Discover the Cruise Show with our discount ticket offer

Discover a whole world of voyages at one of The CRUISE Shows this autumn…

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The CRUISE Show takes place in Birmingham: 12-13 September; Manchester: 26-27 September and Glasgow: 10-11 October 2015′

As Europe’s leading cruise event, The CRUISE Show will host the largest collection of major cruise lines and specialist operators all under one roof for one weekend!

Cruise holidays are perfect for those who want an easy booking with not much planning and everything all in one place – it takes away the stress and means the holiday can be as relaxing as you want it to be.

Whether you’re looking for a once-in-a-lifetime expedition cruise to a far-flung destination, a sumptuous ultra-luxury voyage, maybe a relaxing cultural river cruise or a tropical family cruise-holiday with lots to entertain all ages – The CRUISE Show has it all.

Packed with information and inspiration visitors can enjoy exclusive money-saving show offers and upgrades, be inspired by the informative free talks, gain essential expert advice that you won’t find in the brochure, discover different ship styles and incredible destinations and hear directly from the cruise lines about what’s new for 2015/2016.

So, if you’re completely new to cruising and intrigued to discover what it’s all about, or you’re a seasoned cruiser wanting inspiration for your next adventure, then make sure you head to one of The CRUISE Shows this autumn.

For more show information please visit www.cruisingshow.com.

READER’S TICKET OFFER:
We are offering reduced price advance tickets to the show! Get your tickets for only £4 (that’s saving £6 off the door price!!) by quoting ‘ELIXIR’ when booking tickets online at www.cruisingshow.com or when calling 0871 620 4024. (Calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras).

UK’s Ragdale Hall excels with 5* pampering & service

Ragdale Hall health hydro and thermal spa
by Emma Ashley
It is not surprising that Ragdale Hall has won an array of awards.  Their ethos for delivering outstanding service cannot be surpassed.  From first arrival, a team of professionals meet your every need from valet parking to individual tours of the facilities.

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You are provided with a full schedule of your treatments and meals.  All you need to do is change out of your clothes into the robe provided, decide how you are going to begin to unwind and just relax.
Although Ragdale Hall was opened as a health farm in 1973, it is the multi-million pound renovation, which was opened in 2007, that has put it on the map.  From the exterior, it is Victorian architecture.  The interior is contemporary luxury.
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 It has been re-named as a Health Hydro and Thermal Spa with good reason.  There are five pools with the option to exercise or simply relax with massage jets, foot spas and waterfalls to relieve your aches and ease your mind.
You can swim inside or outside, or try the Candle Pool (with a strictly no talking policy) and float away in quiet contemplation.  11 heat facilities, from the volcanic salt bath to the scented heat room, provide you with a variety of sensory experiences, surrounding you in warmth and calm.  The experience shower lets you stand in a cold mist of rain or stand in a warm thunder storm.
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There is an endless supply of fluffy towels.  Shelves have been placed outside each of the heat rooms for you to place your glasses.  It is simple touches like these that make all the difference.   There are water fountains to quench your thirst throughout the facility.  There are water features and fountains.  And if at any time you need to rest your senses, there are plenty of nooks with big comfy chairs for you to escape to, to read a book, chat or just take in the Leicestershire landscape.
There is a fantastic selection of treatments, all performed by an experienced set of professionals.  Together, the team work like clockwork, ushering guests in and out of treatment rooms from the fabulous treatment reception area.  The range of treatments includes hair & fitness; the male zone; mums to be; hands & feet; body massage; face & eyes; all in one; holistic & health; and scrubs, tanning, floats, detox & wraps.  The hardest question you need to ask yourself is which treatment to take.
If you require a more energetic experience, there is a fully equipped gym and an excellent selection of classes to get your blood circulating such as Zumba or the Sunset Stretch, or perhaps tennis or croquet.
There is also the plenty of opportunity for your to shop if you so desire, with a the Boutique, Beauty Shop Gift Shop and Hair Studio.
The only issue that you may have is how to fit everything in.  From the time that you receive your revitalising breakfast in bed until your relaxing cup of tea after dinner, it could be easy to fall into the trap of having multiple treatments and trying to use every facility available to you, and end up not spending enough time just relaxing.
As you look about Ragdale, you will see every member of staff is polite and helpful and has a smile on their face.  They look like they enjoy their work.  If you then look at all the guests, everyone looks relaxed and happy.  That says it all really.  What more could you want.
Factbox
•Two night midweek breaks from £288 per person including all meals, inclusive treatments and use of facilities.
•Two night weekend breaks from £355.
•Day packages from £69 – £165.
Contact:
Ragdale Hall Health Hydro and Thermal Spa
Ragdale Village, Nr Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire  LE14 3B
Tel:  01664 434831
Reservations Direct Line: 01664 433000

Pure Massage…

massage [320x200].jpgPure Massage specialise exclusively in massage, as their name may suggest.

They say their aim is to bestow well-being through their range of massages; offering face, feet, back, body and pregnancy massages or a combination of those.

I went to try out the facial massage at Fenwick’s of Bond Street.

The facial massage is performed using non-allergenic plant oil (Rosa Mosqueta), which is not known to have a negative effect on even the most sensitive skin. The therapist informed me that Pure Massage classify 90% of people as having environmentally damaged skin with 10% of people having particularly sensitive skin. Predictably, I was environmentally damaged.

I am lucky enough to not have any particular areas of soreness or tension in my face and neck, so I had a more balanced rather than focused treatment but I was told that many people carry their stress around in their neck and jaw, so focus on these points is common.

The treatment first focused on my neck and upper chest/shoulders, moving on to my jaw, with all my muscles being systematically massaged and loosened, carrying on to my cheeks and forehead. The treatment concluded with a short scalp massage.
 
I found the massage and surroundings very relaxing, but I wouldn’t recommend getting the treatment in your lunch hour as the oil used may disrupt your carefully coiffed hairstyle and/or you will fall asleep at work!

The Pure Massage facial massage costs £80 for 60 minutes, including a recommendation on beneficial skincare products and techniques if required.

To book a facial massage, call 020 7381 8100. Alternatively you can visit their website (link below), where you can find information on the other treatments on offer.

www.puremassage.com

FREE music CD – Garden of Tranquility

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Listen to beautiful, gentle music richly entwined with the tranquil sounds of nature with our free offer – GARDEN OF TRANQUILLITY CD – JUST PAY £1.72 POSTAGE!

To claim this free CD simply log onto: Free Garden of Tranquility CD

FREE sleep CD worth £4.99 for every reader!

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Pure Sleep is music for the mind, body and spirit. This unique hour of music has been created especially to help your mind and body prepare for peaceful, replenishing sleep. Tracks include: Pure Sleep, Distant Dreams, Dance with The Angels, Childhood Memories, Special Star, Moonlight Dreaming, A New Awakening and The Rising Sun.

This fantastic CD is FREE…just pay £1.62 postage! (Please note that this offer applies for mailings to UK addresses only).

To claim this free CD simply log onto: www.triplechoiceoffers.co.uk
THIS OFFER CLOSES ON 30TH SEPTEMBER 2009

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Kamalaya – Koi Samui

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Koh Samui, Thailand: Think palm trees swaying under a gentle breeze, bodies luxuriating on open-air day beds being rubbed head to foot with sweet-smelling oils, and a myriad of exotic fruit and vegetable juice combinations freshly squeezed and constantly on offer.

This is Kamalaya Asia’s award-winning and renowned Wellness Sanctuary and Holistic Spa situated on Thailand’s ‘island of coconuts’ – Koh Samui, one hour’s flight from Bangkok.

From the moment you arrive here, it’s easy to see that this is no ordinary spa resort. Small, cosy, warm and friendly, it’s a resort where every staff member greets you with a smile and by name no matter whether you’re lazing by the pool, ordering delicious fare at the restaurant or being pampered with one of a multitude of incredible treatments at the wellness pavilion. It’s just one of many personal touches here that really work as each guest is made to feel so special and so welcome.

It’s Kamalaya’s ultimate goal to make every visitor feel great by providing life-enriching, long lasting experiences. Your visit begins with a series of diagnostic procedures, including bio-resonance evaluations and nutritional and biological age assessments to check where you’re currently at, and consultations and comparisons also conclude your stay.

Set on a steep hillside, among lush tropical vegetation that leads down to a private beach, the resort is built around a sacred cave where Buddhist monks have worshipped for centuries.

Founder John Stewart actually spent a year living in such a cave during the 16 years he served as a monk in a remote Himalayan community. A Princeton graduate, John met his wife Karina, also a graduate of Princeton and a Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the two decided to combine their passions and vision.

The result was Kamalaya and the resort, which was born in 2006, has been swaddled in spirituality and serenity ever since a haven far away from the madness of the industrialised world just waiting to nurture and nourish every aspect of a visitor’s being.

My personal journey here certainly managed to tick every box. Having selected my preferred treatment package from a substantial wellness program menu some weeks prior to arrival, I was pleased to find the standard of practitioners even more sensational than I’d been led to expect. Kamalaya offers solutions for detox, yoga, stress and burnout, fitness and weight control. I chose the Asian Bliss package from the Stress and Burnout range but had I simply been looking for a relaxing and restorative holiday, I needn’t have committed to a program at all, and could have just soaked up the environment and complimentary inclusions like naturopathic consultations and holistic activities including yoga, meditation, tai-chi and pilates.

My chosen package cost me 61,000 baht (around 1,086 GBP’s) for 7 days but was the best decision I could have made. Disrobing constantly, drinking countless cups of delicious home-made mulberry tea before and after sessions, I was pampered and pummeled several times a day during 60 or 90 minute sessions which ranged from Vital Essential Oil, Thai and Marma Point (trigger point) massages to Reiki and ancient Ayervedic treatments like Shirodara ( a stream of warm, medicated oil is poured continuously on the forehead) and Chi Nei Tsang (Taoist abdominal massage).

One of my practitioners by the name of Saimy had the best hands I had ever encountered. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised given his background as an Indian masseur of some 30 years standing who’d learnt and perfected his craft from his grandfather who was the village healer, since the tender age of ten. As each treatment surpassed the one before, it didn’t take long before I began to slip into what for me was an extremely foreign state of relaxation akin to being semi comatose.

Usually highly active to the point of hyperactivity, I was hardly able to recognize myself as I dragged my weary body up and down countless steps between the pool, the restaurant, the wellness centre and the yoga pavilion for the next few days. Lethargic and bloated despite an over-indulgence in the healthiest food I’d ever eaten, I sought advice from resident naturopath Samantha who told me my state was perfectly normal as the mind begins to unwind and relax and the body adjusts to the pace and to the intake of so much raw food.

Indeed, it’s the food that attracts so many people to Kamalaya. While over sixty per cent of guests come on their own in order to undergo detox therapy, Kamalaya’s unique philosophy is that one should detox with abundance and not starvation. As a result, Chef Kai Mueller continually creates the most amazing menus which include mouth-watering delicacies like lotus root and herbed mangosteen salad with wheatgrass spirulina dressing and Thai herb cured wild salmon sashimi on buckwheat with rocket goat cheese. There’s even a chocolate soufflé!

Guests have the choice of selecting meals from a specific detox menu which features low inflammatory, low allergenic and low GI vegetarian dishes, or from the broader menu, which changes with the seasons and features fresh, local and where possible organic produce.

Here, food is the medicine of choice, and much of what’s on offer is healing in function and tantalising in form. By day four, my stomach had settled right down and I began to regain lost energy. The fresh juices, signature tonics and herbal teas had begun to work their magic and I realized that while each is bursting with nutrients, medicinal properties and taste-bud tempting goodness, it’s often the unique combinations here that keep visitors returning time and time again.

No matter what accommodation option you choose here, you’re bound to find life soothing and serene. We stayed in a magnificent villa perched in the tree tops overlooking both the ocean and the two infinity pools that have been hewn out of rock with a freshwater spring running into them. I particularly loved our open-air bathroom that resembled a mud brick cocoon, and found it truly liberating to take a shower without the confines of walls or screens.

As accommodation options are additional to the price of wellness programs, there are several to be considered. But no matter if you select a room for around 7900 baht (141GBP’s), a suite for 11,900 baht ( 212.50 GBP’s) or a rocktop, pool or beachside villa for 29,000baht (516.50 GBP’s), you’re bound to enjoy your experience. Kamalaya is an inclusive rather than an exclusive resort. It doesn’t boast ultimate luxury or super slickness, but it’s warm, caring, supportive – and very comfortable indeed.

It’s a tranquil healing hideaway with no boundaries, no pressures and no prerequisites, where the natural environment and the inspiring palate of sights, sounds, aromas and textures, empowers and amplifies the healing experience. What you will find, as I most certainly did, is that as the days go by, your mind clears, your eyes shine, your skin glows, your vitality increases and your heart opens to the spirit of possibility.

By the time I arrived home and people asked why I looked so good there was only one word to give in answer – Kamalaya. And that’s not a word or a place I will easily forget.

Contact information
Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary and Holistic Spa:
102/9 Moo 3, Laem Set Rd, Na-Muang, Koh Samui, Suratthani 84140 Thailand Tel +66 (0)77 429 800
www.kamalaya.com

Review by Sandy Kaye, Australasia Correspondent

Win a spa-pampering day at Champneys

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London: The UK’s leading healthcare mutual Benenden has joined with ELIXIR to offer one reader a day of ultimate pampering at Champneys – worth more than £130.

In a recent survey by the Benenden Healthcare Society, it was found that nearly 14 million UK adults have either changed or considered changing their bank, healthcare or utility provider in the last year because the ‘relationship’ hasn’t been working for them. We now expect much more from our working relationships such as having trust and respect to make sure it’s long lasting and healthy.

Benenden Healthcare Society is one of the UK’s oldest and most respected healthcare mutual organisations, priding itself on the relationship it has with its members and the first-class exceptional and affordable healthcare it provides for families, individuals and employers.

To help take the stress out of whatever relationship is currently giving you a headache, Benenden is offering one lucky winner the chance to unwind with a Champney’s Spa Day. It can be taken at either of the Champney’s UK spas.

The Spa day is worth £130 and it includes this programme:

Arrival 9am

Welcome, introduction & fresh juice

Champneys Massage

Relaxing Facial

Thalassotherapy Pool Session

Hot/cold lunch

Unlimited use of facilities: Swimming Pool, Steam Room, Sauna, Laconium & Gym

A choice of the 20 relaxation and fitness classes daily

Departure 6pm

Q1. Which American actor played the ‘Fonz’ in the TV program Happy Days?

Please send your answer by email to readeroffer@elixirnews.com, with Champneys in the header, and your name and address, by 30 September 2009 and your name will be put into a drawer for the prize. Please note that no financial equivalent is offered and the Editor’s decision is final.

For more information on Benenden visit www.benenden.org.uk

Sheraton Salobre Golf Resort & Spa, Gran Canaria

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Sheraton Salobre Golf Resort & Spa
Aloe Spa
Urbanizacion Salobre Golf SN
Maspalomas, Gran Canaria
Canary Islands 35100, Spain
T:34 928 943 030
T:34 928 943 000 Spa
www.sheraton.com
15% off spa treatments

Find all the comforts of home and so much more at the Sheraton Salobre Golf Resort & Spa.

Overlooking the breathtaking greens of the 27-hole Salobre Golf Course, fairways, and splendid surrounding mountains, our resort is the perfect place to catch up with the people who matter.

Treat yourself to some well-deserved you-time and discover a new world of well-being in a relaxing oasis at our Aloe Spa. After a busy day of sightseeing or business, let us show you how to find your internal beauty and balance with our soothing treatments.

Spend the day at Maspalomas Beach. Our free shuttle service can drive you directly to our private beach house, offering a bar, changing room, showers, and swimming pool.

Enticing guest rooms, a wealth of recreational facilities, and a range of exceptional dining venues make the Sheraton Salobre Golf Resort & Spa an unforgettable resort experience.

Plus, all-day, everyday sun, with an average annual temperature of 23C (73F). So there’s none of that anxious staring-up-at-the-heavens and saying, “Surely in five minutes that cloud will have blown away, sod it, where’s the beer. . .?”

The spa treatments include Swedish massage and hot-stone therapy and cost from €20 to €120 (£14.40 to £86.50). The aloe vera wrap is the signature dish, but the spa’s age-defying treatment and lymphatic drainage is another productive way to spend your time.

This spa also uses the high quality Espa products and is the place for fashionable Spanish yummy mummies

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Hotel Cordial Cordial Mogán Playa Spa, Gran Canaria

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Hotel Cordial Cordial Mogán Playa
Avda. de los Marrero, 2 – 35138
Playa de Mogán – Gran Canaria – Spain
T: 00 34 928 724 100
F: 00 34 928 724 101
href=”http://www.cordialcanarias.com/en/cordial_mogan_playa.html”>www.cordialcanarias.com
Email: info@cordialcanarias.com

Discount: 15% off spa treatments

The hotel is located in the Puerto de Mogan, a beautiful fishing village also known as Little Venice to its visitors. It is just a few metres away from the beach and from the colourful fishing quay and the marina, all surrounded by the lush and vibrant Mogan Valley.

The hotel is set in a luxurious botanic garden with over 200 species of subtropical plants. There are two stunning adult pools which are heated during the winter months, withartificial beaches and whirlpools and a children’s pool and playground. There are extensive solarium areas with loungers and parasols

The Spa offers an array of treatments including Aromatherapy, Shiatsu, Lymphatic Drainage, Reflexology, and Facials. Body Wrapping (Sea Weeds; Chocolate; Wine; Mud…) Peeling (Exfoliates of Aloe Vera; Exfoliates of Sea Salts…

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