DESCRIPTION
A cross between traditional five-star luxury hotel and high-tech medical treatment facility, life medicine is a wellness retreat that marries hospitality and medicine, bringing together service industry standards, old-school European spa culture and modern diagnostic and therapeutic technologies. The result is a visionary resort where guests can come for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation or just plain old relaxation. Located in Bad Gleichenberg, Austria, life medicine benefits from a mild local climate, idyllic landscape and two mineral-rich water sources, thermal springs that have made the town a wellness hotspot since Roman times. Accordingly, the health resort offers all the traditional wellness services of a central European spa: thermal baths, sauna and a wide range of face and body treatments. But unlike most spas, it also offers an impressive array of diagnostic services, including lab testing, allergy profiles, metabolic panels and ultrasounds, endoscopy, radiology, high level heart and lung diagnostics as well as cryotherapy to name a few. Based on the results of these tests, on-site medical professionals co-create personalised wellness programmes together with guests, focussing on everything from musculoskeletal improvement to weight loss, from invigorating the immune system to easing arthritis. Should they so choose, of course, guests can happily forgo the technical aspects of this process in favour of a more conventional spa experience consisting of massages, steam baths and general pampering. It’s not for nothing, after all, that the resort spa spans an impressive 500 square metres!
Life medicine’s holistic approach to health naturally extends to its gastronomic philosophy, which strikes a healthy balance between culinary indulgence and responsible consumption. Meals at the main restaurant, spa bistro and lounge cafe are thus low in calories but high in taste, an achievement made possible by the use of fresh, rich ingredients from local farmers and producers. Design, too, plays an integral role in life medicine’s understanding of healthy living; accordingly, the ambience is consciously formulated to promote healing. The resort’s aesthetic focus is nature, as reflected in the extensive use of larch wood, glass and natural stone as well as the pervasive browns, reds and greens that blend perfectly with the surrounding landscape. The 107 rooms, three suites and recreation rooms are similarly outfitted, full of light woods and soft hints of natural colours. Furthermore, the resort was built around as opposed to on top of the existing park, thus incorporating several centuries-old trees and an ancient brook. Generous windows afford sweeping nature views, and a maze of interconnected terraces, porches and relaxation areas provide ample outdoor space. Local activities include hiking, golfing, stargazing and visits to nearby castles and imperial villas.
LOCATION
Bad Gleichenberg is situated in the South-East of Styria. Distance to Airports: Graz 60 km and Vienna 180 km.