Celebrate National Relaxation Day with a journey into tranquillity
While the fast-paced, hectic nature of our daily lives can sometimes make it feel impossible to relax, come August 15 and there’s no excuse not to let it all go. For this day marks National Relaxation Day and the ideal time to just get away from it all for 24 hours and remember what it feels like to have nothing to do and no-one to answer to. This is the day to turn off all technology and relax with a massage, pampering session or a long walk through the countryside surrounded by peace and quiet.
Then again, if you’re anything like me you’ll already be working out just how you can make a little more of this 24-hour holiday. With August 15 falling on a Saturday, this is the perfect chance to turn Relaxation Day into an extended opportunity to relax and unwind. With our portfolio including some of the most peaceful destinations in the world, this is the time to travel to the places where every day is Relaxation Day and opportunities to indulge are abound.
Secluded South America
If you’re one of those people who really struggles to get away from the pressures of 21st-century life (that will be most of us, then), an escape to a secluded paradise is surely the only option.
The Chili Beach Hotel sits among the blissful surrounds of Jericoacoara National Park in a remote corner of Brazil, surrounded by sweeping sand dunes and situated beside one of the 10 most beautiful beaches in the world. This idyllic gem has just six rooms, each with their own private gardens where you can really get back to nature. It is also available for exclusive hire for the ultimate in privacy and with personal maids, butlers and chefs to make sure you are truly pampered.
Take a dip in the stunning pool and indulge in a spot of fresh gourmet cuisine in the open-air restaurant, after which you can enjoy a glass of champagne whilst watching the spectacular sunset accompanied by the sounds of traditional acoustic performances from local musicians. Whenever the mood takes you, head over to the tropical spa to enjoy a “heaven” therapy using tropical fruits from the Amazon rainforest, followed by a therapeutic bath and a holistic massage, designed to relieve tension, relax the body and renew vitality.
Wonderful winelands
With just ten outstanding lodges built by master craftsmen and a setting within a deep valley among South Africa’s outstanding Stellenbosch mountain range, the Delaire Graff Estate is a world-class relaxation spot. As the brainchild of world leading diamond expert and art collector, Laurence Graff, every part of the estate is finished to perfection — creating the ultimate sanctuary within the panoramas.
Designed as the ultimate winelands escape, the luxury estate is surrounded by sprawling vineyards and features a state-of-the-art winery with award-winning vintages. The landscaped botanical gardens were created by an award-winning, celebrity designer and take in elegant water features, striking life-size sculptures and brightly coloured flowers that bloom throughout the year. This is a beautiful place to just wander and relax whilst appreciating the original art pieces from Graff’s personal collection that are dotted around the estate.
Every lodge features its own private plunge pool and sun deck while all guests have access to the private cinema, 24-hour room service, exclusive jewellery boutiques and delicious gourmet cuisine in the hotel’s two restaurants. Enjoy a tour of the wine cellars and a private tasting, relax with an organic treatment in the on-site spa or just take a long nap in your oversized bed, wrapped up in fine linens and enjoying the absolute silence of the world outside.
Precious gems of the Southern Hemisphere
If your style of relaxation is getting lost in a good book, the Delamore Lodge in New Zealand goes one better. This majestic boutique offering has been designed to offer ‘a total body and mind holistic experience’ and boasts breathtaking natural surroundings that appear as if they’ve been taken from the pages of The Secret Garden. Located on Waiheke Island, otherwise known as ‘the jewel of Auckland’, the hotel is home to a series of intimate outdoor spaces with an al fresco, grotto-style dining area, infinity pool decorated with elegant statues and vibrant flowers, romantic courtyard with a cascading waterfall and tropical gardens with plenty of nooks and crannies – the ideal place to curl up with a good book.
It’s hard to believe that Waiheke is just a short hop by helicopter or ferry from downtown Auckland, as the island’s stark natural beauty and abundance of activities creates a world all of its own. Once you’ve soothed the senses with a dip in the hotel’s outdoor, cave-style Jacuzzi and sauna, hop on a bicycle (free to hire from the hotel) and take a long, relaxing ride across the local landscapes, dotted with olive and citrus groves, farmland, wineries and artisan craft shops. Back at the hotel, your masseuse awaits to offer a relaxing therapy and prepare you for an evening spent enjoying mouthwatering cuisine and a glass of local wine against the sweeping bay panoramas.
Wine, cheese and Tuscan heritage
For something a little closer to home – and the ideal spot for a long weekend — the Castello Banfi in Tuscany is a hotel unlike any other. Set within a medieval fortress in the Tuscan countryside, this stylish site includes a seven thousand acre expanse with its own vineyard and winery. Intricately decorated rooms offer effortless elegance and showcase authentic Italian design talent, decked out in the finest fabrics and furnishings illustrated by original stone and timber detail from the ancient times.
If vino-therapy is your relaxation method of choice, this magical hotel will provide such therapy in abundance. Wine tastings and vineyard tours are a wonderful way to immerse yourself in the Tuscan heritage and breathe in the smells of the countryside, while every guest room includes vino-therapy wellbeing products that have been handmade on site. This is also a great spot for foodies, with classic Tuscan fare using local ingredients served up under the vaulted castle ceilings – the former wine cellars of the castle — and plentiful opportunity to enjoy wine and cheese tastings with wines chosen from the estate. Relax and enjoy a dip in the outdoor pool overlooking the sprawling vineyards or explore along some of the many cycling and walking trails that wind their way through the picture-perfect Tuscan landscapes.
Relaxation chic
Whether it’s wine, food, a long walk in the countryside or a pampering spa treatment that helps you to relax, our collection of chic hotels will provide the best of it all with hotels designed to create the ultimate sanctuary in the world’s most beautiful settings.
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