A Spanish Rendezvous

My first thought when I walked into my lush suite at the SHA spa with an attached terrace (the size of a one-bedroom apartment in Mumbai) and a view of mountain, ocean and heavenly serenity all around was, ‘It doesn’t get any better than this!’ But then I met an incredible bunch of people, sampled truly healthy cuisine that was surprisingly addictive, got massaged until my bones felt rejuvenated and that’s when this concept of the real good life took its meaning to a whole new level.

The giddy, giggly three days were peppered with long evenings spent on the deck indulging in the resort’s organic wine selection, followed by a strict but appetising 3-course macrobiotic meal; Kalyani Chawla, my partner in crime from Dior, India, did her best to stick with a more regimented diet plan and despite all our attempts to lure her with a glass of white, a spoonful of nougat cake, a nibble of spelt pasta, she managed to lose over a kilo in under four days!

When we weren’t dousing ourselves in the hydrotherapy room, we were making our way to cosy cabins for Rose Alpine facials and Hot Stone therapies, cupping glasses of herbal tea or sliced lemon with water as we went along. Post lunch generally called for a swim or just a lie-down on a sun bed, day dreaming against a backdrop of grassy hills and sandy beaches.The quaint town of Altea proved to be a short cab ride away, leaving us no option but to spend a couple of nights aimlessly wandering around the charming cobbled paths surrounding the La Mare de Déu del Consol church, stopping for a typically gregarious Italian meal, peeking into the many local shops selling soaps, leather, beach basics and home ware among other things. A late cocktail by the beach, waiting for ceremonial fireworks to start, was how we ended a flawless day.

But when it comes right down to it, it’s the people you’re with that make the memories of any place come alive. Dipesh Depala, managing partner of The Qode, brought his brand consulting and PR skills to the fore by merging a fabulous space with an eclectic lot from Dubai – the gracious Minal Bodani, newly-announced brand ambassadress of SHA, journalists Nausheen Noor, Dylan Essertier and  Dmitry Dolzhanskiy – the former two a duo of vivaciousness and the latter a soft-spoken gentleman with a keen photographer’s eye. And rounding us up all, was Alejandro Bataller, vice president (sales and marketing) from The SHA Wellness Clinic, who took it upon himself to make us feel at home and rightly predicted that we would all be coming back soon for more. Round two awaits….