As Kate Middleton gets ready for her big day, brides-to-be around the country will also be looking for relaxing ways to calm their wedding jitters and enjoy some last-minute pampering before their wedding.
AUSTRIA’S FINEST Spa Hotels & Resorts is a collection of eight deluxe properties offering world-class spa facilities in stunning settings coupled with the finest local organic cuisine. Therapists have a minimum of three years’ experience and many of the spa treatments incorporate fresh local herbs and plants from mountain pastures, making them unique to the region.
Brides-to-be can wallow in a mare’s milk bath just like Cleopatra and accompanying chief bridesmaids can try a stress-relieving Tyrolean Shale Oil treatment which is produced from 180 million-year-old shale oil. Here are just some more of the options available:
Alpenresort Schwarz (fly to Innsbruck)
A cosy and traditional Austrian retreat, the hotel’s Schwarz Spa houses a ‘Fire Mountain’ sauna area with Turkish bath and specialises in rejuvenating baths and massages such as Pantai Luar, a hot oil massage that restores tired muscles and flagging spirits. The spa uses the Alpienne range of natural oils and creams made from plants harvested in the Austrian mountains.
Theresia Gartenhotel (fly to Salzburg or Innsbruck)
New to the collection for 2011, the hotel has an outdoor Feng Shui restaurant and a ‘Mountain Green Spa’ which features indoor and outdoor pools, saunas, Turkish baths and a massage menu. Treatments include a mare’s milk body treatment to help dry or itchy skin and a hay pack followed by balm treatment in which hay is laid on the body to generate a warming, relaxing effect, to stimulate circulation and kick-start the body’s metabolism.
Hotel Cervosa (fly to Innsbruck)
Also new to the collection in 2011 is the Hotel Cervosa in Austria’s picturesque Tyrol region. Water is seen as central to one’s wellbeing here and, to prove it, there are 11 saunas and steam baths, three whirlpools and a range of treatments from lymph drainage to an invigorating Hammam Soap and Brush massage. Located in Serfaus, the hotel has a whole host of outdoor activities on its doorstep, from mountain biking in summer to snowboarding in winter.
Biohotel Stanglwirt (fly to Salzburg or Innsbruck)
Built entirely from Austrian wood, this eco-friendly hotel has six restaurants and its own farm. Treatments include the Haki stretch & relax which uses warm oils and gentle stretching, and is specifically designed to relieve tension in the neck and back. Alternatively, a profi-lift power massage is a type of yoga for the face which will help brides-to-be to maintain a healthy glow.
Royal Spa Kitzbühel Hotel (fly to Salzburg)
The chic and contemporary Royal Spa Kitzbühel is new to the collection this year and offers treatments such as a Caviar Firming Facial where caviar pearls help to restore the skin, and an Alpine Milkshake which uses aromatised goat’s butter to revive dry skin all over the body. The hotel prides itself on its holistic cocooning treatments – perfect for brides wanting to feel pampered – and exquisite, nutritious cuisine.
Interalpen – HotelTyrol (fly to Innsbruck)
The hotel provides luxury on a grand scale. The glamorous spa has its own beauty farm with a range of holistic treatments including An Pi Mo Mai – an acupressure point and meridian massage which harmonises imbalances and releases physical blockages for renewed strength. Alternatively, enjoy the great outdoors by hiking in the Seefeld high plateau or booking a tennis lesson.
Spa Hotel Wiesenhof (fly to Innsbruck)
Located beside Lake Achensee, the hotel offers Tibetan resonance therapy which involves lying on a specially-devised resonance bed with 52 strings tuned in to the sound of the earth to harmonise body and soul. This is also the place to try a Tyrolean Shale Oil Bath, which offers many healing properties.
Im Weissen Rössl (fly to Salzburg)
With much of the hotel’s local scenery providing the backdrop to “The Sound of Music” and a stunning setting on Lake Wolfgang, the hotel’s dedicated alpine spa focuses on deep relaxation treatments, herbal baths, body scrubs and wraps. Try a salt crystal treatment which includes a herbal bath, exfoliation and massage or a mud bath to boost circulation and relieve tension.
SAMPLE PRICE: The Royal Spa Kitzbühel is offering a two-night stay in a superior double room for £233 (€263) which includes a daily gourmet breakfast, full use of the Mountain Health Spa and a choice of two extras from a menu that includes options such as a Thai foot massage, manicure, pedicure, fruit vitality bath, an hour’s session with a personal trainer and – to celebrate! – a bottle of champagne. Flights/transfers extra. Valid until 17 December 2011.
For more information on AUSTRIA’S FINEST Spa Hotels & Resorts, visit www.austria.info/spa or call 0845 1011 818.
Ends
8 April 2011
Press: PRESS TRIPS to experience AUSTRIA’S FINEST Spa Hotels & Resorts are available for appropriate commissions. Typically, these trips include flights, transfers, full-board accommodation and a spa treatment. To discuss press trip commissions please contact Karen Carpenter or Julia Farish at Travel PR on 020 8891 4440 or email k.carpenter@travelpr.co.uk or j.farish@travelpr.co.uk