Palace Merano, Espace Henri Chenot
Voted the most life-changing spa in the world, and supported by an almost cult like following, this is the place to come for the ultimate detox. This incredible mountain secret nestling in the South Tyrol has been beloved by the French and Italians for the past 30 years. What attracts the well heeled to this hotel is Henry Chenot, a French expert in Chinese medicine, who, for the past 30 years he has researched and devised a health system known as ‘biontology’.
This is by no means the place to come if the word spa promises only cleansing facials and pampering pedicures. Instead expect your body to be pummelled, flushed, immersed, mud wrapped and hosed. The Espace Henri Chenot a serious spa split into two sections: the health and medical centre for doctors’ analysis, acupuncture and tests and the beauty centre where therapists administer daily massages using hot cups, detoxifying baths, mud wraps and a variety of aesthetic treatments to rejuvenate the face and body.
The cure itself is intense, expect to feel dreadful, spotty, bloated and starving, especially on the 24-hour diet of weak mushroom broth. But by the end of the week most guests have discovered cheekbones they never knew they had and feel surreally high and happy. This is not a weight loss programme - that is just one of the benefits – but an intense internal cleansing week designed to banish bloating and radically reboot your digestive system.
Situated in the foothills of the Italian Dolomites, the small town of Merano has cobbled streets and Heidi style houses. The hotel itself is a Belle Époque masterpiece surrounded by neatly manicured lawns and glorious views of snow capped mountains. The stateliness of this grand building is somewhat undermined by the image of the hotel guests, dressed in white fluffy robes and slippers and clutching Chenot's book - The Secret Code Of Health.
The staff have all been here for years and are delightfully enthusiastic throughout. Everything from the expert medical advice to the superb massages, facials and pedicures were delivered in the most professional of manners. Unexpected for a spa famed for its weight loss is the attraction of the appetizing daily menu - the food is absolutely delicious. The emphasis is on quality rather than quantity, most evident in the intricately presented salads, made up of creative combinations of fruit, vegetables and complex carbs. Dominique, M. Chenot's wife, organises a weekly cooking class where one can learn inspirational recipes with PH-neutral foods designed to balance our acidic systems.
Facilities include a large indoor and out door pool, a variety of state of the art steam rooms and sauna and fully equipped gym where the ferocious yet fabulously toned gym instructors (this is optional) put your through various torturous sessions of power plate and pilates.
No wonder Henri Chenot is set to go global, opening spas in Greece and Moscow, plus developing his own food line, on top of his popular skin care range If you can afford it, go now before this little miracle becomes too well known.