Spa H(e)avens: Swiss News takes up where it left off last year with another look at some of Switzerland's most tempting mind-body getaways.
Let's begin with the new 'Berg Oase' in Arosa, Graubunden (alt. 1,800m), a year-round resort that has all the basics that you'd expect of a top international venue along with extras ranging from romantic rides in horse-drawn sleighs to exhilarating ascents in hot-air balloons.
Opened in December 2006, as part of the five-star Tschuggen Grand Hotel, the 'Mountain Oasis' is the brainchild of world-renowned Swiss architect Mario Botta--just some of whose credits include La Scala in Milan and the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco.
Playing on the natural high of vast skies and open spaces, Alpine air and fir-tree-dotted mountains, the Botta spa is all about the exhilaration that a double-barreled serving of beauty--natural and aesthetic--delivers.
The spa is actually built inside a mountain.
'Light trees', which are skylights shaped like the tips of trees, illuminate all four floors of the open-plan interior, while at night, lit from the inside, they form a kind of light sculpture that can be seen and enjoyed by everyone at the resort.
"Being inside the mountain is like being cocooned in the body of the earth," architect Botta told Swiss News:
"To me, this project was about meshing human beings, and more specifically the culture of the body, with the site--nature, the earth."
Interior materials are as simple as possible: local stone, wood, and glass to make the most of effects of light, which can be controlled throughout the day, and combined with colour and other contrasts to create different moods and effects.
"When you're in the spa, you look up and out of the light wells and see mountain peaks," Botta said:
"The stone, the wood, are tremendously tactile. Everything enhances this association of being inside the mountain, and that in turn enhances feeling of being centered and relaxed and at one with one's own body."
Water is another key component. The site is dotted with water features designed around springs, and facilities include two swimming pools, a Turkish bath, indoor and outdoor saunas, Jacuzzi, and a Kneipp bath that resembles a natural brook.
To stimulate blood circulation and the nervous system, guests can walk over natural stones in the knee-deep stream, which is ice cold in some places and hot in others.
Health and beauty
All manner of face and body treatments are offered in 11 private rooms and a hair salon. A fitness centre and in-house doctor are on hand for check-ups and dermatological and nutritional advice.
Other...
Pour continuer la lecture
SOLLICITEZ VOTRE ESSAI