The With Nothing Underneath founder on the problems with wellness and curing her scepticism at a Spanish medical retreat.
It’s a sign of the times (and the great wellness revolution) that today, nightclubs are no longer the place to be seen. Instead, securing spots at spas gives the most kudos to the in-crowd, who have replaced cool bars with cold plunge pools. And SHA, the most famous of these destinations, is more in demand than 5 Hertford Street on a Saturday night.
‘Wellness’ has rightly gotten a bad name for itself, promoting over consumption by marketing endless products to people, chiefly on social media, that they don’t need and cannot afford. The promised results, too, leave plenty to be decided, but what about the things that actually do help, and the professionals who do make a difference. Disclaimer: I’m a former journalist and all of my old colleagues working in the beauty space agree on one thing. SHA is the ‘place to go’, perfectly balancing science and some slightly more off-beat techniques…
SHA was founded ten years ago after its founder Alfredo Bataller Parietti recovered from colon cancer by following a diet that centred on vegetables and omitted red meat, alcohol and caffeine.
Now, people travel from all over the world to SHA to treat everything from serious illness, to weight loss to addiction — or just to have a detox from everyday life. With more than 70,000 guests and counting, they must be doing something right.
I’m a healthy person (I think?): I try to eat a balanced diet and take regular exercise, but with a nine month old baby and a business to run, even the most serene of people could be forgiven for feeling a little out of sorts. I decided I needed a reboot. A time out. I decided to go for the Rebalance program. Four days of treatments and tests designed to leave me feeling more balanced? Sign me up.
The hotel itself sits below the mountains of the Sierra Helada National Park and overlooks the bay of Altea. There are views of the Mediterranean, mountain air, and a minimal Modernist design – you’re feeling zen already just reading this, aren’t you?
Despite the fact that there are 93 suites and 11 residences, save for mealtimes, you can often feel like you are the only one there. Everything is contemporary and clean which all adds to the clinic feel — hushed tones and staff in white coats are de-rigueur. Picture the clinic in James Bond’s Spectre in which Dr Swann appears, but picture it in the Spanish Hills. That’s SHA. If you were to critique the rooms you might call them clinical, but with a deliciously comfortable bed, walk-in wardrobe and sea views, it’s hard to complain.
The morning of my arrival, I was invited to the Medical Clinic — a spacious, efficiently run floor with a rabbit-warren of testing and treatment rooms — for examinations including blood tests, a weigh-in and more, to test things like BMI, blood pressure and bone density; then asked to do a series of computer games to test cognitive function.
These days, we are all constantly pushed to monitor everything. Our sleep; our blood sugar levels; our scale health. There are Whoops and Oura rings and Apple watches — no we’re all anxious. And how accurate are these things anyway? It was a relief to be surrounded by proper medical monitoring processes, like an MOT on crack. Think actual doctors, taking accurate medical readings on world class machinery, churning out clear and helpful reporting.
After a consultation with a doctor, I was given a thorough ‘suggested’ schedule for each day (‘suggested’, as some treatments and activities are at additional cost, so can be taken out to fit a budget), supplements to take, and a meal plan. This is all tailored to you and your needs.
For my rebalancing program I was focused on a more broad end-point, essentially lowering stress levels and balancing emotions, and that meant a mixture of physical exercise and slightly more woo-woo treatments.
Private yoga, private pilates and private personal training in the gym, alongside the nutritional detox, all provided the perfect foundations for a refresh, while the four to five treatments you have a day take more of a medical approach. There is an overarching theme of responsibility. Self Ownership. Whether you are on a physical recovery journey or a burnt-out CEO, SHA can only lead you to the proverbial water, they can’t make you drink.
A typical day might start with a hike, and a miso soup breakfast, which is important to kick start your digestion. A trip back to the Medical Clinic usually follows breakfast, for a transcranial stimulation, detoxifying body wrap or salt scrub, reflexology, cryotherapy or ice bath.
Ozone therapy is particularly popular, due to its energising properties: literally removing some blood, pumping it with oxygen and syphoning it back into you. No day is the same, such is the breadth of offerings.
While I am a confirmed acupuncture obsessive, I can be a little sceptical around other wellness practices. However, my favourite part of the trip was the Integrated Bioenergy Assessment — essentially an energy balance test. A Dr Rubio attached an electric wire with a little magnet on the end to my wrist so that they could ‘interpret my electromagnetic field’ (I refer back to my scepticism).
However, the results shared feel so impressively personal and accurate that I find it hard to remain a disbeliever. I was struggling with post-pregnancy hormone imbalance (tear, a lot of them) which was causing heart and gall bladder (a key stress indicator) imbalances. It all showed up on a chart, sort of like a heart monitor. The treatment is based on the Ancient Chinese principle that different organs have different physical and emotional functions. The results are then sent to your acupuncture therapist who, that afternoon, will work on the areas in need.
The food — and I’m going to surprise you here — is amazingly good. Truly delicious. With three levels of calories to choose from I chose the heaviest one (I was not there to lose weight; one thing at a time guys) and no one was as shocked as me that macrobiotic food (essentially a diet of wholegrains, vegetables and beans) can be so delicious and filling.
Did I fancy a wine in the evening? Yes. And could I have killed for a coffee in the morning? Sure, but really, once you lean in, I found myself quite content with the cleanse when the options in front of me were as good as Pad Thai and delicious, creamy rice pudding. (Sugar and dairy free!)
With any detox, your body will react along the way: the lack of sugar, alcohol, wheat, and dairy can be a shock to the system. Headaches and initial lethargy is common, however, there is also an abundance of downtime to rest, read, sunbathe, sleep and allow your body to reset and recuperate. Because that’s ultimately what you’re there for; a luxury holiday with a specific purpose.
‘Why are you here?’ Is a question you get asked a lot at SHA. It’s what I was wondering myself as I slyly looked round the dining room. Why are they all here? Looking for everlasting life? One of SHA’s key principles is how to live better, longer. Dan Buettner, the American explorer and writer identified four ‘secrets’ to living longer: Outlook (faith, purpose), Eat Wisely (plant based, moderation), Connect (Family first, partnership) and Move Naturally (Walking, engaging with the outside). Seems simple right? Perhaps. But for most of us, a little reminder of this can go a long way.
And that’s the best thing about SHA: it can be as woo-woo and earnest or brain-numbing and luxurious as you wish. Nothing is rammed down your throat, but the option to drink the Kool Aid (or in this case, miso soup) is there if you so wish.
I’d say you’d be silly not to give into some of the woo-woo-ness, because you could well be missing out on something quite magical, but want to skip the breathwork and simply indulge in the healthy food and five star surroundings for the entirety of your visit? Be their guest.
A four-day Rebalance and Energise Programme starts from €2,300 a person. Visit www.shawellness.com/en/ for more information and to book.
Pip Durell is the founder of WNU.
