In search of peak health at Waldhotel in Switzerland
The air is cool, crisp, fresh and unpolluted. Frosted mountain tops stand as protective guardians. Lake Lucerne glistens 500 metres below. The chorus of cowbells and church chimes interrupts the deafening silence while in the foreground is the Waldhotel Health & Medical Excellence—all statutory requirements for peak health, high in the Swiss Alps.
Sustainable Architecture
The Waldhotel Health & Medical Excellence is a breathing example of sustainable architecture and an extension of nature.
Slatted wooden terraces in warm earthy colours have been created in local stone, natural materials, and topped with green ‘living’ roofs. The building has been nurtured into the southern side of the Bürgenstock mountain. Huge panoramic windows draw nature inside, a theme throughout the hotel’s interior design and concept, while every view seems to take in the majestic Alps, twisty roads tracing a zigzag pattern across blankets of the green or the verdant surrounding landscape dotted with farmhouses.
Health Programmes
I have signed up for the three-day Check-Up Programme at the Waldhotel Health & Medical Excellence It’s an experience of clinical glamour blended with Swiss medical expertise and luxury hospitality,.
Prior to the visit, I completed a comprehensive medical questionnaire. My health was now in the hands of professional, experienced consultants and therapists to test and access various aspects and functions of my body. From head to toe, this was an in-depth screening, seamlessly undertaken and explained at every stage. Blood tests would indicate abnormalities while a biometric and body composition test revealed how much fat was keeping me warm.
Using state-of-the-art technology, my lung capacity was tested while an abdominal ultrasound introduced me to my inside organs. Hello kidneys, you look marvelous today! Additionally, a full screening by the dermatologist checked every mark and blemish on my skin.
My heart rate when stressed and rested was also measured while an intensive session with a trainer tested my mobility, stability and fitness – must try harder! In all, this is a thorough and informative programme. And it all takes place high up overlooking Lake Lucerne, between green forests and lush meadows
Waldhotel Exterior
Accommodation
Like the outside, the inside too is a riff on outdoors natural elements and is furnished in calming colours, with all the stylish, elegant and comfortable elements that make a luxury hotel a luxury hotel.
There are 137 spacious rooms and suites full of the natural light as well as outstanding views of valleys, mountains and Lake Lucerne. Quality room accoutrements include king-sized beds, rain showers, Acqua di Parma toiletries, and hi-tech controls.
The ground floor of the hotel is dedicated to the medical centre.
Colour Cuisine
At Waldhotel Health & Medical Excellence, the cuisine focuses on colour, which I found to be a unique innovative concept. Food colour defines its nutritional benefits, and is prepared in ways to maximise absorption into the body.
Here, food is medicine that is artistically presented in three-course lunches. Each dish is like an edible tableau or sculpted masterpiece.
Watermelon, baby beetroot soup, baked tomatoes and red lentils represent the red foods to benefit the eyes and lycopene to prevents free radicals.
Orange foods target the skin, packed with vitamin C & B for rejuvenation. Think carrot soup, lobster with sweet potato custard and salmon trout. All ingredients are chosen by seasonality.
Drinks at the bar include “sober cocktails” such as chili and ginger or a fizzy lifeblood, (non-alcoholic red vermouth, beetroot shrub and lime). These are listed alongside the wine list.
Kombucha drinks are highlighted. These are fermented, lightly effervescent sweetened green and black teas are rich in B vitamins. They also contain probiotics, which help to strengthen the immune system and support digestion.
Verbena Restaurant – Colour Cuisine
Spa and Aahh!
This integrated spa has the WOW! Factor! It has everything you would want from a high-class facility.
Two gleaming swimming pools beg your presence, one with an electric sliding door that leads to he crisp outdoors, especially awesome when its snowing. The spa sparkles from the reflection of snow-topped mountains peeping in.
Other features include a salt grotto, ice room, hammam, aroma and Finnish sauna, and water beds in temperatures from 10 to 80 degrees.
Waldhotel Spa
The Destination
Getting here is very much a James Bond experience. From landing at Zurich Airport, hop on a direct to Lucerne then jump into a boat docked lakeside. This will whisk you directly to the Burgenstock Funicular for the steep uphill journey through the heart of woodlands to the hotel reception. All seamless and fun.
Or, if you don’t want the experience, simply take a taxi, which isn’t nearly as fun.
Health Investment
This is certainly an investment in health and wellbeing, and what better way to experience it in a luxurious environment?
The Waldhotel offers an extensive range of health-promoting therapeutic services tailored to individuals to revitalise and refresh lifestyle routines whether it is rest, a balanced diet or regular exercise. A final consultation analyses all tests and delivers the verdict complete with a new lifestyle plan and the route forward to prevent future diseases.
A stay at The Waldhotel is a holiday with a medical twist to put that spring back in your step and positivity into your attitude, giving you just what you need to face the stresses and strains of our modern world.
Waldhotel Medical Centre consultation
The Takeaway
The Waldhotel Check-up is suitable for adults of any age and forms a basis for further examination and treatments. Partners are welcome to share the room and facilities.
The Check-up programme includes:
- In-depth admission consultation with a doctor & thorough physical examination
- Resting and stress ECG, heart rate variability test
- Comprehensive laboratory test
- Abdominal ultrasound
- Skin screening with dermatologist
- Analysis of mobility, stability and fitness by a physiotherapist
- Bone densitometry and determination of body composition using DEXA
- Measurement of energy metabolism
- Concluding consultation and recommendations to take home.
Author bio: Jane Wilson
