Top 5: Wellness retreats

Detox through juice

Simply Healing Detox Retreat

WEIGHT LOSS

The Ranch at Live Oak, Malibu, California, USA

No ordinary boot camp, this super luxe wellness retreat near the exclusive Californian enclave of Malibu not only helps you lose some serious weight, but it also pampers you like an A-list celebrity.

Relax amongst the dusky Santa Monica Mountains
iStockphoto / Thinkstock

Set in the heart of the sun-dappled Santa Monica Mountains, The Ranch doesn't believe in hardcore exercise, but instead focuses on low-impact, moderate activity to help the pounds drop off. The minimum one-week fitness and wellness programme consists of group hiking, core and ab work, weights, daily group yoga sessions and relaxing afternoon massages; all in the environs of a whitewashed hacienda where there are no TVs or Wi-Fi access.

To aid your weight loss, The Ranch serves solely vegetarian food produced from organic ingredients freshly plucked from the gardens. Expect French- and American-inspired cuisine as Chef Dalzell creates a nourishing menu excluding any dairy, gluten, alcohol, caffeine or processed sugars.

DETOX

Simply Healing Detox Retreat, West Sussex, United Kingdom

Located in an 18th-century country house encircled by sleepy West Sussex countryside, this family-run wellness retreat’s raison d’être is detox through juice. Each guest will undergo a juice detox plan according to their need, all under the watchful eye of a personal nutritionist and healer. Whether it's detoxification, weight loss or fertility you're after, each plan is designed to rid your body of all toxins and completely relax your mind.

Sample English rural charm at Simply Healing Detox Retreat
Simply Healing Detox Retreat

Since this is a juice detox, there is no food, but guests at Simply Healing Detox Retreat will be served freshly prepared fruit and vegetable juices throughout the day, and detox soups and broths at night.

It's not all about juice, however, with a range of treatments on offer, including full-body salt scrub, colonic treatments, reflexology, facials and body wraps. And be sure to make the most of the tranquil location with a guided country walk or daily mediation sessions.

REJUVENATING

Vana, Malsi Estate, Uttarakhand, India

Forget Botox and facelifts, Vana, Malsi Estate, the first property from new brand Vana Retreats, believes true rejuvenation comes from the inner self. Yoga, holistic oriental therapies, spa treatments, meditation, aqua therapies and fitness regimes combine here in plans crafted by doctors, nutritionists and therapists. There is also a focus on Ayurveda, an ancient Indian philosophy based on traditional medicine; and the retreat tries to encompass this philosophy through all of its offerings.

Discover your inner self at Vana, Malsi Estate
Vana Retreats

Located amongst luscious mango groves and lychee orchards near Dehradun in the foothills of the Himalayas, Vana is the ultimate place in which to unwind. Guests stay in contemporary rooms and suites surrounded by dusky forests and fields full of organic herbs and vegetables. Between treatments, there's the chance to enjoy daily music performances, wellness workshops and culinary classes.

Healthy eating features prominently at the resort's two restaurants, which use produce from local farmers and follow Ayurvedic and wellness principles to create delicious and guilt-free dishes.

Note: This retreat is due to open in January 2014.

RECOVERY

Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, Bad Ragaz, Switzerland

Boasting a rugged mountain backdrop just an hour from Zurich, the luxury Grand Resort Bad Ragaz is well known for its healing powers. As long ago as the 16th century – thanks to confirmation by Swiss alchemist Paracelsus of the local spring water's remedial properties – visitors looking for a cure would take an overnight dip in the thermal waters of the nearby Tamina Gorge to heal their ailments.

Bathe in thermal spring water at Grand Resort Bad Ragaz
Grand Resort Bad Ragaz

Today, the spring waters are diverted to the resort's 10 indoor and outdoor thermal pools, including the Tamina Therme, Europe's first thermal indoor swimming pool. The pools are part of the thermal spa, where visitors can also enjoy saunas or undergo personalised treatment programmes. The on-site medical health centre features medical professions who can treat almost anything from sports injuries to cosmetic dentistry.

Relax further in the contemporary spa suites within the resort's Grand Hotel Quellenhof, or splash out on the spacious penthouse complete with a butler and 360-degree views.

PAMPERING

Constance Halaveli Resort, Halaveli, Maldives

A luxurious hideaway surrounded by turquoise waters of the Maldives' North Ari Atoll, Constance Halaveli resort is the perfect place to escape the humdrum of day-to-day living.

Unwind in the Maldives' North Ari Atoll
Constance Haliveli Resort

The resort is on its very own island and houses a lavish spa offering endless treatments, enabling you to be pampered from head to toe. Go for a 'Skin to Within Experience', a three-hour package including a full-body massage, healing body wrap and restorative hair mask. After a day in the sun, indulge in the 'After Sun Body Nourish' which includes an aloe and lavender body wrap that will soothe and cool your skin and make your tan last longer.

You'll stay in a Water Villa, an elegant stilted-wooden lodge perched above the opalescent lagoon where you can sunbathe in your own private deck, and then take a dip in your own plunge pool or the ocean.