A championship golf course was – and still is – the killer attraction to sell property on a new resort development. But coming up behind rapidly is the health and beauty spa. Not so long ago, a spa was a town where hot water emerged from springs, to provide bathing and allegedly health-giving properties. In the next stage of evolution, spas were areas for bathing and beauty treatments in luxury hotels. Now spas have become a destination in their own right, and increasingly they form the centerpiece of a resort where you can buy your own property. What's more, while the spa used to be strictly for the wives and girlfriends while the men were out on the golf course, the new generation of spas are increasingly aimed at men as well as women.
One of the UK's leading spa brands, Champneys, which started life as a 'health farm' near Tring, has developed its own spa resort near Marbella; it boasts indoor and outdoor pools, 25 therapy rooms, manicure rooms, gyms, Turkish baths and a multitude of other facilities. There are 48 apartments and 24 penthouses for sale at the resort, so that if you choose, you can live your entire life like a Roman emperor (or empress), with daily pampering sessions. Prices start at around £555,000 and you also have to pay £1,500 a year for club membership. At a somewhat lower price point, apartments at Les Jardins de St Benoit in Languedoc, the new Vineyard and Spa Estate being developed by Garrigae Resorts, can be purchased for €205,000 upwards.
The Mediterranean Spa promises to use natural spa products developed on site from the fruits, flowers and botanicals found in the surroundings. And in Greece, beach side Halcyon Hills on the island of Samos is the latest resort to have a spa as its centerpiece; in this case it will be modelled on the temple of Hera on the island, with a variety of thermal rooms, mud chambers and treatment rooms. Apartment prices start at £176,000. So if relaxation really is your ultimate objective, a property with a spa attached might be the answer. There's no reason why you can't fit in a round of golf too.
Alexander Garrett is a freelance property writer who contributes regularly to The Observer and British Airways' Business Life.