychologists – must be a world first. They are centred around fun family bonding strategies, getting youngsters off their screens by way of exercise, cookery and art classes. There’s also a firepit near majlis-style tents, island nature walks and marine eco trails.Don’t miss: Request your massage with one of the Chiva-Som therapists, some of the best hands in the world.Book it: Five-night Taste Of Zulal retreat from £3,500pp, full-board (chivasom.com). Return flights from London to Doha from £1,452 (qatarairways.com).A taste of AyurvedaBy royal appointment: Soukya, India Body, mind and soul are treated as one in this Ayurvedic, homoeopathic and naturopathic health centre in Bangalore, so it won’t surprise you to learn that King Charles and Queen Camilla are fans. Key to the treatments is the initial once-over for clients on arrival so each programme is devised uniquely to feature yoga, hydrotherapy, acupuncture and reflexology. Owner and pioneer of integrative medicine Dr Mathai is on the pulse with health issues, literally – he is a Chinese pulse diagnostic and can identify health issues in a flash.Don’t miss: Shirodhara, where oil is drizzled on to the forehead to release emotions.Book it: Five nights A Taste Of Ayurveda programme from £2,269pp, full-board, including transfers (healingholidays.com). Return flights from London to Bangalore from £1,193 (virginatlantic.com).Digestive Reset: Ayurveda Resort Mandira, Austria This is a great spot to get started with Ayurveda because owner Christina Drexler is an ardent champion and has made a cosy and accessible environment to dip your toes into. A typical day features morning yoga, soul- stirring Vedic chanting, visits to the steam and sauna suite punctuated with IV drips to fast-track vitamins, minerals and amino acids into the bloodstream. A week-long digestive reset creates a sense of space mentally and physically but make sure you are near a loo the morning after your ghee shots. Recipes based around vegetarian and vegan cuisine have a strong focus on Ayurveda healing with a Western twist.Don’t miss: The oily, super-relaxing, four-handed Pizzichilli body treatment.Book it: Two nights from £499 full-board, including transfers. (healingholidays.com). Return flights from Stansted to Klagenfurt from £90 (ryanair.com).Natural highsWild fitness: Kurhotel Skodsborg, Denmark Young at heart for a 127-year-old wellness destination 30 minutes from Copenhagen, this luxury bolthole is wedged between old forests and the unforgivingly cold Baltic. Burnt-out chief executives come for the combination of traditional extreme cures – piping hot saunas, freezing sea plunge, intense physical kettlebell workouts and 120 weekly fitness classes – with more sensual and beautifying massages.A simple design of white interiors and reindeer skin throws, Kurhotel was an early advocate of Kundalini yoga, Paleo eating and the health benefits of the new fixation of ‘hygienic sleep’. You’ll leave not only feeling but looking years younger.Don’t miss: A 60-minute Saunagus session – Kurhotel’s signature treatment. This theatrical experience involves music, light and graceful movements with a towel and fan to distribute heat.Book it: Doubles from £232pp (skodsborg.dk). Return flights from Stansted to Copenhagen from £147 (ryanair.com).Boxing retreat: Daios Cove, Crete If a wannabe modern day Adonis or Aphrodite needed a short break to tighten their tush, the BXR fitness retreat at this iconic Cretan luxury resort is a step in the right direction.First-timers and seasoned fitness enthusiasts are given tailored programmes to ensure everyone gets a challenging yet accessible boxing-orientated workout, with massage and holistic treatments – such as a cryotherapy chamber to speed up recovery – part of your metamorphosis. With Crete’s rocky coastline as a backdrop, the outdoor gym is endorsed by heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua, so after being put through drills by world class trainers and being fuelled with balanced nutritional meals and protein-rich snacks the hotel’s private beach is a fantastic place to recharge.Don’t Miss: Hiking in the spectacular Richtis Gorge, about an hour away in a protected park.Book it: Six-night BXR retreat from £2,300pp, full-board (bxrlondon.com/daioscovecrete.com). Return flights from Luton to Heraklion from £453 (easyjet.com).
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