SWISSOTEL HOTELS & RESORTS OFFER TRAVEL WELLNESS AND SEASONAL SPA SOLUTIONS

Swissotel Hotels & Resorts is committed to well-being and vitality, a promise that extends from global efforts in sustainable operations right down to the guest level with options that help maintain healthy habits while travelling.

Andrew Gibson, vice president, spa and wellness at FRHI Hotels & Resorts, Swissôtel's parent company, notes that, "Maintaining healthy habits is increasingly a priority for travellers. In fact, a recent report by SRI International for the Global Spa & Wellness Summit indicated that ‘wellness tourism’ is set to grow by 9% annually, nearly 50% faster than overall global tourism." He added, "Trends indicate that guests are seeking healthier food and access to spa, massage and fitness facilities, which Swissôtel provides under our brand-wide Vitality Programme. These options add value to the overall guest experience, and support staying well while on the road."

Here, Swissôtel spas and on-property experts offer tips for peak energy and vitality throughout the year:

Eat Well, Travel Well
A key component to maintaining one's health is through mindful eating. Travellers often fight symptoms like jet lag, poor digestion and a general lack of energy, and Swissôtel has compiled some helpful advice and an infographic detailing "superfoods" that help ward off these ailments. These, and other “superfoods”, are also routinely utilized by Swissôtel chefs around the world to create nourishing and flavourful menu offerings.

• For jet lag, try a cup of hot water and lemon to stay hydrated, and to alkalise the body. Cherries and ginger help with melatonin, a sleep promoter, and bananas are a natural muscle relaxant.
• Ginger, peppermint tea and probiotic yogurts help keep digestion on track.
• The high water and potassium content in cantaloupe can help restore energy, as will gogi berries and quinoa, which also helps build muscle.

For more helpful tips, including ways to deal with motion sickness and circulation issues, please visit: https://www.swissotel.com/infographics/best-superfoods-for-travel/

Seasonal Spa Solutions:
Swissôtel Hotel & Resorts worldwide offer invigorating spa and wellness centres, including the brand's signature Pürovel Spa & Sport facilities at select properties. Inspired and guided by the vitality of the Alpine seasons, products and services are designed around the natural stages of renewal (spring), peak activity (summer), recovery (autumn), and hibernation (winter). Pürovel products are created from flower and pine tree essential oils organically grown and distilled by a team of farmers in Wangen-an-der-Aare, Switzerland, where every essential oil used is cultivated, harvested and extracted.

As the seasons change and skin care needs shift, here are treatments and top tips recommended by Swissôtel spas and on-property spa experts.

AUTUMN: Recovery

• The Pürovel Swiss Mountain Massage is highly recommended by spa experts at Swissôtel Kolkata, Swissôtel Tallinn and Swissôtel Ankara. As days, and the air, get cooler, it's time to prepare for the upcoming winter season. Using Mountain Meadow Blend oil (primarily swiss spruce and douglas needles), which is naturally balancing, antiviral, and antibacterial, and heated mountain stones, the treatment comforts the body, energizes the mind and holds warmth within.
• Swissôtel Dresden Am Schloss experts say rebalancing and replenishing is especially important this time of year, and they suggest sharing the experience with a loved one during a Private Spa night. The hotel’s special evening package offers four hours of relaxation at the Pürovel Spa & Sport, and includes individual warming sauna infusions, and a vitalizing scrub and herbal bath together, to purify and moisturize dry, stressed skin. To top it off, sparkling wine and fresh seasonal fruit are served and a Pürovel home care set is provided.

TOP TIPS - Autumn Skin Care:

• Debolina Mukherjee, Spa Manager at Swissôtel Kolkata recommends using a lotion with a nourishing oil base of avocado, almond, jojoba or even olive. Steer clear of anything synthetic or petroleum-based, or use organic unrefined shea butter, which easily penetrates and moisturizes the skin.
• Swissôtel Dresden Am Schloss experts say that in autumn, traveller’s skin needs a scrub, to help it regenerate and purify. Try exfoliating body scrubs with minerals from thermal water and aromatherapy oils, which leaves skin feeling renewed, and remineralizing body creams to soothe and moisturize dry skin.

WINTER: Hibernation

• The Spa & Sport Centre at Swissôtel Zurich counteracts the feelings of melancholy that can be brought on by the colder, darker days by offering the Golden Cup treatment, which uses the golden cup plant as a natural mood brightener. The plant grows in the middle of summer and is said to be the "flower of the sun", capturing the season's warmth and lifting people's moods. In fact, it is sometimes used medicinally to combat depression and migraines. The treatment includes a massage, a peel and a wrap to harness the power of the sun.
• During the winter months, Swissôtel Nankai Osaka offers guests a Ginger Oil with Hot Stone Massage, which harmoniously combines to produce a warming and relaxing effect. Ginger oil has been an essential ingredient since antiquity due to its therapeutic quality and ability to ease colds, poor circulation and arthritis pains.

TOP TIPS - Winter Skin Care:

• Swissôtel Kolkata's spa manager says an oil massage is the best remedy for dry skin. Apricot oil applied 2-3 times a week at night makes skin feel very smooth and healthy. Before a morning bath, try a gentle self-massage with sesame oil, which helps to pull out toxins from the skin and also leaves a protective layer between skin and the harsh winter environment. Drink plenty of warm, pure water throughout the day to both purify the body and stay well hydrated.
• Janine Görner, a member of the Spa & Sport team at Swissôtel Zurich, suggests booking a paraffin bath for hands. Paraffin is smoothing and indulges the skin of the hands, which can get dry and damaged in the winter.

SPRING: Renewal

• Swissôtel Nankai Osaka praises green tea as an ingredient that is effective for anti-aging, and also full of antioxidant ingredients, like catechin, and Vitamins A, C and E which contribute to beautiful skin. The hotel’s Green Tea Facial is very effective in spring, when skin becomes very sensitive, and helps combat problems such as blemishes and dullness.
• Massage options are also ideal for renewing the body as the warmer months return, with Swissôtel Ankara recommending the Alpine Spring Massage, applied with medium pressure with relaxation in mind, to ease tension and stimulate blood flow. Also, an accompanying session of deep breathing with the signature Pürovel aromatherapy blends clears the mind and breathing passageways, making it a perfect treatment for an active individual seeking muscle recovery. Swissôtel Tallinn offers the Destress Massage, performed with fluent, calming movements and massage oil to create a lighter mood and embrace the new beginnings of the season.

TOP TIPS - Spring Skin Care:

• Swissôtel Kolkata's spa manager suggests juices that contain kale, parsley, ginger, or cucumber to improve spring skin.
• The hotel’s spa team also recommends the use of citrus essential oils, particularly in lotions, to remove dead skin and promote circulation.

SUMMER: Peak Activity

• When the hot weather arrives, it's time to scrub and lighten up! With mostly sunny and dry weather, it's very important to cleanse and moisturize the skin, according to Elina Benenson, the Pürovel Spa & Sport Manager at Swissôtel Tallinn. She recommends the Body Polish for the removal of dead skin cells, to help one feel lighter and cleansed.
• Swissôtel Chicago's Spa 42 offers the Aloe Quench Body Wrap, which is designed to combat sun damage and heal the skin to reveal a fresh, healthy glow. The products used include Calm Mind Oil, a combination of lavender, peppermint and cajeput to relieve tension, Lavender Body Spray, to leave skin soft, and Aloe Gel, a cooling blend of aloe vera, allantoin, organic arnica and algae to provide comfort to chapped and dehydrated skin.

TOP TIPS - Summer Skin Care:

• Swissôtel Kolkata's spa manager recommends splashing on some rose water every morning for an instant glow and fresh hue throughout the day. Also, after showering, mix one teaspoon each of organic, unrefined coconut oil and castor oil in a glass bottle with a cap. Place the bottle in hot water until the oil is lukewarm. Apply to the entire body to keep skin supple, soft, and cool. Guests can also use this treatment before swimming to protect skin from salt water and chlorine.
• Monica Jayso, Director of Spa 42 at Swissôtel Chicago stresses that the most important tip for everyone to follow is to apply Sun Protection SPF 30. Their product is a broad spectrum UVA/UVB sunscreen which combines natural antioxidants with chamomile and cucumber extracts to keep skin healthy, youthful and soothed.

Notes Andrew Gibson, "A recent Spafinder Wellness 365 consumer survey found that 85% of travellers finish a vacation less rejuvenated than when they start. Swissôtels worldwide will continue to counter this by offering various wellness options to ensure our guests return home feeling rested and energised."