Top 7: The best spa for high achievers is on Mexico’s Caribbean coast
SHA Wellness Clinic, Cancun, Mexico is the best spa for high achievers to switch off – and improve their performance when they return
SHA made waves in the world of wellness when it opened near Alicante in Spain some 15 years ago – now it’s shaking things up again with its new outpost, a stunning-looking clinic overlooking the crystal clear Caribbean just up the coast from Cancun in Mexico.
To book here, you must choose a wellness programme, all of which blend science with natural medicine. They include the Leader’s Performance seven-day programme, which aims to reduce stress and optimise wellbeing and ultimately, improve performance in demanding jobs, making this the best spa for those who need to recharge to take charge.
Working with a team of health professionals, participants will have the likes of 3D body scans, ozone and IV therapy, cryotherapy, tons of medical tests along with massages, as well as having a personalised food and health plan devised for them, with a host of other regenerative treatments and health medicine on offer.
Whichever programme you choose, they are all underpinned by the SHA Method, which it claims doesn’t just improve quality of life, but can add years to it with its integrative approach based on nine areas – healthy nutrition, natural therapies, preventive and healthy ageing medicine, advanced aesthetics, cognitive stimulation, emotional health, wellbeing and inner balance, and physical performance. All of this is accompanied by learning new habits at the Healthy Living Academy, which offers group activities such as talks, walks, healthy cooking classes and more.
The best spa for high achievers – with a health clinic
Healthy eating is big here – SHA was founded by Alfredo Bataller Parietti after he managed to beat years of serious illness thanks to integrative medicine, including a macrobiotic diet. Think healthy haute cuisine that’s all mostly alkaline – open-fire cooked local seafood, wholegrains and fresh produce, with many of the organic herbs and vegetables grown nearby for the hotel’s restaurants.
The health clinic is the star of the show here though. At six stories tall and with 100 treatment rooms offering everything from genomic medicine to serum therapy, osteopathy, hair transplants, dentistry, Asian-inspired massages, high-spec skincare, intravenous laser therapy, stem cell therapy to sexual health, it’s a temple to wellness.
What to take Dress style here is high-end casual, so go Mexican-inspired Caravana dresses, or Oliver Spencer for men.
Switch off and read . . . Under The Volcano by Malcom Lowry. An astonishing novel set in Mexico, the protagonist, an alcoholic British consul, might persuade you to pass on that extra margarita.
Top 7: The best spa for a creativity reboot is in Umberto Eco’s Umbria
Umbria’s Hotel Castello di Reschio in Italy is the best spa resort for those needing to get their brain cells back and firing
Apparently, men think about the Roman Empire several times a week (well, according to one popular TikTok meme last year). They – and women too, of course – will have plenty to ponder when wallowing in the Hotel Castello di Reschio’s Roman-inspired The Bathhouse spa, not least just how well-pampered Julius Caesar and his friends were.
Lurking in the depths of the castle’s old wine cellars, The Bathhouse is so big on the antiquity stuff, you half imagine Mary Beard to pop up with stories and stats. Unique features such as a voluminous salt-water Roman bath and a natural tepidarium (a warm bath) dug into the earth will transport spa-goers to 324AD (or thereabouts), while the ancient ambience of stony subterranean cellar is enhanced by flickering candles and a lovely open-fire.
The treatments at The Bathhouse are all bespoke, tailored towards customers’ needs. Locally-foraged ingredients such as wild camomile flowers and honey are used in treatments, before being pummelled out using infusions such as St John’s Wort (collected every summer solstice from nearby meadows).
Other than that, it’s all about relaxation: luxuriating in the circular bath at the bottom of a three-storey tower, getting steamy in the hammam, or sitting on marble benches gazing at up at the millennia-old stone walls.
There are also two ‘conversation baths’, in which you can sit in and bounce your newly created ideas around – the sort of thing you’d expect in Top 7’s best spa for a creativity reboot.
When you’re not bathing like an emperor, Hotel Castello di Reschio offers a phalanx of activities: horse-riding, foraging workshops, Italian cookery lessons, even picking up skills usually taught in monasteries such as calligraphy or paper marbling.
What to take Good walking boots. There’s plenty of hiking to be done on the Castello di Reschio’s 3,700-acre estate and nearby hills and Assisi and Gubbio are only a short drive away and worth a stroll around.
Switch off and read . . .
Author Umberto Eco believed that Umbria was the centre of the universe and his medieval murder mystery, Name of the Rose, is set in an Italian monastery – it’s hard to imagine a more perfect book for reading at Castello di Reschio.
Top 7: The best spa for fitness
The Guerlain Spa and Pillar Wellbeing at Raffles London at The Old War Office takes fitness to a whole new level
The hottest new opening in London has a storied history as home to some of Britain’s most infamous World War Two spies – including some unsung female heroines. The likes of Krystyna Skarbek (aka Christine Glanville, the former Polish aristocrat who became Churchill’s favourite spy) would be thrilled that her former Old War Office headquarters in Whitehall where Churchill once stomped the halls is now the lavish new UK outpost of Raffles after a rumoured £1.5billion facelift.
The elegant landmark 1906 building features the huge luxury Pillar Wellbeing and Guerlain Spa sprawling over four floors, the first in the UK dedicated to the high-end French heritage brand, one of the oldest skincare houses in the world. As you’d expect, the vibe is understated opulence.
Pillar Wellbeing’s launch at the Guerlain Spa at Raffles London also marks the brand’s first ever physical health club, offering a state-of-the-art gym, movement studio, a sumptuous swimming pool, sauna, steam room and a dedicated health restaurant.
Concentrating on the three core “pillars” of movement, nourishment and recovery, Pillar services include personal performance and psychological fitness coaching, individually-tailored private yoga and pilates, and swim coaching using the Shaw method. Physiotherapy, sports massage and personalised nutritional strategies are also on offer.
But the stunningly beautiful spa is OWO’s pièce de résistance.
Treatments to try include the spa’s signature Spirit Of London massage, enhanced by LED light therapy, to bring harmony to mind, body and spirit and iron out all tension, or else plump for the Royal Glow Tech Facial, which combines microdermabrasion and photobiomodulation light therapy with Guerlain’s exceptional facial techniques to smooth, plump and gets you, er, glowing up.
What to take: Brand new PE Nation garb for Pillar Wellbeing, the latest Marysia swimsuit for the swim, sauna and steam.
Switch off and read . . . The Spy Who Loved by Clare Mulley. You guessed it – it’s all about the incredible life of Krystyna Skarbek.
Top 7 is a curated guide to the best destinations around the world
Top 7: The best spa for finding your zen is in the heart of London
The Peninsula London Spa & Wellbeing Centre, Belgravia, offers relaxation of the highest degree
Perched imperiously on Hyde Park Corner, The Peninsula London is the much trumpeted first British outpost of the almost century-old high-end Hong Kong-based hotel chain.
Opened late last year, the newly-built 190 room haven embodies custom-tooled serenity with all the luxurious hallmarks of one of the world’s most iconic hotel brands, all underpinned by Far East aesthetics and rituals. Each element of the interior from the marble guardian lion sculptures (they symbolise luck, prosperity and success), hand blown crystal chandeliers to the parlour palms have been sanctioned by a feng shui master.
The jewel in the crown is the spa, secreted underneath the cream-coloured eight floor edifice overlooking Wellington Arch, which offers a distinctly Oriental holistic spa experience, from its architect-designed 25 metre swimming pool, thermal suites and gym, to its seven luxurious wood-panelled treatment rooms, with offerings based on purpose-driven wellness. There’s a particular emphasis on alternative therapies and Chinese medicine, all underpinning its ‘Life Lived Best’ philosophy.
The Peninsula London also has an exclusive partnership with Subtle Energies, the astonishingly effective Australian aromatherapy and skincare brand founded on Ayurvedic principles. The only place in the UK offering Subtle Energies treatments, it provides a curated menu of facials, massages, body wraps and more which offer to not only nourish and rejuvenate the skin, but also uplift the senses and promote emotional balance.
Try the Personalised Holistic treatment combining marma, a traditional Ayurvedic massage technique, and a signature aromatic facial massage to reduce stress and boost collagen to rebalance all your chakras. Enhance your experience by adding a guided 15-minute meditation, a Himalayan body polish, or shirodhara, which involves warm oil being poured onto your forehead (way more blissful than it sounds, honestly).
What to take:
If you’re taking a dip in The Peninsula’s show-stopping pool, stick with purpose-driven swimwear outfit Pursuit the Label – each body-sculpting item is produced from regenerated materials, so you can be fashion-forward and eco-friendly.
Switch off and read . . . International bestseller The Piano Teacher by Janice YK Lee. It’s about an Englishman who works as a chauffeur in Hong Kong high society in the 40s and 50s, so it seems apt…
Top 7: This Ryder Cup hotel can’t be beaten as the best spa and golf break
Adare Manor Spa in Limerick, Ireland, is the leader in the clubhouse as the best spa and golf break
Excitement is already brewing for the 2027 Ryder Cup which will be held in County Limerick’s Adare Manor and which is the fulfilment of a dream for business mogul owner JP McManus who bought the neo gothic manor house and it’s grounds with the dream of turning it into a luxurious hotel and hosting the world famous golf tournament. And what a place to hold it.
Set in the serene countryside of County Limerick, Ireland, today it’s one of the world’s greatest hotels, exquisite inside and out – named Conde Nast Traveller’s 2022 Number One resort in the world, in fact. The Tom Fazio designed golf course offers a spectacular golfing experience amid the 840 acres of park and woodland and reveals new discoveries and challenges at every turn.
Being at one with nature is not only the ethos of Adare Manor, it also extends to its extensive spa and wellness offerings.
Here, inspired by the Japanese practice of forest bathing, guests indulge in mindful walks through the lush surroundings; while the spa itself draws its philosophy from the ancient Ogham druidic alphabet, with treatments categorised under willow, oak, ash, and birch – each symbolising different aspects of wellness. Having partnered exclusively (in Ireland) with 111Skin, the spa offers luxurious treatments such as deep tissue massages and a signature 90-minute cheekbone-lifting, contour-defining Rose Quartz Restorative Facial, favoured by the likes of Victoria Beckham, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Aniston and Sienna Miller.
And beyond the spa, the Manor boasts a range of amenities including a relaxation area, manicure and pedicure salon, sauna, hair boutique, fitness centre – and an indoor pool with fairytale views of the surrounding woods and River Maigue. The place is also a foodie heaven, from the gastronomic delights at The Carriage House, to the Michelin-starred menu at The Oak Room in which Chef Michael Tweedie offers a tasting menu highlighting Ireland’s premium ingredients.
What to take: Your Barbour and walking boots. Adare Manor also offers a fantastic choice of country pursuits from falconry to carriage driving.
Go device free and read… Without My Cloak by Kate O’Brien (1931). Set in County Limerick, the author’s prize-winning debut, is a saga spanning three generations and kicks off with the arrival of a horse thief. Cosy up and dive in.
Irish FTSE 100 giant DCC picks up £90m UK green ‘retrofit’ firm
DCC – the tech, healthcare and energy investor – will acquire Next Energy, a renewable energy provider focused on the UK domestic sector.
The deal values Next at around £90m. The company provides retrofitting solutions to older British homes, carrying out work to insulate roofs, transform central heating solutions and upgrade boilers.
The Liverpool-headquartered Next Energy has a significant footprint in UK government business and this morning DCC said the firm’s addressable market could be as broad as 16m UK homes, 14.5m of which could be eligible for full or partial funding.
It is the latest in a string of major and minor acquisitions announced over the past year by the Dublin-HQed firm.
DCC announced full year results alongside the acquisition, with adjusted operating profit up 4.1 per cent to £682.8m, driven by growth in the energy business.
It will also up its annual dividend by 5 per cent, marking thirty straight years of dividend growth.
Overall revenue sat at £19.9bn, around 10 per cent down on the year before, though earnings per share and profit were both up.
Donal Murphy, Chief Executive, said: “We are pleased to announce that we delivered a year of growth, development and strategic progress – in our 30th year as a public company. The very strong growth delivered by DCC Energy was the highlight of the year, and it is also encouraging that DCC Healthcare returned to organic growth in the second half of the year.”
The next government must rebuild the UK’s planning system
You almost couldn’t make it up. Britain, faced with a generational housing crisis, building less than a year ago. Even better, the weather is at least partly to blame. Welcome to Blighty. We used to build things, you know.
The main culprit is of course the planning system, which – from the moment a misty-eyed developer lays eyes on a potential plot attempts – seems only intended to slow down and obstruct the path towards spades in the ground. When the weapons of NIMBYism are taken up by local councillors and MPs, they become almost irresistible.
Highlights of recent planning fails must make you laugh, lest you otherwise cry. Our favourites include an elegant collection of six barely mid-rise homes in south Croydon which were to replace a work out single home which resembles nothing more than a concrete bunker: the MP for the area, the never knowingly out-volumed nor out-blustered Chris Philp, said the planning rejection was the right thing to do as new homes should be built on brownfield sites – just not this one. Another: the data centre next to the M25 which was nixed as it might ruin the view of the surrounding countryside from a bridge over the London Orbital itself. Who knew the planning system did irony?
These are extreme examples, but it’s not just about those that are punished. Even those developments that make it through – rarely unscathed – often have hundreds of thousands in legal and planning fees to recoup. Inevitably, that cost is passed on to the buyer, and up and down any chain they might be in.
A sensible planning system would zone land – giving developers a clearer understanding of what can and can’t be done. It may in some cases be more restrictive than currently, but that would be preferable to the dog’s dinner we have now. Of course, the dream is a system that allows developers to build some houses in places people want to buy them. Over to you, Keir.
Former O2 and Pizza Express boss takes chairman seat at Gaucho-owner Rare Restaurants
Hospitality grandee David Campbell is to take the chairman’s role at Rare Restaurants, the group behind the Gaucho and M restaurant brands.
Campbell was founding CEO at Virgin Radio before taking on a host of CEO roles, including that of AEG Europe during the renovation of the unloved Millennium Dome into the the O2 Arena.
He currently served as chair of Ole and Steen and has also enjoyed highly successful stints at The Ivy, Bill’s and Wagamama, as well as masterminding the turnaround of Pizza Express.
Rare CEO Martin Williams said Campbell’s arrival would “assist us on taking the business to the next level. His track record is the best in the business and I look forward to seeing his leadership and experience impact our boardroom and restaurants alike.”
Gaucho enjoyed double-digit turnover growth in 2023 with like for like restaurants enjoying EBITDA margins north of 20 per cent.
Williams also paid tribute to outgoing chairman Jamie Mitchell.
“Our shareholders – Investec and SC Lowy – and I take this opportunity to thank Jamie Mitchell for outstanding support and guidance as chair for the past 5 years – a period which has taken the business from strength to strength, leaving us with incredible results and focus on people, the planet and profit.”
Williams and his partners pulled Gaucho out of administration in 2018, years after he had founded, and then left, the business.
Alongside M in Threadneedle Street, the restaurant group has overhauled its menus and spaces to remove the “intimidation” factor of steak restaurants and attract a younger, and more diverse crowd.
“The changes we made have made it attractive cross-gender, cross-generation,” he told City A.M. last year.
The group is also set to appear yet again at Royal Ascot.
The chairman’s appointment comes after the firm was recognised in the latest ‘best places to work’ list compiled by The Sunday Times.
Williams said: “After a five-year commitment – which proved us to be the exemplar of an empathetic employer during the pandemic – our values and engagement are now firmly embedded with our 1,500-strong family which, combined with our impact initiatives, sees us strive to be recognised as a world-class employer”
Building Blocks: decoding crypto jargon part two: 9 must-know terms
Every week Blockchain Sensei will be walking you through the basics of blockchain technology. Consider this your crash course in all things web3!
The world of cryptocurrencies can be daunting for newcomers, with its own unique jargon and technical terms. To help you, we’ve put together another list of crypto terms that every enthusiast should know.
For part one, see HERE
Layer One (L1): The base layer of a blockchain network, where transactions are settled directly on the main blockchain. Ex: Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Layer Two (L2): A secondary framework built on top of an existing blockchain (Layer One) that aims to improve scalability and efficiency. Ex: the Lightning Network for Bitcoin and Polygon for Ethereum.
RWA (Real-World Assets): Physical or traditional financial assets that are tokenized and represented on a blockchain, allowing for fractional ownership and easier trading.
DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks): A system where the physical infrastructure supporting a blockchain network is decentralized and distributed among many participants, increasing security and resilience.
Convergence: The coming together or merging of different technologies, such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things (IoT), to create new and innovative solutions.
Staking: The act of locking up cryptocurrency holdings to support a Proof-of-Stake blockchain network and earn rewards in return. Stakers help validate transactions and secure the network.
Bearish: A market sentiment characterized by pessimism and the expectation that prices will fall. The opposite of bullish.
Governance: The process by which decisions are made and implemented within a blockchain network, often involving token holders voting on proposals.
APY (Annual Percentage Yield): The yearly rate of return on an investment, taking into account the effect of compounding interest.
By familiarizing yourself with these key terms, you’ll be better equipped to understand the conversations, news, and developments in the crypto world.
In a dangerous world, standards matter more than ever
International standards define what great looks like – setting consistent benchmarks for businesses, consumers and nations, says Michael Mainelli
A world ordered for decades by globalization and geoeconomics has quickly become a world grounded in geopolitical risk.
The Israel-Hamas conflict grinds on, tensions between Iran and Israel remain high, the Russo-Ukrainian war continues, and cyberattacks have become more frequent and more severe than ever.
Speaking at the annual Easter Banquet for Ambassadors and High Commissioners to the UK at Mansion House last week, the Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron stressed that the world we live in is “more dangerous, more volatile, more confrontational, than most of us have ever known”.
“Both in Britain and the wider world, there are too many who adopt a kind of defensive crouch,” he said, arguing that the UK must prioritise security, be bolder, harder-edged, realistic and ruthlessly practical, and demonstrate political will and strategic patience.
Lord Cameron made the point that “we cannot divorce foreign policy from economic performance.” Echoing this – I used my speech to set out how international standards in areas like AI can provide stability and security against this challenging geopolitical backdrop.
Cities thrive when they are open to trade and commerce. And trade and commerce are made possible by standards that smooth the way.
In an unstable world, international standards define what great looks like – setting consistent benchmarks for businesses, consumers and nations that ensure reliability, build trust, simplify choices and make trade between countries simpler and fairer.
By distilling the wisdom of experts from around the world, standards represent the very best of human knowledge and guide economies in adopting sustainable and ethical practices that improve our world.
Professor Anu Bradford coined the term “The Brussels Effect” – that the EU shapes global policies on privacy, the environment and more not as a superpower, but as the international standard setter.
My mayoral theme, “Connect To Prosper”, is about reigniting the coffee house culture on which London was built and leveraging the power of the City’s many connections – including our connections with our international partners – to take on the big challenges facing the world.
All six of our key “Connect To Prosper” initiatives promote international standards.
The 695th Lord Mayor’s Ethical AI Initiative offers ethics courses for professionals working in AI. We’ve had had more than 5,000 participants, from 500 organisations, across 50 countries so far and, tomorrow, we’ll bring 30 countries together in Brussels to conclude the “Walbrook AI Accord” promoting ISO 42001.
Meanwhile, our Space Protection Initiative is a combined technology and financial services programme to use space debris removal insurance bonds to keep space “clutter free”, meeting international space sustainability standards.
Our other initiatives are: the Smart Economy Networks Initiative, Constructing Science: Offices to Labs Initiative, GALENOS for mental health research, and our Green Finance Initiative.
My travels as Lord Mayor – most recently to Saudia Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – have reinforced the fact that our nations share many of the same ambitions: from realising thepotential of new technology, to combatting climate change.
In a world of misinformation and disinformation, we are seeing what happens when standards start to slip.
By working with partners from across the world, the City of London has a role to play in maintaining and creating international standards that offer stability and security and put us a step closer to achieving our shared goals.
Michael Mainelli is Lord Mayor of the City of London