Lefay Resort & SPA Dolomiti, the award-winning spa resort in the Italian Dolomites, has launched a new ‘Sauna Stretching’ treatment – ideally suited to those who have spent a day on the ski slopes or hiking in the surrounding mountains. Combining gentle movement with heat, essential oils and beathing exercises, ‘Sauna Stretching’ relieves tension, soothes muscles and eliminates toxins, leaving the body deeply relaxed.
Created by Lefay’s fitness instructor and certified Italian sauna instructor Professor Enrico Milani, the ‘Sauna Stretching’ experience has been designed specifically for Lefay Resort & SPA Dolomiti and its mountain location and is offered complimentary to all guests.
The health benefits of saunas have been known for many years. The intense heat increases blood circulation and stimulates organs. As the skin sweats, it eliminates electrolytes, lactic acid, amino acids and toxins in the water. Strong blood circulation and intense sweating also prevents fat build up and helps reduce surface imperfections, giving elasticity and radiance to the skin.
The treatment, which is offered in small groups of up to 5 people, begins with a refreshing shower before moving to a Finnish Sauna, heated at 70 degrees Fahrenheit with humidity at 20%, for 30 minutes of stretching.
Using fluid movements and breathing exercises guided by a Lefay SPA trainer, the body stretches and relaxes. Stretching in the sauna is interspersed with breaks during which cool water is vapourised on limbs and essential oils of different wood types such as Stone Pine, Mugo Pine, Siberian Fir, combined with citrus fruits such as lemon, grapefruit and blood orange or lavender, peppermint and eucalyptus, are inhaled to evoke a sense of calm.
The session ends with a walk or dip in the cold-water pools outside the sauna – including an ice pool at 10-14 degrees Celsius and an outside barefoot walk on the grass (or in the snow) to reconnect with the earth. Guests are left feeling deeply relaxed, with soothed muscles and refreshed glowing skin.
Ski and Wellness Break
With a ski season running until mid-April, the resort has also launched a new Ski and Wellness break combining three night’s accommodation with spa treatments and a two-day ski pass for the Madonna di Campiglio ski area, giving access to 150km of slopes and four snowboard parks.
The package includes one tension-relieving neck and back massage and a sports body massage that targets specific areas of the body to improve performance. A session in the relaxing salt-water lake is also included. The high temperature of water, around 36-38° C, allows the body to absorb the trace elements and minerals from the alpine salt dissolved in the water. It has a draining, detoxifying and relaxing effect.
The Ski & Wellness Package starts from 990 Euros per person, in a Prestige Junior Suite, based on two sharing with breakfast.
Lefay Resort & SPA Dolomiti is located within a UNESCO World Heritage site with a backdrop of dramatic mountain scenery near the town of Pinzolo in the Trentino-Alto Adige region and the vast Madonna di Campiglio ski area. The 5,000 sqm of Lefay SPA is one of the largest in the entire Alpine region and featuring nine saunas and steam rooms of different levels of temperature and humidity, a fitness centre, an indoor-outdoor swimming pool and treatments using their own Lefay Spa Method incorporating the principles of Classical Chinese Medicine. Guests staying at the resort can explore the great outdoors with complimentary morning hikes, e-bikes and walks with guided breathing and meditation
A stay at Lefay Resort & Spa Dolomiti costs from 350 Euros per room per night including breakfast and taxes.