Monday 8 February 2010

Austrian Remedy for Stubborn Coughs

One of the many advantages of working in the travel industry is that you get to meet lots of people from different cultures and countries. Add a wellbeing twist and you learn about indigenous remedies that people have followed for generations and are open and generous about sharing their pearls of wisdom with you.

I recently had a stubborn cough that was keeping me awake at night and the usual gargling with sea salt, lozenges and even cough medicine was not helping. I resisted going to the doctor to be dished out the obligatory antibiotics but I had to do something as I was exhausted and cranky during the day! I then received an email from an Austrian business associate with a great tip that has tried and tested results:

Hollow out half an onion, fill with liquid honey and leave overnight. Eat the honey with a spoon the following day.

As you can imagine, not the nicest taste in the world but after doing this for 2 days, my cough gradually got better and I had a solid nights sleep. Must be something to do with the antibacterial properties of onions and honey.

I am now on a quest to collect more of these remedies from my international colleagues!

Stella

Tuesday 2 February 2010

Conde Naste Traveller Spa Awards

I attended the Conde Naste Traveller Spa Awards last night at the Mandarin Oriental in London and apart from enjoying the champagne and very tasty but healthy hors d'ouvres I was pleasantly suprised with the results. I am always quite sceptical about how these awards are dished out by publications (are they truly based on readers voting or more biased towards the hotels that support them through big advertising budgets?). However Conde Naste proved to be at least somewhat true to their word that the readers choose who wins in the various categories. Our friends at SHA Wellness Clinic picked up the best medical spa award and I know for a fact that they have not been advertising! Susan Harmsworth, founder of Espa gave a short but powerful speech about how the industry should not jump onto the bandwagon on the current buzzword "Wellness" without being able to deliver true wellness to the customer - this is the real mind, body and soul stuff!

Which leads me on nicely to our biggest mantra at Wellbeing Escapes which is authenticity! We pride ourselves on only featuring hotels and spas that provide exactly what they promise. The newest and sexiest doesn't necessarily mean the best and these places are not cheap - so you want to make sure your expectations are delivered on. I was therefore delighted to see that some of our closest partners were shortlisted and picked up awards based on the quality of what is delivered.

SHA Wellness Clinic, Spain - Voted number 1 in best Medical, Thermal & Natural Spas category

Como Shambhala Retreat Cocoa Island, Maldives - Voted number 1 in best Hotel Spas category in Africa, Middle East & Indian Ocean

Six Senses Spa, Kempinski Hotel, Barbaros Bay,Turkey - Voted number 2 in best hotel spas category in Europe & Asia Minor

The Retreat Spa, Aphrodite Hills, Cyprus - Voted number 3 in best Hotel Spas category in Europe & Asia Minor

Como Shambhala Estate, Bali - Voted number 3 in best overseas Spa Retreats category

Chiva Som, Thailand - Voted number 4 in best overseas Spa Retreats category

Ananda in the Himalaya, India - Voted number 5 in best overseas Spa Retreats category

Six Senses Spa, Porto Elounda, Crete - Voted number 5 in best Hotel Spas category in Europe & Asia Minor

To read more about our luxury spa holidays visit our website