If you love mountains and snow but aren't keen on all-day skiing, don't languish in chalets with cramped saunas and smelly boot rooms. Make your spa the centre of your holiday so that even if your friends are more active than you are, there's no reason to miss out on the views, fresh air and all the other benefits from a holiday at high altitude. And at the end of a long day on the slopes, there's nothing better than lowering yourself into a naturally drawn outdoor bath in water at temperatures of 40 degrees or more, or having your shoulders unknotted by a masseuse.
1. Hotel Bagni Vecchi at the Bagni di Bormio Spa Resort, Bormio, Valdidentro, Italy
Leonardo da Vinci stayed here as did King Vittorio Emanuele III, Emperor Ferdinand and the Archduchess of Austria. Each has a hot spring, mud pool or thermal bath named after them. And that's just four of the many natural and man-made restorative treatments that are a part of Bagni Vecchi Spa's menu, which includes every conceivable beauty and health ritual that ever existed, and then some. As a guest in one of the 36 rooms, you can access the various caves, waterfalls and springs - all easily reached by shoe or shuttle - before the public is let in at 10am. Dive into a regenerating thermal bath in a pre-Roman-era cave where the water is rich in natural sulphur bacteria (fango), or sink into the mud pool for a natural skin peel. For views that wow even as you detoxify, wade through the steam cave sauna, the only one of its kind in the world, through a tunnel created within the rock. At 48 degrees and 95 per cent humidity, the trip takes you from a heavenly temperature to an infernal yet pleasurable heat. Come into the light and spend some time in the warm, outdoor Jacuzzi with views of the Alps and the surrounding Stelvio National Park. Then there are the dry, Finnish or bio saunas, the warm Garibaldi waterfall and a scented hot steam bath. If being so spoilt for choice is a bit daunting, start with the QC Terme Deluxe, a 75-minute massage (?95, Dh466) created by the therapists for this season, that uses warm cotton seed oil and the fragrant Buddleja (butterfly bush) flower. The circular movements from head to heel are meant to soothe even the most ski- and shopping-weary limbs. After all, the 50 kilometres of the famous Bormio slopes and 250 stores in the Livigno duty free area are waiting for the spring of your rejuvenated step.
Double rooms from ?144 (Dh706) per person, per night including taxes (www.bagnidibormio.it, 00 39 0342 91 0131). Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi and Emirates from Dubai to Milan, from where Bormio is a three-hour drive
2. Le Chabichou, Courchevel, Savoie, France
This family-run hotel in the heart of Courchevel 1850 claims that more than half of its 42 rooms are booked by repeat visitors during winter. The traditional whitewood Savoyard chalet with its rustic rooms and a dual Michelin-starred restaurant, boasts a piste-side, ski-in, ski-out location thanks to its proximity to Les Trois Vallées' ski area. The extent of the Three Valleys - 600 kilometres of slopes in the French Alps - combined with well-groomed runs, vertiginous off-piste couloirs, gentle runs at village level and exhilarating tree skiing facilities - ensure that Courchevel has plenty for skiers of all standards. Plus, the owners, the father-son duo Michel and Nicolas Rochedy, revamped the in-house spa in December 2011, to make room for a salt grotto - a bath filled with Epsom salts rich in magnesium and sulphates that help the body to detox in a matter of minutes. Another addition is an enormous multi-sensory musical pool made up of various sections such as aqua fitness, an anti-stress area, a hammam with a bio sauna and even a mineral-rich 'Dead Sea' pool and hot-water 'Indian Ocean' pool. If personalised care is what you seek, the spa therapists recommend the Chabiforme ski-repair treatment (?165, Dh810 for 75 minutes), with Carita and Decleor products, that will suck the stress out of your limbs and put the moisture back in your skin, with a friendly personal therapist who'll have you feeling right at home. It's little wonder then that the guests keep coming back.
Double rooms from ?245 (Dh1,200) per person, per night, including breakfast and taxes (www.chabichou-courchevel.com, 00 33 4 79 08 0055). Emirates flies direct and Etihad through Brussels to Lyon, from where you can get hotel transport or rent a car for the three-hour drive to Courchevel
3 The Fairmont Banff Springs Resort, Alberta, Canada
Located in the heart of Banff National Park, a Unesco World Heritage Site, this stately hotel lives up to its moniker of the 'Castle in the Canadian Rockies', complete with 768 rooms. A century ago, travellers were drawn to Banff to recuperate in the hot springs discovered there. While these are still around, you may not have cause to visit because the award-winning Willow Stream Spa, with its waterfalls, outdoor mineral pool and eucalyptus-inhalation rooms, has enough treatments to keep you occupied. The therapists recommend the High Altitude treatment (CAD$285, Dh999 for 90 minutes) before you step on your skis or sleds, which uses aromatic oils that address ailments associated with a change in altitude, such as headaches, muscle pain and rapid breathing. The three ski slopes, which offer downhill and cross-country skiing, around the resort, are not the easiest to tackle, and while beginners can visit the Fairmont Snow School for step-by-step guidance ($649, Dh2,275 for six hours), a day on the Rockies can leave you feeling high and dry. The two-hour Ultimate Escape healing treatment ($755, Dh2,647 for two), with a footbath, mineral body scrub, a body mask using glacial mud or clay-and-corn, and finally, a dip in the Japanese soaker tub, will have the warmth flooding right back. Die-hard skiers, who are planning to hit the powder the following day, have the Après-Ski Performance Massage ($205, Dh720 for 60 minutes) that involves a lot of stretching to decrease muscle soreness and increase flexibility. To protect your skin, sign up for the hydrating Willow Stream Facial for the Great Outdoors ($255, Dh895 for 90 minutes). All the facials and body-and-foot treatments use ingredients and products unique to the region, such as red mineral mud, rose-geranium oil, mountain lavender, rosehip tea, pine and, of course, maple-sugar.
Double rooms from $220 (Dh770) per person, per night, including breakfast and taxes (www.fairmont.com/banff-springs, 00 403 762 2211). Emirates flies from Dubai to Calgary International Airport via Seattle or Los Angeles, and Banff is a 90-minute drive west of Calgary
4. Grand Park Hotel, Bad Hofgastein, Austria
If you've seen more winters that you'd care to admit, it's likely that your skin is losing moisture with each coming season. To counter this, once the hotel opens on December 6, the 2,000-square-metre Grand Spa, with views of the Gastein Valley, will take a cue from the latest oxygenating treatment devised by the experts at QMC Medicosmetics, the German-based skincare group. The QMS Pure Oxygen treatment (?140, Dh687 for 90 minutes) uses a 98 per cent concentrate of the hydrating element that sets into motion skin cell regeneration from the first layer of the epidermis. Ideal for those over 30, this advanced anti-ageing ritual will take care of any external blemish and internal lack of collagen owing to year-round exposure to the heat of the sun and cold winds. A perfect way to start your trip, the ritual ends with an algi mask that will keep your skin warm and protected as you explore the permanent race tracks of Dorfgastein-Großarl, the difficult descents of Graukogel or the relaxed ski slopes of Stubnerkogel-Angertal-Schlossalm. While it's not recommended that you load your face with more product after the fruit acids and enzymes that are a part of the oxygen treatment, there's nothing stopping you from taking a bone-warming dip in the spa's thermal tub once you return. If you're travelling with kids, take them Llama trekking, and go by foot - or funicular - to the Christmas and Advent markets in the village. The new viewing platform, Glocknerblick, for the 140-metre suspension bridge - the highest in Europe on the Stubnerkogel peak - is another attraction.
Double rooms start from ?173 (Dh850) per person, per night including taxes (www.grandparkhotel.at, 00 43 6432 6356-0). Etihad flies through Frankfurt to WA Mozart Airport, Salzburg from where Bad Gastein is an hour by car
5. Nakazawa Village Resort, Kusatsu, Gunma, Japan
After you've emerged victorious from the eight-kilometre slope - the longest in Japan along the volcanic peaks of Mount Shirane - treat yourself with a dip in the warmth of the famous Kusatsu onsens (hot springs). Bubbling and steaming, at 55 degrees in some places, the water fresh out of the Yubatake (hot water field) at the city centre and channelled through clean wooden flumes to the hotel, the sulphurous onsens are known to speed up metabolism and cure skin-related ailments. Also, as Dr Von Baelz, known as the father of Japanese medicine, noted in a diary entry from 1900: "Along with unequalled hot springs and the finest mountain air, Kusatsu boasts perfectly ideal drinking water." So while you may be tempted to give the resort's Therme Therme spa treatment a miss altogether, keep that appointment for an experience that, like the hotel's rooms and restaurants, blends the best of two worlds with German-style herbal massages within a Japanese hot bath in a room with low recliners, a sliding paper door and tatami floors. Don't forget to remove your snowshoes before you stomp on the straw mats, though. Once you've had your daily thrill of hot water, explore the quaint city centre, 15 minutes away, or, if you fancy a day trip, visit the Bälz Onsen Center, situated near the Mount Tengu ski area, which is a popular après-ski recreation spot. If you happen to be there on a weekend, the hotel offers the opportunity to observe the village women performing Kusatsubishi, a traditional Yumomi song, as they use long, wooden planks to cool down the onsen water to a temperature suitable for bathing. And when they're done, you can jump into the silky, clean water prepared right before your eyes, for a liberating communal experience.
For more information, visit www. 0932.jp/language or call 00 81 279 88 4513. Etihad and Emirates fly to Tokyo, from where you can rent a car for the five-hour trip or ride the Shinkansen to Takasaki near Gunma, and get there in less than an hour
6. Aqua Dome - Tirol Therme Längenfeld, Austria
Sölden welcomes winter with the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Opening at the end of October, and from November, the glacier slopes in the upper Ötztal mountain are taken over by ski enthusiasts, who, depending on their skill and confidence, use the dense network of cross-country ski tracks - one of which passes directly through Aqua Dome. The 50,000 square metre complex has the largest thermal spa in Austria, with 80,000 litres of thermal water running into the hotel's eight baths, including three floating outdoor pools on stilts. Watching the sun set or taking a dip by the moonlight in the seemingly levitating bowl-shaped pools is as enjoyable as the properties of the naturally hot brine and sulphur water. If the sizzling temperature of a sauna is what you crave after an active day, take your pick from the four offered here: the Finnish sauna loft; the Earth sauna that's half embedded in the ground; the hay barn sauna that uses salt, yogurt, honey orpeloid infusions; and the ravine sauna, which is made of wood, stone and glass, and comes with thunder and lightning effects to make you feel like you're sitting in the middle of a canyon. Cool off - something you will need to do after the saunas and thermal baths despite the minimal weather conditions - with an ice rain shower in the glacier cave. Then there's the new Spa 3000, which opened in December last year, and which includes all that's herbal in its winter menu. From the camomile, peppermint and lavender herbal sauna to the herbal lotion bath made of yarrow and arnica, the therapists believe that the heat of the herbs gets imprinted on the body and mind to therapeutic effect.
Double rooms from ?209 (Dh982) per person, per night including taxes (www.aqua-dome.at, 00 43 5253 6400 5010). Etihad Airways flies to Salzburg from where Längenfeld takes three hours to reach by car or Tirol-Taxi
7. Mont Cervin Palace, Zermatt, Switzerland
The aestheticians at MCP Beauty Spa in this hotel, which is one of the biggest ski resorts in the Swiss Alps with slopes that extend over 350 kilometres, believe that spending time in a pollution-free zone is a ritual in well-being in itself. But if you're here, you may as well combine a healthy dose of the fresh mountain air that's yours for the breathing with the Swiss Alpine Herbal Stamp Massage (SFR240, Dh955 for 80 minutes) on one day and the Mont Cervin Palace Goat-Milk Treatment (SFR285, Dh1,135 for 100 minutes) on the other. The hot herbal stamps activate your skin's self-healing powers, while the goat's milk cream massage packs in all the moisturising nutrients that the cold and dry weather tend to deplete. Both treatments last for a little over an hour, and can be followed with a quick dip in the outdoor hot-water whirlpool surrounded by the majestic Matterhorn, leaving you to enjoy the many other pleasures of Zermatt for the rest of the day. Besides skiing - right over to Italy if you'd like - the horse sledge tour around the village and a helicopter flight around the mountain come recommended, as does the picturesque train ride on the Glacier Express from Zermatt to Davos. Or, you could just take a day off to stroll around the car-free main street for some relaxed shopping, before returning for an aromatic Finnish sauna and eucalyptus-infused steam bath.
Double rooms from SFR325 (Dh1,295) per person, per night including breakfast and taxes (www.montcervinpalace.ch, 00 41 27 966 8888). Zermatt is easily reached by train or car from both Geneva and Zurich airports and takes between three and five hours
8. Chalet Royalp Hôtel & Spa, Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland
One of the newest members of the Leading Hotels of the World group, this 63-room hotel, is famous for many reasons - the unique ski-in/ski-out facilities, scenic hike from Villars to the Bretaye mountain pass and, of course, its proximity to the Swiss Alps. That its Le Spa by RoyAlp was deemed the winner of the Best Luxury Destination Spa in Europe at the World Luxury Awards this year, is an added bonus. The word holistic comes to mind as the spa experience begins with the pampering of the palate with refreshing beverages, fresh fruits and mignardises even as the efficient and friendly staff massage out the kinks in your equipment-hauling shoulders. It's away then to a private suite for the cold-weather Cellcosmet / Cellmen treatment of your choice. Especially beneficial for the season are the hour-long Éclat du Teint (radiant complexion) and Swiss Anti-Stress facials (SFR180, Dh725 each) that rehydrate lacklustre skin and that you can enjoy at the same time as the 90-minute Jambes Lourdes circulation spa (SFR 200, Dh805) that includes a draining mint massage and veinotonication designed to relieve heavy and tired legs. The edelweiss flower, packed to the petal with cosmetic benefits, features in a lot of the other treatments, of which the Pure Altitude range of massages will have you looking as young as you feel after a holiday as relaxing as this one.
Double rooms from SFR380 (Dh1,515) per person, per night including breakfast and taxes (www.royalp.ch, 00 41 24 495 9090). Etihad and Emirates fly to Geneva from where Villars is a 90-minute drive
9. Alpenhof Murnau, Zugspitze, Bavaria, Germany
To experience a massage at the highest altitude that a country has to offer, head to this 71-room resort in the heart of the Murnauer Moos nature reserve on the Zugspitze mountain. Once there, check yourself into the Yavanna Spa suite, famous for the Rasul, a traditional Moroccan mud spa (?45, Dh220 for 20 minutes) to purify the skin by getting rid of the pesky dead cells that the cold brings. The spa also offers a stress-melting Creativity massage (?60, Dh295 for 40 minutes), ideal for skiers who don't like to end their evenings early nor start their mornings stiff. The soothing head and neck treatment, which can be coupled with the Alaya Me full-body peel using Himalayan herbs (?120, Dh590 for 90 minutes), will leave you more than ready to face the famous Kandahar slope, which was the venue for the Alpine Skiing World Championship in 2011. If crowds don't put you off, head to the Moosbeg hot springs, which are open to the public and which guests of the hotel can enjoy at no cost, but if solitude is what you seek after a day on the hills, sneak into the infrared cabin to boost your blood circulation for the next day's run.
Double rooms from ?195 (Dh960) per night, per person including taxes (www.alpenhof-murnau.com, 00 49 8841 4910). Etihad and Emirates fly to Munich, from where the market town of Murnau is 70 kilometres away
10. Monte Baia UludaG, Bursa, Turkey
If you're seeking a new sort of ski adventure - one that's not along the Alps, perhaps - consider Turkey. It's modern, easy to get to and well set up to handle the exacting traveller. Uludag, a short ferry ride from Istanbul, is considered a winter playground for the city's glitterati and hosts just the right number of visitors, mainly from Dubai, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and India. The runs are gentle and will not pose much of a problem for anyone above intermediate level, but heli-skiing on the Zirve Peak is a challenging albeit exhilarating experience. Après-ski is where Turkey, and Uludag in particular, excel. The Beceren and Kardanadam cafes at the base of the slopes are popular haunts. As one traveller noted, the cafes stay busy until 4 or 5am, and although you may be concerned with saving your energies to venture on the slopes, you may still expend some effort in changing outfits several times a day. Which is why it's a relief that Monte Baia Spa has a dedicated list of stress-relieving treatments, including the Swedish 'pat' massage that uses etherolic oils; the reflexology treatment where exhaustion is eliminated by a massage applied under the feet; and the medical back massage - ideal for muscles that have gone from being used to the humpback position most of us slide into while working on a computer to hauling luggage to whizzing down a piste. For this season, also sign up for the Peel & Foam treatment. Peeling, which is the initial phase of Turkish hammam tradition, cleanses the body, clears clogged pores and removes the roughness that comes with perspiring in cold climes. The foam massage follows, where your body is covered with natural and fragrant soap bubbles, all done on a giant, hot marble slab.
For more information, visit www.baiahotels.com or call 00 90 224 285 2383. Etihad and Emirates fly to Istanbul from where Bursa is a 60-minute ferry ride. The hotel arranges pickups from the Bursa city centre, which is 35km from Uludag
pmunyal@thenational.ae
