Relax, recuperate and rewind the ageing process in style
Fashionable fish pedicures, traditional Thai massages, ritual cleansing, colour therapies, ice treatments and moon baths are just some of the many spa treatments available in Alicante. Wellness is taken very seriously in this part of the world.
Ease away the stresses of modern life, switch off your smartphone and tune in to your inner self with a trip to the spa on the Costa Blanca. You can choose one or two treatments during your stay or enjoy a full-blown spa break in a luxury hotel.
One of the latest holiday trends is wellness tourism which stresses the importance of prevention of ill-health and making lifestyle changes. This combines two of the world's top industries - tourism and healthcare. It's all part of a growing trend to make a holiday a worthwhile experience, like medical tourism, ecotourism, volunteering tourism or educational holidays.
Here is a sample of the luxury spa breaks and treatments available in the Alicante region.
Setting up for a soothing massage
Fishy spas
Those in the know have been enjoying a new kind of pedicure which is taking Europe and the USA by storm. Clients put their feet in a bowl of water and hundreds of little fish nibble away at the dead skin and clear away the unwanted top layer of the soles of the feet. The fish used are garra rufa, also known as the doctor fish. They are toothless so the procedure is perfectly safe. They work wonders on calluses and other areas of tough skin by nibbling away at them.
The treatment is first and foremost fun, provides a natural exfoliation and improves circulation.
Thai wisdom combines spiritual and physical wellbeing to bring about harmony in mind and body. You can enjoy a Thai experience right here on the Costa Blanca where you can put yourself in the hands of an expert therapist who will find the treatments perfect for you. You can even enjoy treatments in an open-air stilt house.
If you fancy a taste of Thailand but without the long flight, you could try a traditional Thai massage, Balinese massage or Lomi-Lomi massage right here in the Alicante province
You can find small Thai massage salons in many of the resorts such as Benidorm and Denia.
Maybe a moon bath or Indonesian massage is more to your liking? A moon bath is a hydrotherapy session where you luxuriate in a tub with special creams and mother-of-pearl wraps to give your skin a beautiful glow.
This could be combined with a lovely experience such as the Indonesian massage with aromatic salts. This improves circulation while getting rid of dead cells to leave the skin soft and velvety to the touch.
Where: These are available at the El Rodat Hotel in Javea, which also offers a novel treatment called corneotherapy where different products are used for each skin type.
Fish provide an unusual pedicure
Tailor-made therapies
Maybe you need to wash all your troubles away or simply wash that man right out of your hair? When people relax on holiday, they have time to reflect on their lifestyle and state of mind. Maybe they need to relax more, de-stress, lose weight or improve their diet.
Some therapies combine new Western technologies with ancient Eastern philosophies, so you get the best of both worlds. For example, in Alicante there is a replica of the Dead Sea flotation experience in a special floatarium as well as a replica heated Roman bath called a tepidarium.
You can also have dental treatment and cosmetic dental treatment using the latest equipment. Take a look at Clinic Dental Puchol in Javea and Benitachell for details.
For many years, beauty treatments have concentrated on warming you up, whether through massage, steam rooms or pool therapies. Now the trend has turned icy cold with ice therapies, which are particularly good for circulation and sports injuries.
While on the Mediterranean, you might want to try some beauty treatments using pure seawater and its derivatives such as seaweed, salts and mud, which are good for the skin and full of minerals.
Thalassotherapy is also still very popular with whirlpools, acupressure treatment, wraps and jets.
Where: SH Villa Gadea Hotel, Altea.
Treatments using hot stones
Blowing hot and cold
The ancient healing treatment of warm volcanic stones helps balance and ground your senses. The stones are warmed with special oils and placed on key points of the body. The heat relaxes muscle tension while the masseur also gets to work with his or her healing hands.
While on the Costa Blanca, you could try the unusual treatment of Diamond Experience Multisensory Lifting using frozen DNA. This is apparently a great way to fight every aspect of skin ageing.
Where: Hotel LaLaguna Spa and Golf, Rojales.
Many of us need a break now and then when we feel thoroughly spoilt. A chance to enjoy a massage or facial using beautiful scents, followed by a great meal, Cava and a peaceful night's sleep.
Alquimia oils have been specially selected by master perfumers in the Pyrenees, where the plants and flowers are grown. They choose the finest plants which have only been picked if the time is right according to the astrological calendar. The essential oils are extracted using traditional alchemic methods.
Where: El Capricho de la Portuguesa, Vall de Gallinera.
