L'andana, Italy
A gourmet spa sounds too good to be true. Not only is L'Andana promising to pummel away my stresses, it's offering to feed me during spa treatments, too - and we're not talking carrot juice.
The name Alain Ducasse might make things clearer. Yes, the man behind three Michelin-starred restaurants in Monaco and Paris, with multiple Michelin stars elsewhere in the world (at the last count, he owned 27 establishments from restaurants to cooking schools), opened the L'Andana Hotel in southern Tuscany in 2004, recently followed by a new gourmet spa.
Not many tourists get to this part of Tuscany. It's tucked away in the middle of the meandering stretch south of Pisa. So although you have to drive a little further from Pisa airport, it's well worth the trek as you swing up the long, cypress-lined driveway to the grand pink house that was once the former hunting lodge of Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany.
Set in 500 hectares, you get distant views of the sea from your large, luxurious, high-ceilinged bedroom. Look the other way and it's olive groves, vineyards (L'Andana produces its own wines), clipped lawns and flowerbeds full of roses - and guests wrapped in white fluffy robes wandering around in a happy daze. It's not just the treatments that have got them into this soporific state - each session is matched to a particular tart, mousse or cake and a cup of customised herbal tea.
While many spas might take advice from Ayurvedic gurus, Ducasse worked with his pastry chef to decide which food works best with each treatment. So, for example, the Life-saving Back Massage is followed by a dark chocolate mousse, while those going for an Intense Facial might get a soya milk pannacotta with seasonal fruits - all the ingredients are plucked from the surrounding gardens.
OK, so the spa science is a little flaky - but what's not to love? And who said a spa break should be about detoxing anyway? Certainly not the genial general manager Maurizio Romani. 'You don't come here to lose weight, it's about spoiling yourself, de-stressing,' he says, with a grin.
I wondered what I would get to scoff after my combined wrap and massage treatment the Mini Ritual. Two blissful hours kicked off with my therapist, Laura, asking how I was feeling on a score of one to ten. 'Five,' I replied a tad grumpily, with the beginnings of a cold. Afterwards, I settled on a lounger by the pool with a big slab of lavender tart, made with crisp, buttery pastry and topped with toasted almonds and lavender flowers.
'I'm a ten now,' I told Laura, wiping the crumbs from my chin on the way out, vaguely pondering how I was going to make room for dinner.
USP
Eating cake while your stresses are massaged away.
Details
Scott Dunn (+44(0)20 8682 5000, scottdunn.co.uk) offers seven nights at L'Andana from £1,405 per person, including return British Airways flights to Pisa, car hire and accommodation based on two adults sharing a superior room on a bed and breakfast basis. L'Andana Hotel (+39 0564 944 800, visit andana.it)
Read about more spas in World's best spas, Raising the bar and Sand, Sea and Spa.
