The best self-care escapes for a January pick-me-up
January is days away. Can anything prepare us for the post-Christmas gloom? Well, yes, as it happens. Planning and prioritising self-care in January sets us up nicely for the year ahead, whether you’re recovering and resetting from a hectic Christmas or getting your head in the game for a busy 2025.
Self-care and wellbeing can look a little different to everyone. Sometimes, it's having someone else do the care-taking for a change, especially if you’ve spent the festive season hosting friends and family. Letting someone else make your bed, cook dinner, and do the dishes to give you some me-time should be a guilt-free endeavour.
Other times, self-care can involve more physical intervention, such as deep tissue massage and spa therapies, to soothe our bodies and release pent-up tension. Then again, the simple fact of being away from home in quiet solitude, even for a night or two, can provide that much-needed reset moment. Whatever style of self-care suits you best, here are some ideas to book now...
Recover from Christmas in a swish London hotel
Check in to the Pan Pacific London, a peaceful sanctuary in the city's hubbub. This Red exclusive stay includes a night in a Deluxe room with dinner and breakfast. You’ll spend the day in the gorgeous spa – part of an entire floor dedicated to wellbeing – and indulge in an hour-long holistic massage that uses Eastern and Swedish techniques to reduce tension and induce relaxation.
If you’re kickstarting your 2025 fitness goals, there’s an excellent gym, plus reformer Pilates tuition, Barre classes, and aqua classes are available to book.
Cosy up at Le Manoir aux Quats’Saisons
Don’t leave fabulous food in the December rearview. Start the year as you mean to go on at the incomparable Le Manoir aux Quats Saisons, A Belmond Hotel. Few destinations can truly rival the gastronomic credentials of this exceptional country estate. You’ll be welcomed with a glass of champagne, and the treats continue with an exceptional seven-course tasting menu, a tour of the orchards and gardens to see where many of the ingredients are grown, and spend the night in a gorgeous guestroom, each carefully curated and drawing on inspiration from Raymond Blanc’s world travels.
The next day, you could return to the dining room for breakfast, but no one’s judging if you snuggle up in the plush robe and order copious coffee and warm pastries to your room instead. After all, this is a self-care break…
Escape to Cornwall for seaside walks and pub grub
If December left you feeling socially overloaded, the idea of a solo escape might be a tempting one – or at least somewhere where you can simply have some well-earned peace and quiet.
A two-night stay in a low-key but luxury shepherd’s hut in Cornwall could be exactly what you need for that bit of me-time escapism. A bottle of wine will be chilled and waiting for you, a fish and chip supper is taken care of one night, and a meal at Rick Stein’s cosy pub is included the other night.
Glorious winter beach walks will bring a bit of colour to your cheeks, and chances are, you’ll return home with a spring in your step, ready to take 2025 head-on.
Fly to Florence for some proper R&R
If you need to up the ante and take some proper time to look after yourself in January, perhaps a four-night spa escape in Italy will do the trick. Winter is a peaceful time of year to venture to the exquisite city of Florence for a self-care break, and there’s no better destination than the gorgeous Helvetia & Bristol hotel, which has the city’s largest wellness retreat inside.
Part of the hotel's exceptional La Spa is the Roman Baths, where you can alternate between hot and cold treatments in the thermal suite, including a caldarium (hot steam to purify), sudatorium (dry heat to eliminate toxins), and frigidarium (to stimulate your circulation).
On a Red exclusive break, you’ll spend four nights at the hotel with breakfast included. A 55-minute stretching class is included in your stay to help gently limber your muscles, and you’ll get 50% off the Roman Thermal Baths experience and a discount on spa treatments, too.
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