Wellbeing Booster at Macdonald Monchique Portugal From £345pp

This privately run hotel is surrounded by mountainous forests and nature in the Algarve and offers an idyllic setting to relax and unwind. It is modern in style with soft tones and clean lines and there is plenty of space to enjoy the stunning surroundings.

The transfer time from Faro International Airport is about 50 minutes.

Accommodation

There are 190 bright and airy suites with separate living rooms. Each has a balcony with mountain or coastal views and a private bathroom with exclusive Monchique toiletries, bathrobe and slippers. The living room has a small kitchenette with refrigerator and tea and coffee-making facilities. The suites are contemporary in quiet tones with floor-to-ceiling windows. Facilities include two HD flat-screen televisions, an interactive TV system, free Wi-Fi, air conditioning, a telephone and tea and coffee-making facilities.

Dining

There are four restaurants that serve amazing food, with lots of healthy choices and a range of tempting dishes to tantalize your taste buds. The elegant Mon-chic serves seasonal specialities from the region. The O Mercado Culinario serves national and international dishes, a tapas-style restaurant and Pizzaria da Serra with an outdoor terrace with authentic Neapolitan cuisine. There is a pool bar for light snacks and a cocktail bar.

Spa

The luxurious spa is called a “sensory” spa and is inspired by the natural resources of the Algarve and the beauty of the surrounding mountains to offer an experience of pure rejuvenation and relaxation. It uses the luxury brand ESPA as well as own Monchique products, which contain local thermal water.

The luxurious spa area for adults is equipped with 8 treatment rooms as well as a sauna with Himalayan stone salt wall, aroma steam room, aromakabine, hydro-pool, foot baths, tropical massage jugs, igloos, marble baths and 2 resting rooms

Helpful Tips

• Try the Monchique Mountain bottle of spring water, which is proudly the most alkaline water in Portugal
• The hotel was reopened only in 2016 after an expensive renovation, making it shiny and new with great spa facilities.
• Go to the nearby historic village of Monchique with its typical Algarve houses, cobbled streets and natural thermal waters.

Wellbeing Booster Includes:

Minium stay of 3 nights
Wellness/Spa Consultation
1 x Full Body Massage (60 mins)
1 x Foot OR Head Massage (45 mins)
1 x Private Yoga OR Private Pilates OR Private Personal Training Session (60 min)
1 x FREE Salt & Oil Body Scrub (30 mins, worth €40) – for stays until 31 March 17
FREE daily access to the spa facilities & gym (worth approx €20 a day)
Daily access to complimentary group fitness classes
Free Wi-Fi
Breakfast Daily (Half Board & Full Board are available at a supplement)
Free shuttle to the beach is runs  6 days a week between April and October 17

NB: The £345.00 does not include flights, if you would like a price with flights then please ask.

To Book or Enquire Call Jackie on 0114 3273436 or email jackief@travel-pa.com

BodyHoliday, Saint Lucia – Your Detox Heaven

BodyHoliday is a dream destination offering the most comprehensive wellness experience in the Caribbean. Guests staying at this beautiful beachfront resort are promised an energizing, revitalising and soothing stay, making the most of superb watersports, outdoor activities and personalised exercise classes, all included. Perfect for spa lovers, sporty types and single travellers, at BodyHoliday you will enjoy complimentary water aerobics, scuba diving training and fantastic dining options – on that basis alone, we are sold – but it’s the 50-minute spa treatments each day that make this an exceptional wellness experience.

BodyHoliday – September Solos

The ‘September Solos’ retreat at BodyHoliday is perfect for single travellers or groups of friends looking to enjoy an active holiday where you are bound to meet like-minded people. We have access to exclusive offers for Single Garden Rooms at BodyHoliday, which are perfect for these retreats. Here are our top reasons to escape to Saint Lucia for your very own September Solos getaway:

– The social atmosphere is great and easy to get involved in, whilst indulging in a combination of sport, spa and relaxation.

– You can do as much or as little as you like, and if you’re in search of an inspiring destination to kick-start your health drive, Saint Lucia’s mountains, rainforest and sandy beaches are unbeatable.

– Your days can be filled with yoga, zip-line tours, watersports and fun sports tournaments, all with outstanding trainers who will work with you directly to achieve your goals.

– You can focus on health and well-being with a personalised schedule of spa treatments and holistic exercise classes, to get the pampering you’ve been looking for.

– In the evenings the atmosphere is fun and relaxed, guests get to know each other over sunset cruises and group dinners, and you’ll come home feeling like a whole new person. As our friends from diplomarbeit schreiben lassen say – new acquaintances lead to an easier and faster acceptance of oneself, to inner harmony.

7 nights from £1,939 per person.
Based on 1 adult staying in a Standard Garden View Room
 All-Inclusive

WHAT’S INCLUDED:

Breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner daily
Unlimited premium brand drinks, selected wines and Champagne by the glass
Personalised schedule of daily spa treatments
All watersports and land sports including tuition
All holistic and exercise classes
Hosted cocktail party at Cariblue Pool
Weekly hosted dinner in Cariblue
Weekly hosted dinner in TAO
Master classes
Fun sports
Tournaments
Group fitness classes
Group Pilates classes
Weekly sunset cruise

PERFECT FOR
SINGLE TRAVELLERS
SPORTY TYPES
SPA LOVERS
WATER BABES

ACCOMMODATION:

There are 155 air-conditioned rooms and suites. All are well featured with a four-poster bed, iPod docking station and complimentary WiFi, and most do have a private balcony or terrace. Standard Garden Rooms are perfect for solo travellers whilst Luxury Rooms are larger and overlook the main building and gardens. Luxury Ocean View Rooms have full or partial sea views, Luxury Ocean Front Rooms are beside the sea and Grand Luxury Ocean Front Rooms and Suites are located right on the magnificent water’s edge.

To Book or Enquire Email jackief@travel-pa.com or Call: 0114 3273436

Tour of Berlin, Dresden, Meissen and Colditz

5 days

Overview

This is a fascinating, historic and varied tour to two great European cities, Berlin and Dresden. The Berlin Wall fell over 20 years ago and Berlin now is a city full of life whilst Dresden after severe bomb damage during World War II has been almost completely restored to it’s former status as one of Germany’s most beautiful cities.

You will also visit a number of Germany’s smaller towns, see rolling countryside and visit medieval Meissen, famous for beautiful hand crafted porcelain. Lastly you will visit Colditz Castle, which was used as a prisoner of war camp during World War II.

Highlights

Selected departures from April to October 2017

Experience lively Berlin and beautiful Dresden on this varied escorted tour to the heart of Germany. Our friends and fellow Berliners ghostwriter klausur recommend visiting this incredible city.

Included

Return flights

Four nights superior four-star hotel accommodation with breakfast

Tour of Berlin, a vibrant city which is home to some of the world’s finest archaeological and fine art museums as well as having amazing historical significance.

Tour of Dresden on foot covering great art collections and insights into the re-building following bomb damage.

See the famous Meissen porcelain studio

Trip to the world famous Colditz Castle – Second World War prison camp.

Escorted by experienced tour manager

I was fortunate enough to take part in a Kundalini Yoga Retreat last weekend in Sheffield, my home town so it meant that I could go home at night and chill out with my dog rather than staying in a hotel room.

Having never done Kundalini yoga before I really wasn’t sure what to expect and had been hearing from people how different it was to any other type of yoga.

I was the first to arrive and the studio looked so beautiful with the fairy lights on the floor and the walls hand painted with colourful mandalas. It gave me a chance to blend with the energies of the place before everyone else started arriving and also for me to meet Grace who was our yoga teacher for the retreat.

The Friday evening was the opening of the retreat ready for two full days of kundalini yoga, meditation, journal writing and group exercises.

Grace explained to us more in detail about what kundalini yoga is and how it differs from any other type of yoga

What is Kundalini Yoga
The technology of Kundalini Yoga, as taught by Yogi Bhajan, is a science of the mind and body, to elevate the spirit, which has no boundaries, no discrimination. Therefore it is for everyone, universal and nondenominational. Kundalini Yoga is thus a dynamic form of yoga that awakens our own awareness. It uses sets of physical postures and movements (asana), meditation, breathing exercises (pranayama), and chanting (mantra). As it is a physical practice which encompasses a meditative focus, it not only strengthens the health and well being of our physical body, it is also useful in balancing our emotional state, our mental clarity, and in the relief of stress.

How does Kundalini Yoga differ from other Yoga
Kundalini Yoga contains the elements of all forms of Yoga; Hatha Yoga, Ashtanga, Shakti, Tantra, Raj, et cetera. Kundalini Yoga helps to purify, stimulate and strengthen all the systems of the body by unlocking your inner, creative energy to get the most out of life. Your Kundalini Yoga teacher does not make up exercises or sets of movements, but uses prescribed sets of exercises (kriyas) which focus upon specific areas of the body. It is taught in its pure and complete form.

We then went into our first kriya and to tune in you have to chant which was a little weird at first but you soon understand how powerful it becomes when a group of 9 women are all chanting together.

The powerful phrase of the retreat was Sat Nam which means “The truth is my identity” this is chanted to close a kriya.

One of the main differences that I observed was that all of the movements are done with your eyes closed so that we are focusing inwards although there are kriyas where eyes are open. I did struggle trying to sit with my legs crossed for the first evening and into the next day but by the end of the retreat I could sit with them crossed for up to 20 minutes at a time, for me this felt like such an achievement and actually made me quite emotional.

The next two days were spent moving through the different kriyas and learning new and some quite challenging poses and movements. One of which is called Breath of Fire – boy did I have some problems trying to master this! You have to inhale and expand your naval point and exhale and pull in your naval point and do this movement very quickly while breathing in and out of your nose. I soon discovered that this was not my forte especially when surrounded by some much younger women who were breathing in and out at an extremely rapid rate that I am sure I would have hyperventilated if I had carried on at that speed, so I found my own slower pace which worked well for me.

On both days we had a lovely vegan lunch and on the Sunday we were treated to vegan snicker bars – these were awesome and tasted divine. You can find the recipe here if you would like to try making them for yourself.

We also did some group exercises of which one was where we had to make a Labyrinth using the items that we had in the room, we then would walk through the Labyrinth one by one and perform a gratitude ceremony in the middle. If you are a true yoga lover or want to try something new, Seminararbeit schreiben lassen recommend attending local group classes. You will feel your body relax and all blocks will go away, and your state of mind will find peace.

Me walking through the labyrinth

We did a Gratitude exercise of writing down things that we are grateful for and also affirmations starting with I AM.

I absolutely loved the retreat and I am so glad that I took part in it. It was a very emotional journey for me because I found that I could move my body much more than I thought I could and was actually much more flexible too.

My heartfelt thank you goes to Grace who was an amazing teacher with such great patience and wonderful aura. I will certainly be booking on other yoga retreats that Grace will be doing in the future.

Grace Kaya is a certified aquarian kundalini level 1 teacher , Certified RYT500 Yoga Instructor specialising in the styles of Restorative, Hatha & Vinyasa; with experience teaching Chakra Flow, Pre & Postnatal Yoga & Yoga for children. She is presently attending a 220hr Kundalini Aquarian Level 1 Teacher Training.  Grace has enjoyed working with students of varying ages and abilities including special needs groups and seniors.

The Kundalini Yoga Retreat took place at Instinctive Health Sheffield 

Sat Nam

Jackie

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