Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, Switzerland
Monica Galetti and Giles Coren head to the foothills of the Swiss Alps to experience health and wellness tourism.
Monica Galetti and Giles Coren head to the foothills of the Swiss Alps to experience a very different type of travel - health and wellness tourism. This luxury hotel houses not only multiple restaurants, spas and golf courses but also Olympic-standard sports facilities - and a high-spec clinic boasting 80 medical staff, who offer guests everything from sleep therapy to dietary advice and surgery.
Grand Resort Bad Ragaz lies in the shadow of an ancient gorge, the thermal waters of which have lured visitors for centuries. Giles and Monica discover that these days the mineral-rich H2O, known locally as 'blue gold', is piped down to the hotel grounds to fill pools, pour out of drinking fountains and even to appear in the hotel's own beer. Monica becomes 'chief hugger' in the spa, Giles sees the nerve centre of the thermal water system and the hotel's water sommelier gives both presenters a master class in 30 varieties of mineral water. Monica has a stint as a pillow butler, offering 14 different types of pillow, fishes with three Michelin-starred chef Andreas Caminata, and creates one of the hotel's carefully-balanced menus, a three-course meal containing less than 600 calories.
Giles heads across the valley to pick grapes and paint wine bottles at the Donatsch winery, scrapes through service as a waiter at Andreas's theatrical plate-sharing hotel restaurant, and has his first stint as a hotel nurse.
