Luxury Bootcamp & Detox Retreat – A Day In The Life

My journey to the Luxury Bootcamp & Detox Retreat takes me through winding hillsides between the picturesque coastal Spanish towns of Calpe and Benissa. As I navigate my hire car through the steep side-streets, the sun glinting off the calm sea in my rear-view mirror keeps catching my attention. Although only March, it’s warm, and the kind of weather that makes me want to head straight down to the beach to relax in the sun.

Heading to the beach I am, but relaxing I certainly am not – at least not for the next hour! Julie, Luxury Bootcamp Director, has invited me to take part in a fitness circuit on the coast. As I stroll over to join the bootcamp guests, every single Spanish passer-by treats my outfit of choice with a look of both sympathy and suspicion – apparently Spanish people just do not consider shorts an acceptable item of clothing in March. Perhaps they’ve never experienced a British summer.

The locals who showed concern for me, and indeed my similarly-clad Bootcamp comrades, needn’t have. As soon as the class gets started, Fitness Instructor Claire (‘Mistress Pain’ as Julie worrying introduces her – pictured) ensures that we all work up a sweat. A series of exercises are set out around the circuit, alternating between cardiovascular fitness and muscle-strengthening focus.

As a relatively fit specimen, I’m quietly confident – that is, until I see the hula hoop station of the circuit. ‘I can’t do it,’ I declare, ‘I’ve never been able to’. ‘Nonsense,’ responds Julie, ‘we don’t believe in can’t’. And sure enough, with a few patient pointers from Claire, I am doing the hula – albeit not very gracefully!

 

It’s this individual attention and goal-setting that makes the Bootcamp so fantastic. Claire and Julie go to great lengths to tailor their approach to each participant’s fitness and diet goals. This ensures that you’re challenged to your own levels, not those of the ‘fittest’ in the group. All the activities, exercises and classes have progressions, making them suitable whatever your fitness level. And of course, you’re on holiday after all, so you can opt out of any of the organised sessions if you so wish!

After the class, we head back up to the retreat. This secluded private complex of luxury apartments has won design awards, and it’s easy to see why. This is a real high-end location, with gleaming apartments surrounding the expansive outdoor pool. The luxury bootcamp isn’t all fitness classes – guests have a holistic programme of nutrition seminars, 1-on-1 sessions to ascertain fitness goals, massages, yoga and spa treatments – as well as being given ample time to luxuriate around the pool and spa, or enjoy a good book in the designated chill-out area.

And of course – a highlight of any holiday – food! After this trip, for me the word ‘detox’ is no longer synonymous with cabbage soup. The food served at the Luxury Bootcamp is incredibly tasty. You certainly won’t go hungry or lack energy on this diet of high quality, nutritious, locally-sourced and unprocessed ingredients that aid digestion and weight loss. Quite the opposite – mealtimes certainly put the ‘treat’ into this retreat!

Julie, Director and founder of the retreats, moved to Spain 11 years ago. Leaving a stressful high-flying corporate job, Julie and partner transformed their lives when they began running these luxury retreats, and guests have been benefitting from this ever since. Julie is a hostess extraordinaire, and she and her team will always go the extra mile to ensure their guests get the most out of their stay.

One day here certainly wasn’t enough, and I’m tempted to return for more next year, as many guests do. After all, it will take some time for me to master 2 hula hoops at once!

Becky visited GoLearnTo.com’s Luxury Bootcamp & Detox Retreat. If you’d like to spend a week in sunny Spain, to kick-start your fitness in time for the summer, look no further! There are no single supplements, and guests will never be expected to share accommodation with someone they don’t already know.

Also at the same location – Ultimate Mind & Body Retreat