By Ben Mulvey
The St. Regis Mardavall Mallorca Resort is a five-star hotel in the southwest of the island that is the epitome of luxury, style and relaxation. With 125 rooms, a luxury spa, a stunning swimming pool and its very own Michelin-star restaurant, Es Fum, this hotel certainly stands out from the crowd in Mallorca, and indeed in Spain.
Aside from the hotel’s rooms and dining options, the in-house Arabella Spa has made a name for itself in its own right as one of Europe’s best, and largest, spas. The 4700m² spa boasts eleven treatment rooms, indoor and outdoor pools, a salt pool, Jacuzzi, and a jet shower for guests to relax and indulge in. There is also a Finnish sauna (90ºC), a steam sauna with aroma (42ºC -45ºC), an ice cave (10ºC), and a salt sauna (37ºC-40ºC) that all surround the salt pool, each one offering different types of relaxation and health benefits.
The Arabella Spa embraces a holistic concept that combines the ancient healing methods of Traditional Chinese Medicine with well-known Western treatments. It does this through a bespoke spa programme that gives guests access to an array of different treatments.
Each spa programme is tailored to the guest with a focus on anti-pain, detox and slimming, anti-stress or beauty treatments. The whole process begins with a body composition consultation to determine the guest’s physical condition in terms of muscle, water and fat percentage. These tests give the qualified team of therapists, spa specialists and Chinese doctors an idea of what treatments they can offer and what would be beneficial for each guest. Interestingly, these tests are so simple yet offer a great deal of information – guests stand on a machine with their feet on a metal sensor and their hands-on another for a few seconds and the machine does the rest.
Another part of the initial consultation involves lifestyle questions that are intended to find out what each guest needs. These questions are to determine eating habits, general well-being, and stress levels and to give the therapists more of a guide on how best to treat each and every guest.
The spa programmes include treatments such as classic or oriental body therapies (ayurvedic treatments from India, Hawaiian Lomi Lomi massage, Thai massage) or treatments from Traditional Chinese Medicine. Each programme is interchangeable meaning that guests can pick and choose treatments from each one to make their own personalised treatments. Guests can choose between a two-day, five-day or week-long programme and all programmes include full access to the Arabella Spa and access to all of the classes that take place every day including yoga, Tai Chi, Pilates, meditation, and Aqua Gym.
Once the chosen spa programme has been completed, guests are invited for a final consultation where the specialists will look at the initial consultation results and compare them. Here, guests can see how they have benefited from their spa or medical treatments as well as from physical activities and mental exercises and analyse how they move on with their ongoing health plan. These plans are designed to kickstart a health plan, reset the body and the mind and highlight any issues that should be dealt with in order to live a healthy lifestyle whilst emphasising the importance of taking time out for ourselves.
All of these packages are available to residents, visitors and hotel guests and the spa is open to adults only between May – October from 8 am – 9 pm.
The St. Regis Mardavall Mallorca Resort, Costa d’en Blanes, Mallorca.
www.stregismardavall.com
Book your treatment at +34 971 629 600
spa.mallorca@stregis.com
Personal review by Celebrity Magazine Publisher, Donna Suarez
My friend Beccy Bellafont-Evans of Mallorca Solutions and I decided to try one of the holistic spa programmes at Arabella Spa.
First, Spa Director, Tami Le, interviewed us and set the individual goals for both of us.
For me, the main goal was to give my body and mind a little break, to relieve the persistent tension in my neck and shoulders, cleanse and detoxify my body, and maybe even lose a little weight. After a detailed consultation, Tami put together a customised 5-day-detox-anti-stress programme for me. On the first day of the programme, I had my very own personal trainer who designed an individualised workout plan for me and gave me some valuable nutritional advice. My spa programme also included five 80-minute spa treatments. I was especially thrilled by the Lymphodrainer. This highly effective drainage device with cupping glasses stimulates the metabolism and improves the structure of the skin. I also experienced a very special moment in the private yoga class: Do you know that the body and breathing are closely linked and can evoke deep emotions?
Beccy, on the other hand, was particularly interested in overhauling her general health as well as relieving stress. Therefore, Dr Lu and Dr Tang, currently two of the best experts in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in Europe, devoted themselves to Beccy’s well-being and health. Health issues of all kinds respond effectively to acupuncture, especially when combined with other natural healing methods such as herbs and dietary changes. TCM is one of the oldest healing systems and is all about treating existing ailments, but also preventing new ones!
All in all, the spa programmes have changed the way we look at our own well-being and health, so they are highly recommended. Both Beccy and myself are renewed, refreshed and revitalised and ready to take the world on. Hasten to say we have both joined as members and can use the facilities at a special resident’s price and we will most definitely be booking another spa programme soon!