Destinations for long weekends to relax your mind

Outside the glacier glistens, inside the sauna is steaming. Ice and hot are not opposites, but rather a program in these dreamlike wellness hotels that lure us into the mountains. Five destinations for long weekends.

Watch yourself breathe

In the middle of the Unesco biosphere reserve of the Northern Vosges, hotel owner Lisbeth Strohmenger, a trained yoga teacher and Ayurveda therapist, takes care of the well-being of her guests. She has tailored a holistic wellness concept based on five pillars.
LA CLAIRIÈRE bio & spa hotel, 63, route d’Ingwiller, F-67290 La Petite Pierre, Regional Natural Park of the Northern Vosges, France,
1. Health and nutritional advice,
2. Energizing spa cuisine (regional, seasonal),
3. Sport and exercise in the forest,
4. Wellness treatments in the spa,
5. Naturopathic applications, TCM and Ayurveda.
And La Clairière is also home to France’s first certified organic restaurant. All beauty treatments with natural cosmetics from Dr.Hauschka and Weleda are based on the elements of air, earth, fire and water. The spa with a clear view of the forest offers, among other things, a steam bath, bio sauna, Finnish and infrared sauna, ice fountain, whirlpool, fitness/yoga room.
Hot: 100% natural volcanic clay from the Middle Atlas in Morocco is applied to the body and hair in a special steam bath . Firming, caring, clarifying, pore-deep cleansing. Splendid!
Ice: Practicing the breathing techniques you have learned all alone early in the morning in the snow-covered, mystical forest. Amazing, the clouds of breath float in the clear air for a very long time.

Relaxation at the weekend

Am I dreaming or am I awake…?

You will wake up like a snow princess once you have moved into one of the 16 chalets on the high plateau in Salzburger Land. Arranged like a mountain village, built only from natural materials such as old wood, stone pine and natural stone, equipped with hand-woven farmer’s linen, all have an open living area with dining area, small kitchen and fireplace, their own spa area with sauna and free-standing tub.

Massages and beauty treatments also take place here, in complete privacy: with “Alpienne natural cosmetics” from wild collections processed by hand and with Maria Galland products. Breakfast is discreetly uncovered daily by friendly spirits. At 1100 meters above sea level, at the foot of the Leoganger Steinberge, the Galloways within reach, let your eyes wander and ask yourself: Am I dreaming…?

HOT: Everyday thoughts finally evaporate with the Alpienne hay flower foot bath in the Zirbenschaffl. The following massage in front of the fireplace takes place on a different level of consciousness.
EIS: Have you ever bathed in the “hot pot” on your own chalet terrace and just climbed out of it for a snowball fight with fresh snow…?

Listen to the snow fall

The hotel stands alone on its own 130,000 m2 mountain meadow; a sheltered mountain valley at 1000 meters altitude – only (snowy) meadows and forests all around and the mountain scenery with a view of the Zugspitze, among others.

No tour groups, seminars, weddings or celebrations are accepted here. Nothing disturbs the idyll, nature and silence. That’s why the bathhouse with five pools (one with salt water) inside and outside, nine saunas and steam baths is a little off the beaten path; own “Ladies Spa”, Ayurveda, TCM, Thalasso treatments; Thalgo and Pharmos cosmetics. Sleep at night with the window open and you hear nothing – at most the snowflakes fall.

HOT: Relaxed after a “Pinda Swed” (stamp massage with hot herbal bags) wrapped up in front of a crackling open fire and just doze off.
ICE: After a snowshoe hike in the panorama sauna, then standing naked and steaming on the roof in the nudist area in front of glittering three-thousanders.

Relaxation on the mountain

Come down to the top

Oberjoch is Germany’s highest mountain village and lies in the middle of a sunny high valley in the Allgäu Alps – surrounded by waterfalls, streams, spectacular panoramas and icy mountain lakes.

The only thing that takes your breath away is the scenery and the “Alpin Spa” on 3000 m2, completely on the ground floor and connected to nature through huge window fronts. Because the Heile-Welt-Romantik is home to Germany’s first certified allergy-friendly community in the Alps. Relieved of the pollen and mite alarm, enjoy fresh, regional, fair-trade products from local, organic farms that are used both in the kitchen and in the home

own cosmetics can be used. There are also products from Clarins, Primavera and Amala.
HOT: Sole lounge with 38 °C (unique in Germany), herbal steam bath with a large rock crystal in the middle, mud bath in the bio sauna. Breathe sage, lavender, chamomile.
EIS: Jump into the pool inside, dive and only appear outside again in the middle of the ski slopes and mountain peaks – infinity pool with goosebumps guaranteed.

vision and longing

Sport, design, nature – the “Cambrian” revels in these three categories in the Swiss mountain village of Adelboden – at 1350 meters above sea level. It’s hard to avoid summit gazing here: almost every room has a view of the giant rocks of the Bernese Oberland. The place of longing for ski freaks: over 210 kilometers of pistes (and 40 kilometers of cross-country trails) want to be conquered. Originality is still upheld here:

There, for example, the Bernese Alpkäse is made, which is not available outside of the village. The design of the house is also not artificial or superimposed – it simply interprets alpine ambience in a modern way. The same applies to the spa: “Alpienne natural cosmetics” meet elegant Bisazza mosaics.

HOT: The spectacular outdoor pool, seemingly floating in the mountain, is heated to 36 degrees Celsius.
ICE: The Engstlingen waterfall plunges 400 meters directly before your eyes, illuminated at night. A unique sight and outlook.

Crystal Waston MD

Crystal Waston has a degree in Cross Media Production and Publishing. At vital.de she gives everyday tips and deals with topics related to women's health, sport, and nutrition.

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