Vienna and Bad Blumau
Steven Short gets into hot water in Austria…
Last week I spent a rather lovely afternoon floating in bath-warm silky water, totally relaxed, listening to plinky-plonky chimes. No, I wasn’t in a hippy-dippy flotation tank but the Vulcania thermal pool of the Rogner Bad Blumau spa and resort, 90 minutes outside of Vienna.
Imagine a holiday camp designed by Catalan architect Gaudí with a touch of primary school and the Hobbit thrown in and you get an idea of what to expect at Styria’s leading ‘wellness’ centre. Colourful buildings with lawned roofs appear out of hills (the work of Austrian painter Friedensreich Hundertwasser) while steam rises from the thermal pools, around which stressed-out city folk lay on loungers lapping up the summer sun.
My sister and I had decamped to the spa after a couple of days of Viennese culture, taking in endless museums and checking out The Ring, Vienna’s new five-star ‘casual luxury’ hotel.
Slap bang next to the Opera, the hotel (left) is all pared- down elegance: our beige and green room featured huge twin beds, the biggest and softest towels I’ve come across, fresh fruit and flowers and views over the old city, just minutes from our doorstep. It is also home to acclaimed At Eight restaurant. Our tasty post-museum feed included asparagus and saffron quiche followed by tournedos of excellent beef with oxtail and cauliflower for Tracy and ultra-fresh tomato and coriander salad for me, followed by an equally ‘healthy’ red mullet with calamaretti.
Eager to keep up the good eating and hungry for some R&R we left for Rogner Bad Blumau the next morning. The spa’s sprawling grounds feature plenty of opportunities to lose yourself in nature including the Bach flower walk and Celtic tree circle, but most of our fellow spa-goers were obviously here for some serious lounging and pampering – treats on offer range from facials and pedicures to Tui Na and reflexology.
While sister had a ‘lovely, really relaxing’ aromatherapy massage I handed my museum-trudging weary bones over to Valentina who first of all smothered me in mud, wrapped me in cling film and left me to grunt myself in and out of sleep for 20 minutes (as undignified as it sounds!) before treating me to an extremely firm Intuitiv Senstiv massage, which, she said would give me a spiritual lift. I emerged an hour later, my dignity restored, rosemary-scented and invigorated.
Having checked out the various water worlds – there are 11 pools in total, including Vulcania, fresh water ponds, endless Jacuzzis and a pool with a wave machine – we hung out in the sauna (clothing optional) and discussed plans for the evening.
Foolishly we’d forgotten to pack Scrabble (make sure you don’t – you make your own fun in the evenings) so our nighttime entertainment consisted of eating and drinking. The spa offers a buffet-style supper, which really did feature something for all tastes. We started at the salad cart, heaving with endless options from ultra healthy leaves, seeds and nuts, to lardy-by-stealth coleslaws and garden salads, before moving on to mains. A tasty liver stew with cauliflower cheese and broccoli for me, virtuous sole fillets and roasted vegetables for Tracy. Her halo slipped somewhat, however, at the dessert trolley. A weird- sounding, but utterly delicious, corn soufflé with raspberry coulis and a helping of homemade vanilla custard ice cream quickly helped her find whatever pounds she might have lost in the previous days. All washed down with a lovely local Riesling.
After breakfast next morning (eggs galore, seven types of bread, endless preserves as well as hams, cheeses and cakes, all organic and as locally sourced as possible) we took off on a cycle ride – bikes are free to hire at the resort, as are tennis courts. The countryside around the spa is picture-postcard perfect: all rambling flower-filled meadows and fir woods – perfect for a nature top-up before the inevitable flight home.
ROOMS AT THE RING START AT 390 Euros
www.theringhotel.com.
Two nights’ half board at Rogner Bad Blumau start at £214 per person
including two treatments of your choice. For bookings and information please visit www.austria.info/spa or call 0845 101 1818.
Austrian Air flies to Vienna daily,
with flights starting at £120 (incl taxes) from
London Heathrow and City airports. Book at www.austrian.com.
Bovey Castle
Kitty Finstad visits Devon’s Bovey Castle…
‘What’s the purpose of your visit today, sir?’ asked the affable chap, dressed in, erm, tweed knickerbockers, as we pulled up into the grand circular drive.
‘We’re staying!’ my companion responded cheerily. And so the car was whisked away while we were ushered into the sunlight-bathed Cathedral Room. ‘Champagne?’ Well alright then.
So this was Bovey Castle – luxury hotel, championship golf course, sporting estate and Elemis spa – set in 400 acres of breathtaking Dartmoor National Park, and a whole planet away from the Westway, with truly stunning views of utter lushness from every corner of the place. A most English of English country estates, Bovey doesn’t suffer from the stuffiness you might expect of this type of resort. Instead, it’s all relaxed and charming service, with an emphasis on making you feel like a guest at a (very wealthy) friend’s very well-kitted-out home.
Which is just what we got from the newly built granite lodge (one of 14, left) where we decamped for the weekend. Having partner Nielsen’s 14-year-old daughter and her friend with us, the three-bedroom, three-bathroom, two-terrace lodge meant we could all spread out and do our own thing. The decor was carefully thought out: lots of groovy contemporary fabrics, textures and patterns, but all sympathetic with the rustic-luxe feel of the place. Set back from the main house (which features 63 spacious rooms and suites) and with pretty, pretty views of the grounds, it’s the kind of place I can easily imagine coming back to for a winter break with friends.
But here we were on one of the sunniest weekends of the year, so lunch on the Bistro terrace beckoned. While Nielsen and I finished our G&Ts, the girls set about exploring. They did the rounds of the grounds, hitting the swimming pool, putting green, tennis court, mini-croquet and the snooker room; Bovey offers plenty of organised kiddy activities – from rock climbing to canoeing, plus a special play barn for under-sevens.
In other words, we didn’t have to worry about the girls being bored while Nielsen and I sloped off to The Spa. With pores dulled by city pollution and London Underground grit, we were both due for some serious dermal maintenance. My therapist, Suki, was friendly, knowledgeable and had impressively strong hands for such a petite young thing. I opted for the Visible Brilliance facial – Elemis’s top-of-the-range anti-ageing treatment – and emerged clean, fresh, glowy and feeling 10-years-younger refreshed. The bonus? Actual birdsong outside the window – a far cry from the traffic noise that can pollute some urban spas. I met a similarly dewy-looking Nielsen in the spa’s lounge. He was
so impressed with his Skin IQ facial that he immediately switched moisturiser allegiance.
It seemed criminal not to let other guests bask in our dewy radiance, so we treated ourselves to a martini in the Oak Room bar before dinner – all fantastically friendly service, tasty mini-bites and spectacular views. Had we been on our own, we’d have opted to eat in Mulberry, Bovey Castle’s intimate dining room, but our three-course meal (£42.50) in the Edwardian Dining Room pleased the younger palettes. Lots of fresh local produce including fish from Brixham and lamb from nearby Launceston (and for breakfast, Bovey’s own eggs).
After a coma-like sleep in our king-sized bed and breakfast back in the buzzy Edwardian, it was time to start making our way back to London. We thanked our knickerbockered (OK, plus-foured) pal on the way out as he was rolling past in a golf buggy, remarking that it must be an OK kind of place to work.
Bovey Castle
North Bovey, Dartmoor National Park,
Devon TQ13 8RE
(01647 445000/www.boveycastle.com).
From £225 per night, including full English Breakfast
a whistlestop tour of Washington DC and Alexandria, Virginia
Are you all Sexed and the Citied out? Want an alternative to long weekends in NYC?
Then put Washington DC and old town Alexandria on your travel wish list. Steven Short shares his six top tips for east coast heaven…
The Hotel Monaco. Situated in the heart of old town Alexandria – George Washington’s hometown – the boutique hotel was recently refurbed and has eco-friendly credentials coming out of its ears (water-efficient installations, printed matter all uses recycled materials and soy based inks, champion of local charities etc). It’s also a lovely place to get married thanks to a sunny terrace and marriage licence.
The Monaco is located in the middle of King Street, Alexandria’s main drag. Turn right out of the hotel and walk a few blocks and you will reach the Potomac river. Pretty riverside paths are home to exotic red sparrows and are ideal for early morning runs (or anytime strolls).
Turn left out of the hotel and after some 15 blocks (about 20 minutes stroll) you reach King Street Metro. Both the yellow and blue lines will take you wherever you want to go (see below for details of how to use the system). If you don’t fancy the walk, and are willing to risk missing all the area’s antique, interiors and bric-a-brac shops, a free tram runs up and down King Street. (See Fabric magazine June issue for full review of The Monaco)
The Metro system: Cheap and easy to use. Listen out for announcements welcoming ‘first timers’ onto the Metro and offering advice. Buy yourself a Farecard from the machines. The fare value starts at $20, you press the minus button until you have your desired fare. The easiest thing is to put $10 on and keep using it until you’ve run out of funds (you’ll get a stamp each time you leave the station telling you how much is left). Top it up at the machines when you get close to zero. (I kept on buying them, rounding up my fare, and throwing them away after each trip, not realising you just added more value to them). Eating, drinking and playing loud music are all prohibited on the system, which makes for very civilised travel. As does the fact that people actually let you off before they try and board.
The National Mall. As yellow taxis and steamy roads are to New York, so Capitol Hill, the White House and the Washington and Abraham Lincoln memorials, all of which are located here, are to Washington DC. You’ve seen them hundreds of times in films but they are still mightily impressive in real life. Catch a cab or train to Smithsonian Metro and you will find yourself slap bang in the middle of everything you want to see. The Capitol building – the hub of government – stands at one end while the Lincoln Memorial resides at the other. Between are various museums including the Smithsonian and the Natural History and American History museums. (I was struck by the sense of space that DC enjoys – unusual for a large US city. I later found out that there is a law that means that no building can be higher than Capitol Hill, which explains the lack of hemming-you-in skyscapers.)
The Washington Memorial soars pointedly into the sky and is well worth a climb. I was blown away by the Abraham Lincoln memorial. Imposing and humbling, it towers over the tourists snapping happily away at its feet and shouldn’t be missed. The White House must also be taken in, if only for the obligatory snapshot. I was surprised by how small it was.
The other mall. Want to take advantage of the weak dollar? Of course you do. Visit Fashion Center mall (directly outside Pentagon City – just four stops from King Street Metro), where you’ll find a Macy’s (ask about tax free shopping), a Nordstrum and lots of fashion outlets. I got a pair of can’t-get-here Levi’s that fit like a glove for $36 and some running shoes for $60 that would cost me more than that in pounds.
Arlington National Cemetery: OK, so visiting a load of dead people may not be your idea of holiday fun but trust me, Arlington is well worth the couple of hours you need to take it in. A quick cab ride (or six Metro stops) away from King Street, the rolling green hills of the military cemetery are the final resting place of around 290,000 people who lost their lives defending the US. It’s extremely humbling to stand and look at line upon line of white gravestones. JFK and Jackie O are also buried here (JFK was laid to rest in 1967) as is Robert F Kennedy, who gets a simple white cross rather than the eternal flame that marks his brother’s spot. Other noteworthy sites are the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Marine Corps War Memorial (based on the iconic photo of soldiers putting up a flag at the battle of Iwo Jima).
Georgetown. Take a river taxi from Alexandria to the lovely Washington suburb of Georgetown (no river taxis on Mondays). The neighbourhood started life as a tobacco port and is now a must-visit for fans of architecture and shopping alike – lots of fashion boutiques are housed in quaint red and white brick buildings not unlike the Rocks area of Sydney. (My best buy was a big rusty S, which I bought at upmarket stationer Paper Source). George Washington’s house also gives you a taste of what life was like way back when – let’s just say, luxury it wasn’t. There’s also a wall chart of presidential heights. Surprised to learn that Georgie boy was an impressive 6 ft 2in? Me too.
