It is well known; mixing business with – high level – pleasure is always a good combination. In all evidence, massage or the appropriate beauty care is necessary to recharge one’s batteries after a sporting effort, whichever it might be. When the soul’s and the body’s revitalization take place in an exceptional place, and if you share, like many golfers, a fascination for alpine mountains to enjoy your holidays, shunning the crowd at the beaches, you will all the more appreciate, in situ, health programmes which draw a thousand and one secrets from Nature, to offer you energy, relaxation and serenity. In the Italian Tyrol, you can for example taste the delights of vinotherapy. This beauty therapy is not a novelty (its contemporary origins are French) but when it is done in candle light in a magnificent 13th century building, it is something entirely different. In the spa of the Romantik Hotel Turm de Fiè allo Scillar in the Haut Adige, you are explained that this beauty technique which goes back to the ancient Greeks is excellent for your revitalization and to give you a… peach skin. On the agenda, massages and baths with grape oil or with specially selected wine. Another unique feature of this spa - warm apple massage with pine oil specific to the region. Products from the surrounding areas and whose combined virtues turn out to be, it appears, ideal for the rejuvenation of cells, circulation, the heart and stress-related problems. In Switzerland, in Austria and in France, people like flowers and alpine farming products. Many luxury hotels equipped with spas will carry you away into a whirlwind of beauty care inspired by these God’s gifts abundant in these regions. You will have honey, edelweiss, scented herbs, St.-John’s-wort, milk,… in beauty ranges which will do you a world of good. Dame Nature is omnipresent in these high-class spas, with products and essential oils of organic origin. For example, in the lovely “Vitalquell” set up in Böglerhof d’Apbach in Austria (another 4-star Romantik Hotel), you can enjoy the unusual bath of fresh and soft hay, lying on a warm bed, right in the heart of the mountain. It is detoxifying and perfect to get rid of rheumatic pains. Madame Dufter, the hotel’s owner, also recommends a home-made stone oil massage (her recipe is passed down from one generation to the other in the family) to get back energy, tone up the muscles and have a velvet skin. In the heart of the French Alps, the famous Fermes de Marie has created their own beauty care. In the range which bears the name of this chic and authentic hotel of Megève, there is among others edelweiss, gentian, raspberry oil, hazelnut oil… and a mountain product range which goes from the Bain Sérénité to the Mélisse to the hand repair cream Secret des Alpes. In Chamonix, the very alpine 4 star Hameau d’Albert 1er opens its Bachal spa to the joys of relaxation: here, what is recommended is Australian massages like the “Mullee” named “dream spirit”, foot massages which make you feel really good, and a pink kaolin wrapping which could just as well be named velvet care.

And in the Cyclades
You are no longer in the mountains, but you are still on high land. Dizzy heights which overlook the Greek islands and make you move you, like a magical spell, from green to blue in a short air time, flying from Athens. Recommended in September for its climate, serenity and breathtaking location, the luxury Icons hotel wren-version is also a marvellous and unusual wellness stop. Icons is at Santorin, one of the Cyclades islands, where one comes for serenity after a sports-intensive summer, or simply to live a unique experience. Apart from beauty care based on Mediterranean products and even chocolate (very much in fashion), wellness here centres on relaxation. The ultimate, to enjoy in a brilliant setting with the gaze wandering towards the sea, is the Abhyangam massage, an ayurvedic massage developed by doctors from Kerala in India, centuries ago. The massage is done with rare oils from the Arya Valdya combinatorial library and selected differently according to each person. Its effect on the metabolism, on muscles and on fatigue is remarkable.
Joëlle Baeta

Hameau Albert 1er : 38, route du Bouchet à Chamonix
Tél 00 33 4 50 53 05 09
Icons Hotel: Imerovigli, Santorin, Grèce
Tél 00 30 / 22 860 28 950
Les Fermes de Marie : chemin de Riante Colline, Megève
Tél 00 33 4 50 93 09 84
Romantik Hotel Böglerhof à Alpbach, Autriche
Tél 00 34 / 53 36 52 27
Romantik Hotel Turm, 9, place de l’Eglise, Fiè allo Scillar, Italie
Tél 00 39 / 04 71 72 50 14


Sun, a pleasure to enjoy if you are protected…

At the mountain often more than at the sea, the fine celestial body is not kind to your skin. The splendid alpine greens do not soothe its action. Take out your shields and protect your face!

Excellent for delicate or fair skins, the sublime Crème Apaisante SPF 30 from Lancaster can be used without moderation (and as often as possible) on your face before and during your game on the green.

Anti-spots, anti-dryness, protecting and stimulating, the range Absolue Soleil of Lancôme is a delight of fine scented creams with essential oils. We recommend Visage IP 50, the most protecting

The sun-stick which is always with you, from Clarins, high protection and smart with its security click and its lace to carry it around the neck. An all-terrain wonder reserved for sensitive zones, lips, nose, ears.

Never forget your lips. To avoid dehydration and an unwanted sun stroke, give them a Glossy Shine Sun from Biotherm for a luscious comfort which lasts throughout the day. It has a non-coloured texture.

Emergency. A slight carelessness and here you go - sun stroke. Grab your cellular emergency balm from Vichy Laboratories. The American Indians used the effective Willow-herb extract contained therein to cure burns.

A glamorous shield, here is the Golden Beauty Optimal Visage SPF 50. It draws from the latest technologies and has a voluptuous texture totally transparent which adapts to your face like a second skin.