Destination Spa / Hotels

D estination spa-goers are fitter, happier, healthier, more alert and more agile, have greater cardiovascular health and understand themselves better than non spa-goers and regular vacationers. Destination spas address the whole being by offering comprehensive life enhancement programs that encompass hiking, yoga, massage, acupuncture, weight, stress management and smoking cessation approaches, visualization, hypnosis, writing workshops and other healing and energizing modalities. These are just a few of the findings of a comprehensive study at Cornell University and these are readily available at the Athenaeum Spa in Malta

A destination spa, like the Athenaeum Spa, is a short term residential/lodging facility with the primary purpose of providing individual services for spa -goers to develop healthy habits. Historically many such spas were developed at the location of natural hot springs or sources of mineral waters. Typically over a seven-day stay, such facilities provide a comprehensive program that includes spa services, physical fitness activities, wellness education, healthy cuisine and special interest programming. These special wellness packages are available at the Athenaeum Spa in Malta and can be viewed at http://www.athenaeumspa.com.mt/spa/treatments_sparetreats.html

Destination spa hotels offer a full-immersion spa experience in which all guests participate. These spa hotels focus exclusively on lifestyle improvement, health enhancement, and self-renewal in the company of like-minded people. All-inclusive programs provide fitness activities, nutritious spa cuisine, various therapeutic spa and body treatments, educational classes, and often mind/body/spirit offerings to help you jump-start a new, more healthful lifestyle.

Spa weekends

Spa weekends can most easily be accommodated at spa hotels, where the entire focus of the resort is the spa program. The Athenaeum Spa can tailor make you spa weekend breaks. Many of these resorts offer healthy meal plans and exercise classes in addition to spa services and facilities. Spa hotels often are centered on a natural warm spring, which are believed by some to have beneficial properties. Visiting a destination spa to bathe in warm springs is a centuries old tradition, when people in ill health were sent to “take the waters” in search of a cure.

At spa hotels, spa weekends can be tailored to match the desires and needs of a client. Traditional spa treatments, like facials, massages, and body scrubs , can be combined with long soaks in water of different temperatures, minerals , steam room, sauna and plain old lounging. Many spa resorts have programs meant to improve health that include yoga classes, sunrise walks and meditation sessions. A spa hotel can provide a completely immersive experience, taking visitors on a total escape from the hectic pace of normal daily life.

Alternatively, many multi-purpose resorts feature a spa . Services can be ordered a la carte , but many hotel spas will offer specific spa weekend deals that include accommodations as well as a list of spa treatments for a set price. Spa weekends at a spa hotel or resort can be a more casual affair than visiting a spa resort. The flexibility of a spa weekend at a normal resort will usually allow visitors more time to enjoy the surrounding sites and activities, rather than focus exclusively on a spa lifestyle.