Want to know your biological age, your allergies, your health forecast? What are your collagen levels and skin type? Then check-in to la pura, a dedicated healthy ageing resort breathing in the clean air of rural Austria designed exclusively for women.
This is more than a wellness hotel. The focus here is on slowing down the biological clock ticking away with treatments formulated to outsmart time. According to research, our age is determined 30 per cent by genetics, the remainder up to us to manage by our lifestyle choices and habits, good or bad. The resort attracts those who want to get under their own skin, to understand their make-up and to identify and change negative lifestyle habits. The emphasis is not on anti but on healthy ageing by embracing and enhancing life‘s journey, not battling against it.
Flowing through its veins is female-specific gender medicine developed by Dr Alexandra Kautzky-Willer of the Medical University of Vienna and healthy ageing programmes managed by Medical Director, Dr Sabine Froehlich, at la pura. So, based on science and proven evidence ageing topics are individualised and addressed with innovative and sustainable solutions. Results that not only determine the biological age, but highlight weak areas and risk factors.
There is a wide range of treatments and programmes, custom-made and based on diagnostic tests and medical consultations, all in the name of aging gracefully. Genetic testing tackles pre-dispositions and age-related diseases. A 3D skin analysis scans the skin to reveal collagen loss, sun damage and age. A saliva test detects silent inflammations in the body. Others include testing metabolic function and individual macronutrient needs leading to weight stability and management. And if stress is a factor, there’s mental counselling and a host of relaxing treatments.
This 1914 mansion house has been caringly transformed into a health retreat. Spacious and tranquil. Laced with feminine touches, there are 85 guestrooms classically decorated to secure a haven for women in comfortable surrounds. This is personal place. Throughout the day, clad in bathrobes, women wander around in bathrobes in a relaxed ambiance, exchanging experiences over afternoon tea in the Boccaccaio room, a former theatre or during the organised entertainment – a pianist, wine tasting or make-up workshop. Just over an hour from Vienna, the retreat lies in the arms of the Kamptal valley, with a river running by and a castle silhouette overhead.
Soft music, scents and colour effects autograph the spa which includes a choice of saunas, steam rooms & an infra-red cabin. Little exfoliating peeling cups are available, flavoured with mango, vanilla, or even chocolate – a refreshing touch. And around every corner, relaxation areas appear in different modes, quiet rooms, warmed loungers, alcoves around the indoor pool and outdoor decks.
Prevention is a key component of healthy ageing so you can expect Chinese traditional medicine practised here as well as natural therapies such as underwater extension therapy, effective for tensions and misaligned sections of the spinal cord. “Healthy Ageing Therapy” is a revitalising manual massage using vaporised herb pouches and warm aromatic oils, individually created. Think almond and sesame oils, together with herbal mixtures of ginger, elderflower, mint and ivy.
Ad hoc botox and fillers are frowned upon. Here cosmetic and aesthetic medicine is based on the results of a Visia Scan, which detects the collagen levels, the depth of lines and wrinkles and the sun damage from which digital results calculate facial age. This test is a scientific qualifier for future and effective treatments which may take the form of thread lifting, fillers or skin rejuvenation with mesotherapy – a vitamin cocktail. But a more natural option is the personalised serum formulated for your skin’s requirements. For wobbly arms, legs and abdomens, the aesthetic body treatments targets fat cells using suction-wave massage, reducing them via the lymphatic system, followed by an ultrasound and agent treatment to activate a fat-burning process.
Food is an integral part of a stay. The FX Mayr nutritional programme is a popular treatment to detox the intestines and improve digestion. It involves a different approach to eating and appreciating food intake. Guests following this dine away from temptation in a comfortable separate dining room. And to maintain these culinary virtues and encourage diet lifestyle changes, cookery classes are held regularly in the show kitchen.
Guests can follow a low-calorie menu or for those wishing to indulge, dinner is a 4-course affair. Yellow turnip coconut foam soup and salmon with lukewarm orange fennel salad are examples of the creative dishes served. Breakfast is ultra- healthy with warm millet porridge, spelt pancakes and vegan bircher served with an edible flower garnish – all too good to eat! The restaurant spills outside, overlooking the square, a peak into everyday life in this sleepy town, known for its singer-song writer, Falco. His monument ornaments the local park.
Classes and activities for mind and body can fill your day with maybe a few new experiences thrown in. Smovey walking is trending – a one up-man-ship on Nordic walking. It involves weighted hand accessories while walking through the park and climbing through the forested area. These bright green loops help with posture and joint mobility and coordination. Along with yoga, a staple in spa resorts, classes include balance, endurance and spine care exercises. The sling workout involves muscle strengthening using ropes to stabilise the body. Days at la pura are interesting, sociable and as busy as you want them to be, including a dip in the River Kamp.
La pura offers that ray of hope to women battling with aging.It is a place to relax and to find your personalised formula to slow down the ticking clock, inside and out. A wrinkle and a wobble less, a stronger mind, a body and soul in harmony and acceptance.La pura serves a recipe that is effective, holistic and individual – a sustainable form of health prevention.
Hauptplatz 58, 3571 Gars am Kamp, Austria
Tel.: +43 2985/26 66-741
Fax.: +43 2985/26 66-745
Mail: willkommen@lapura.at or reservierung@lapura.at
The editor was a guest of la pura.