Escape to a luxury spa hotel © Michelle Chaplow |
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Spa Hotels in Andalucia
Today many four and five-star hotels in Andalucia, especially on the coast, have spas for guests to use, offering hydrotherapy circuit and beauty treatments and therapies for ultimate pampering and relaxation, as well as treating ailments and offering help with stress and weight loss. You will feel the effects immediately, your energy levels restored, your body and mind relaxed and revitalised, and ready to face the world.
Most spas feature a hydrotherapy/hydrothermal pool with warm jets of varying size, shape and power, which you activate and then sit under, allowing your body (back and neck) to be pummelled by the force of the water. In addition, there are areas where you lie down and your whole body is massaged with jets (known as a bubble bed). Some also have a Jacuzzi, either integrated in the pool, or separate.
Hot and cold pools (with a difference of around 25 deg) can be used either alternately, to help activate circulation and ease muscle tension (alternating sauna or steam room with cold shower has the same effect); or independently - cold for athletes and sports enthusiasts (see Andy Murray documentary), and hot for arthritis and types of sclerosis (under medical supervision). Thalasso treatments are also helpful for digestive complaints.
For complete body attention, some spas also have leg and foot baths, and cyclonic showers (jets at different levels, alternating hot and cold water). A rain shower marries a gentle spray with sound, colour and fragrance. The hydrotherapy pools are usually complemented by sauna, hammam (steam bath) and relaxation room; they may also have an ice room.
Beauty treatments include a range of wraps, scrubs, peels, masks and massages for body, and facials (scrub, mask, massage); you can often combine them - a hydrotherapy session followed by a massage for example, offers ultimate relaxation, or a slimming body wrap followed by a mask can take inches off your vital statistics.
Whatever you're after when you visit a spa - skin firming, relaxation, stress release, muscle toning, or just plain pampering - you will leave feeling revitalised and refreshed.
