Five-Element Wellness and Fitness Weeks at a Peloponnese Mountain Spa

A stay at Euphoria is built around a programme you choose before you arrive. The Fitness programme runs over 5 or 7 days and pairs daily personal training sessions with nutrition and recovery treatments. The Spartan Adventure Retreat, also 5 or 7 days, is the most overtly athletic option: two to three hours of outdoor physical exercise each day, led by a team of trainers, with activities ranging from interval training to hiking in the Taygetos foothills. The Advanced Weight Loss programme, available over 7, 10, 14 or 21 days, adds scientific testing, acupuncture and infrared sauna sessions to the exercise and nutrition plan.

Days generally start early. Group activities listed by the retreat include hiking, yoga, Yogilates, Tai Chi, TRX, Qi Gong, stretching and circuit training, plus cooking workshops. The spa is open alongside all of this, with a long treatment list: the signature Five Element Balancing Deep Tissue Massage, Chakra Balancing, Shiatsu, reflexology, hot stone massage, Watsu, lymphatic drainage, Reiki, craniosacral therapy, acupuncture and Biologique Recherche body treatments. There is also a personal meditation session and a homeopathic consultation available.

What separates Euphoria from a standard spa hotel is the combination of the building and the medical side. The spa is set over four floors and includes a Byzantine hammam, Finnish sauna, tepidarium and Watsu pool, plus yoga and meditation rooms and a large, airy gym. Alongside the therapists, the retreat works with medics and nutritionists — Dr George Leon is named as Head of the Eucrasia Scientific team, and Dr Konstandinos Dardayannopoulos writes on homeopathic treatment of insomnia and immunity. The five-element system (earth, fire, water, wood, metal) underpins the programmes and the treatments.

Rooms range from the Classic, decorated with textiles inspired by Byzantine iconography and solid-oak furniture, up to the 100-square-metre Byzantium Grand Suite at the highest point of the property, with two bedrooms, a dedicated concierge and views of both the castle and the valley of Mystras. Most categories have wooden or marble floors; the Executive Deluxe, Junior Suite and Executive Junior Suite add seating areas, and the Mystras Suite offers a choice of large twin beds or a super king.

The location is rural but not remote. Mystras, a UNESCO-listed Byzantine town, is close by, and the retreat sits among pine woods on Mount Taygetos. Kalamata airport is about 50 minutes away (104 km) and Athens about 2 hours 30 minutes (217 km). Guests are advised to take at least one early morning hike for the views.

Euphoria has been recognised repeatedly: Conde Nast Traveller Spa Awards for Best Fitness Programme 2020, Reader's Choice Awards Best Spa in the World 2019, World Luxury Spa Awards Best Luxury Spa Retreat 2019, and a National Geographic Big Sleep Award as runner-up. It also appears in the Sunday Times World's 50 Best Spas and the Conde Nast Traveller Wellness & Spa Guide.

What's included

- Accommodation in your chosen room category - Breakfast - Airport transfers - Your chosen programme (training sessions, treatments and consultations as specified) - Access to the spa, gym, pool and outdoor areas - Access to group activities such as yoga, hiking and Qi Gong - Meals as specified by your programme

What's not included

- International flights - Travel insurance - Personal expenses - Treatments and consultations not included in your programme - Additional nights or room upgrades beyond your package - Spa products and gift shop purchases