A luxe bootcamp on the Côte d’Azur takes the pain out of getting in shape
YOU’RE obliged to go ‘aaahhhhh’,” said therapist Sophie Bonjean as she turned the hose from hot to cold. It’s Day One on La Réserve Ramatuelle’s Luxury Bootcamp and this, apparently, is doing wonders for my circulation.
The morning started gently; yoga by the pool on the comfiest mat you will ever find yourself down-dogging on. “Does everyone speak French?” mumbled the instructor, commencing before anyone had a chance to answer.
“Well, I know my gauche from my droite,” said a fellow bootcamper, “but that’s about it.” Luckily, the French intonation was soothing and we pulled through with some good old-fashioned copying.
For breakfast it’s egg-white omelettes. But this isn’t one of those bootcamps of myth and legend where guests are allowed nothing more than three lemongrass shots a day. The focus at La Réserve Ramatuelle is on the mind as well as the body, and the menu is tailored to each guest’s needs. On arrival you have a consultation with Doctor Gastinel who finds out what you want from the five-day bootcamp, and tailors your exercise and diet accordingly.
“It’s about customized care,” explains Sophie. “We don’t want guests to feel like they are in a hospital or clinic, we want them to enjoy it.” The same applies to food. “We don’t want guests to be hungry, we want them to realize they need to take care of their body through diet and sport.”
Okay, so now for the sport. It’s all about Nordic Walking (for the non-initiated, that’s just walking with poles), renowned for speeding up weight-loss, and practical for navigating your way along the narrow paths of the Cote d’Azur.
Each morning, specialist Nordic Walking trainers take guests on 10 to 12-mile walks. It doesn’t sound too far (and each day varies in length and speed) but it takes three to four hours and requires nimble footwork. The trainers like to big it up too. “Don’t eat too much at breakfast or you’ll be sick!” said one. Another just stuck with an ominous: “It’s very tough”.
The latter is Meteo, a tanned twenty-something trainer with mountain goat pace, who led us up and down the hilly coast.
“Allez! Allez! Then you will have the sherry,” he said as we made our way up a particularly steep hill.
“The sherry?” I asked, liking the sound of this bootcamp more and more. “To drink here?”
“Ha ha ha no, the sherry on the cake: the view!”
Wild flowers, clear blue inlets and craggy sunspots: these coastal views are enough to inspire the most sluggish guest. You almost expect to see Brigitte Bardot catching a few rays in the secluded spots we march past.
Spending four hours hiking tends to bring on the call of nature, and you won’t be surprised to hear there’s no powder room in this part of Provence. Take care when finding a suitable spot – all I will say is that others have found themselves trumped while attempting to go to the toilet: the unexpected consequence of pulling down one’s pants on a nudist beach.
Back at the hotel it’s time for stretches, and an aqua-gym session for those who are game. Then it’s lunchtime, and the tempo shifts down a gear or two. With three courses for both lunch and dinner, bootcamp doesn’t seem so bad after all. It’s celeriac mousse with vegetables to start, seared duck breast with green beans for the main course and mango cake for pudding.
“Duck? Cake? On bootcamp?” I hear you cry. Yes. And all in the name of detoxing. The magic ingredient (or lack of) is that it’s all made without additional fats or refined sugars. Also, the service is tactically timed. “It’s important to eat slowly,” says Dr Gastinel. “Your stomach gives you a message, if you eat too fast this message comes too late, so you eat all the pizza.” (Needless to say, pizza isn’t served on bootcamp).
After lunch things just get better: it’s scrubs, massages and body-wraps in France’s first and only Crème de la Mer spa. Bootcampers have prescribed treatments which focus on “better aging” (prevention rather than cure), help the detox process, and ease muscles after hiking.
The most outstanding treatment is the daily body-wrap. First you manoeuvre your way onto a waterbed (no small feat), where you are slathered with mud (aka seaweed and essential oils). Next, like a scene from an alien movie, the bed springs to life and sucks you into its folds, head first, leaving your feet sticking up into the air until they too are enveloped. It sounds like an experience of questionable appeal, but it is heavenly, and can only be likened to returning to the womb.
The re-birth, however, is somewhat startling. It’s called Shower Jet treatment, but is more commonly known as being hosed down in cold water. Well, at least Sophie lets you have a good scream.
LA RESERVE RAMATUELLE | NEED TO KNOW
● The Bootcamp (which will next run from 18th – 23rd September 2011) costs £3,437 per person for five nights accommodation in a Deluxe Double Room on a full board basis as well as the full programme of consultations, personal training, walking guides, and spa treatments.
● La Réserve Ramatuelle Hotel, Spa and Villas, Chemin de la Quessine, 83 350 Ramatuelle France, www.lareserve.ch, +33 494 44 94 44
● The La Réserve Luxury Bootcamp costs from £3,400 per person including 5-nights accommodation in a Deluxe Room, full board and all activities and treatments.
● Designed by French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte this spa-hotel has just 24 rooms (plus 12 private villas which are available to rent).
● Awarded Best New Hotel for 2011 by the Wallpaper* Design Awards.
● British Airways operates a Heathrow-Nice service seven times daily with an eighth flight on Saturdays and Sundays. Costs start at £135.80 return including taxes/fees/charges.
● La Réserve Ramatuelle is an hour and a half taxi journey from Nice Airport, and just 20 minutes from Saint Tropez. NB: taxis here don’t come cheap.
HEALTHY LIVING | BOOTCAMP WISDOM
● Eat slowly
● Eat pulses two to three times a week
● No food types are forbidden at night
● Ten hours exercise a week is optimal (impossible for most of us but good to know!)
● Try to keep your body quiet after 6pm (again, impossible for many)
● If you want to lose weight do cardio: running or cycling 3 times a week
THE DAY | LA RESERVE
7am: yoga session
8am: buffet breakfast
8.30am: set off Nordic walking
12.00pm: aqua-gym session
1pm: 3-course lunch
3-5.30pm: spa treatments
6.30pm: stretches
8pm: 3-course dinner
10pm: bed