THERE’S MORE TO SKIING’S WELLNESS TREND THAN POSH SPAS AND MOUNTAIN AIR

In the battle to convert more fans to the joys of winter sports, ski resorts are increasingly turning to alternative activities. One area that’s seeing a rise in popularity is wellness.

Getting back to nature has long been at the heart of winter holidays, and each season sees a plethora of luxury spas open in ski resorts, with ever more elaborate services aimed at restoring and rejuvenating clients. But the wellness trend isn’t just about a posh spa and some fresh mountain air.

It’s increasingly about resorts offering yoga programmes, cold water swimming and plunges or nature walks, to restore and reset your inner chi. Stella Photi, founder of Wellbeing Escapes, a specialist travel company selling holidays focussing health and happiness, said: “For those seeking a luxury skiing holiday, resorts are now expected to offer healthy cuisine, holistic treatments, and cutting-edge biohacking technologies to appeal to discerning travellers with a focus on wellbeing.

“At Wellbeing Escapes we saw a 25 per cent increase in winter wellness bookings in 2024, compared to 2023.”

Interest in specific activities has also boomed. In Samoëns, France, the number of people visiting the village in the Grand Massif to go cold water swimming has risen significantly.

The 3 Vallées resort of Les Menuires will be hosting its ninth yoga-ski week this Easter. “Each year we have seen a growth in the number of participants taking part in our Yogiski week. Wellness is an integral part of a ski holiday, whether that be on the mountain breathing in the views, in a spa or taking a specific yoga class,” said Marlène Giacometti, director of the tourist office.

If the idea of visiting the mountains this winter to restore both body and soul appeals, while also finding time to ski or snowboard (if you so wish), then take your pick from the following holidays and ski resorts that offer it all.

Les Menuires, France

Best for: Yogis

Yogiski (April 5 to 11, 2025) has become the flagship well-being event in the Alps. Taking place both on and off the slopes of Les Menuires and St Martin de Belleville in Les 3 Vallées, it’s a week of yoga, relaxation and connecting with nature, with plenty of time for skiing in between.

Highlights include a yoga session at 2,800m, a sunset snowshoe hike and yoga session at the Lac du Lou mountain refuge, sound baths, forest walks and candle-lit yin yoga sessions. Classes are open to all and most are free of charge – sign up at the tourist office.

Inghams (01483 944456; inghams.co.uk) offers seven nights at the Hotel Les Bruyeres from £1,029, half board. Sign up to Yogiski at the tourist office (Most classes are free; paid sessions are between €30 and €45; lesmenuires.com/yogiski).

Plan your trip with our guide to Les Menuires.

Samoëns, France

Best for: Swimmers

Soak up the forest views, take a deep breath and wade into Samoëns’ Lac aux Dames, the regular host of the Ice Swimming World Championships. In the heart of winter, the water temperature ranges between -5C and 0C so you’ll be well placed for all the physical and mental health benefits a cold dip triggers, including a boosted immune system, better blood circulation and reduced stress.

Under the watchful guidance of Florian Milesi, a sports coach and cold-water swimmer, immerse yourself and feel the endorphins flow, then warm up after in Bastu74’s mobile sauna.

Peak Retreats (023 9283 9310; peakretreats.co.uk) offers seven nights from £295, self-catered in a two-bedroom apartment in La Reine des Prés, based on five sharing, including return Eurotunnel crossing. Book an ice swimming session via the tourist office (€75; samoens.com/immersion-and-swimming-in-icy-water).

St Gervais, France

Best for: Aches and pains

Like several historic towns in the Alps, St Gervais is home to a natural hot spring, which, thanks to the healing benefits of thermal waters, has brought the resort fame and fortune since the first iteration of the Bains du Mont Blanc thermal baths opened in 1806.

The whole region is a haven for relaxation – St Gervais sits within a network of hamlets and villages that make up the Evasion Mont-Blanc ski resort with 445km of slopes, and the baths include pools, flotation basins, saunas and steam baths, a salt grotto, a halotherapy grotto, and cascades of pure thermal water.

Heidi (0117 457 6000; heidi.com) offers seven nights Le Saint Gervais Hotel & Spa from £999, room only, including return flights. Book natural hot baths sessions independently (From €39 for three hours; thermes-saint-gervais.com).

Sölden, Austria

Best for: Cold plunge fans

The Wim Hof Method is wellness shorthand for being immersed in cold water, to reduce inflammation and contribute to overall better health. But rather than recreating the experience in your bathroom at home, head to Obergurgl in the Austrian Tirol, where it’s already cold, and learn the essential techniques of breathing and cold therapy from two certified Wim Hof instructors, Flo Mausser and Martina Sowinz.

The workshop fits easily into a week’s holiday at the high-altitude resort, and plenty of smart spa hotels mean it’s easy to contrast the cold with some soothing heat.

Ski Solutions (020 3051 5008; skisolutions.com) offers seven nights at the Alpen-Wellness Resort Hochfirst, from £2,054, half board. Book a Wim Hof workshop via the tourist office (€164; soelden.com). Plan your trip with our guide to Sölden.

Gstaad, Switzerland

Best for: Quick wins

Forget a quick warm-up stretch before hitting the slopes, the Alpina Gstaad’s Six Senses Spa offers guests the chance to biohack their way to better skiing, with its three-day Ski Restoration programme – a DIY approach to achieving optimal health. Each day, guests have a “performance accelerator session” on the non-invasive biohacking machines, with the aim of reducing inflammation, improving circulation and regenerating cells and tissues. Throw in the included Thai massage, head massage and regular stretching and you won’t recognise yourself.

Wellbeing Escapes (020 3735 7555; wellbeingescapes.com) offers seven nights bed and breakfast at the Alpina Gstaad, from £6,100, including travel. The three-day Ski Restoration Programme is CHF1,500 (£1,342).

Forestis, Italy

Best for: Peace and serenity

Many Alpine hotels promise peace and tranquillity – thanks to spectacular settings and remote locations it’s often a given – but Forestis in the Italian Dolomites might just trump them all.

Surrounded by pine trees and the craggy Dolomites, and set within at 1,800m in the Puez-Geisler Nature Park, it’s a wellness hotel that focuses on physical and mental mindfulness (with a giant 2,000m2 spa) and ski-in/ski-out access to the resort of Plose. Book one of the hotel’s wellness programmes and benefit from immunity-boosting therapy or ancient Celtic Wyda yoga.

Abercrombie & Kent (03301 734 712; abercrombiekent.com) offers seven nights at the Forestis from £3,495, B&B.

Lenzerheide, Switzerland

Best for: Romantics

Eschew all mod cons and spend the night under the stars in a glamping pod in the Graubünden canton. Four separate pods are set among the mountain firs, spruce and larch surrounding Lenzerheide and promise the most tranquil of nights – with strategically transparent sides and ceilings, guests get the most eye-opening mountain views and clear skies, without compromising their privacy. Fully heated and with breakfast provided, you’ll wake up refreshed and ready to hit the slopes.

The Swiss Holiday Company (0800 6191200; swissholidayco.com) offers seven nights at the Sunstar Hotel Lenzerheide from £1,263, B&B. Glamping pods from CHF317 (£284) per night (adventurly.ch/glamping-lenzerheide)

Umeå, Sweden

Best for: Getting into the wilderness

Immerse yourself in the stillness of the Arctic winter and be at one in the snowy wilds of Swedish Lapland on this small-group trip with Gutsy Girls. Spending five nights in a remote eco-hotel, your days will be filled with backcountry skiing, snowshoe hikes, cosy campfires, chasing the northern lights and sauna and ice baths. To complete this winter retreat, fresh, organic meals sourced from local hunters, farms and foragers are served every evening.

Gutsy Girls (gutsygirls.co.uk) offers five nights from £1,750, full-board, including activities, excluding travel.

Whistler, Canada

Best for: Unhurried serenity

Canada’s largest resort doesn’t just offer plenty of epic skiing and snowboarding, it’s also home to the vast outdoor thermal Scandinave Spa; a series of hot, cold and relaxing installations encircled by Whistler’s temperate rainforest to be enjoyed in complete silence. Continue the well-being by checking into the Nita Lake Lodge, awarded a Michelin Key in the 2024 guide, where you’ll find hot tubs on the roof and cold plunges in the lake, plus a barrel sauna and award-winning spa treatments.

Ski Independence (0131 2430 8097; ski-i.com) offers 10 nights at the Nita Lake Lodge from £2,364, room only, including travel. Book Scandinave Spa sessions independently (From $103CAD (plus tax) for a day’s access; scandinave.com/whistler). Plan your trip with our guide to Whistler.

MoaAlm Mountain Retreat, Austria

Best for: Getting back to nature

If the idea of spending your days doing yoga, hiking and skiing in the Austrian Tirol’s Hohe Tauern National Park, then rounding the day off in a log-fuelled hot tub sounds ideal, then this seven-night small group trip with Responsible Travel is just what you need. A varied itinerary includes snowshoe hikes and cross-country skiing too, and it all takes place from the remote MoaAlm, set at an altitude of 1,800m and about 3km above the small village of Kals am Großglockner.

Responsible Travel (01273 823 700; responsibletravel.com) offers seven nights from £980, full board, including some activities but excluding travel (free transfers are provided from the local train station).

Unless stated otherwise, prices are per person, including flights and transfers.

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2025-01-27T11:12:41Z