Out of office: detox/retox

Want a break combining drop-dead relaxation with serious partying? Take your pick from these destinations that have the detox/retox holiday nailed

peace and partying in iceland

Take time out in the untapped west of the country before hitting the capital Reykjavik…

DETOX Jump straight in a hire car from Keflavík Airport and enjoy a drive through the cold, bare tundra straight out of a Scandi noir, to tiny Borgarnes – the perfect place to ease into full relaxation, enveloped by real silence.

Set against stunning mountains, Icelandair Hotel Hamar’s rooms are functional and ideal for a holiday that’s unlikely to involve much time spent indoors. The real prize is the terrace (which all rooms back on to), with a sauna and three hot tubs, where you stand a decent chance of seeing the Northern Lights – an experience that will warm the soul and body.

At the Settlement Centre, where you can enjoy a delicious ‘wellness buffet’ lunch of endless salads you’d have to mortgage your house for at Ottolenghi’s, book a trip with Cold Spot Tours, a family-run company specialising in experiences where phones are banned (though you’ll have to take some pictures, so take a camera) and quiet is encouraged. Your amazing experience will include boiling eggs in hot springs, drinking from rivers and sitting in natural hot springs while looking at stunning mountains.

The next day, take your hire car further inland and visit Hraunfossar, a series of beautiful waterfalls that flow over ancient lava, and head underground into Víðgelmir, an enormous cave of ice formations and lava stalactites and stalagmites. Pick the right time and there might barely be a person around – to keep it that way, consider the new Krauma nature baths (next to Deildartunguhver, Europe’s largest hot spring) instead of the busy Blue Lagoon. Here, you jump between the differing temperature plunge pools and the relaxation room warmed by a fire.

The isolated Hótel Húsafell is the perfect place to contemplate the day. After an evening meal in the chic restaurant (£70pp), retire to your pared-back but stylish room, where you might again get to witness the Northern Lights just metres from your bed. RETOX Big nights out in Reykjavik start after midnight on a Friday and Saturday night. The Icelandic capital is an expensive city to drink in – £11 for a pint of beer or glass of wine – so think

about kick-starting your evening with a visit to a Vínbúdin, the state- owned liquor stores where drinks will cost more than your local supermarket but considerably less than in expensive bars and restaurants. Stock up on craft beers and red wine, then enjoy them in your room at the Apotek Hotel before hitting its bar. The Apotek Kitchen + Bar has been voted the city’s best cocktail bar – expect perfect negronis.

For dinner, head to Messinn to try the fish burgers and traditional Icelandic fish stew, plokkfiskur (£64pp; messinn.com). Then move on to Paplo Discobar, one of the best places to enjoy a good night out. Open until 3am, it’s chintzy, cheesy and the anti of everything you’ll have seen and enjoyed so far, but huge fun. Fill up on tequila cocktails that will make the cheesy soundtrack sound even better. Then head back to the Apotek to crash on your super-comfy bed. THE LOWDOWN Rooms start at £93pn at Icelandair Hotel Hamar ( icelandairhotels.com/en/ hotels/hamar), £218pn at Hótel Húsafell ( hotel husafell.com) and £262pn at Apotek Hotel ( keahotels. is/en/hotels/apotek-hotel). Iceland Air flies daily from London (from £135pp; icelandair.com). Prices for a 10-hour Disconnect tour with Coldspot ( coldspot.is) are around £320. You’ll need a car to travel around. 

The White Isle is the perfect place to bookend all-night partying with beachside chilling out...

DETOX Start your break in Ibiza Town with a stay at the Miami Beach-style Hotel Es Vivé, located on a quiet street just off the coastline and a stone’s throw from the Old Town. The art-deco styling gives it a grand feel, despite its diminutive size, and the food is opulently health-focused – think wheatgrass shots at breakfast and seared tuna steak and quinoa for dinner.

You can, however, sneak in a couple of cocktails while listening to some calming chill- out tunes on the hotel’s dinky rooftop bar. Between tanning sessions, treat yourselves to a bespoke body treatment in the Virtue Wellness spa – the Blissful Massage will live up to its name.

After a few days, have a change of scenery by moving to the other end of the island. Hotel ME by Meliá is set along the bay, beside the sleepy town of Santa Eulalia. When you’re not unwinding in its sumptuous suites (complete with private sundecks), you can get in a tangle with a session of antigravity yoga on the rooftop, but if you just want to chill, spend your time dipping between the two gorgeous VIP pools.

Take time to duck away from the hotel’s manicured lawns and explore Cala Martina beach, with its low-key beachfront eateries, such as Restaurante Cala Martina, where you can sample authentic Spanish seafood. You’ll be left feeling lean, serene and, most importantly, clean. RETOX Ready to pull some all-nighters? Move on to Playa d’en Bossa, where every stop on the strip will offer you a different clubbing experience (and the Blowout Ibiza salon is right in the centre of it, for party make-up or a dance-floor-ready ’do). Our pick is day club and hotel Ushuaïa, where every superstar DJ can be found in season (Diplo and Friends are an all-time high). Once the confetti lands around 11pm, shuffle just a few metres across the road to sister club HÏ Ibiza, where everyone from Eric Prydz to Basement Jaxx take to the decks.

And the music doesn’t need to stop the next day – hotel Hard Rock Ibiza puts the ‘club’ into beach club, with banging beats as you lay on your loungers. The immense communal spaces and high-rise rooms give the place a New York party vibe.

If you’re looking for an old-school night out, head to the quirky and characterful Pikes Hotel (of Club Tropicana fame – sadly the drinks aren’t free) which hosts epic parties in the hills. You could try a vitamin injection to add some pep to your partying, making it possible to have some detox even while retoxing! THE LOWDOWN Rooms at Hotel Es Vivé start at £180pn ( hotelmimibiza.com), Hotel ME by Meliá at £383pn ( melia.com/en/hotels/spain/ibiza/me-ibiza) and Hard Rock Hotel from £439pn ( hrhibiza.com). Fly to Ibiza with easyjet.com from £30.

Enjoy double massages and double margaritas in the spectacular UAE city

DETOX While Dubai’s hotels specialise in ‘toxing’, they also offer an opportunity to really relax. The Jumeirah resort is comprised of three hotels and a series of ‘summer houses’, and guests are welcome to use all the restaurants, pools and facilities. Spend a day trying out the depth, temperature and size of the many pools, all with waiter service for when you can’t find the energy to walk the short distance to a restaurant.

The Summersalt Beach Club, an adult-only space with a pool and beach, is also worth a visit. Yes, it costs just over £100 per person per day ( including towels, loungers and facilities, though not food and drink) but it’s worth it. Or head to the resort’s Talise Spa, where there are 26 treatment rooms, infra-red sauna, plunge pools and a yoga studio, specialising in personalised treatments. Try a luxurious massage to pep up the skin followed by Alphasphere Deluxe light treatment – a half-hour session where sounds and lights take you to new levels of meditative relaxation. RETOX For Dubai’s party scene, Lock, Stock & Barrel on JBR The Walk is a glitzy mix of colour, lights and action. Shopping is also a whole new experience in Dubai. At the Dubai Mall, there’s everything from Fabergé to Valentino, but also a huge Forever 21. And be captivated by the giant fountain and aquarium smack-bang in the centre. From the mall, access the Burj Khalifa ( burjkhalifa.ae), the world’s tallest building. The view from the observation deck is something else.

Back at the Jumeirah, try Mexican fun and feasting at Tortuga or seafood and gin cocktails at chic Rockfish. Don’t miss the biggest event of the week, though – Friday brunch – which is set over three of Al Qasar hotel’s restaurants, and is crammed with food stations and cocktails. THE LOWDOWN Rooms at Jumeirah Al Qasr start from £250pn; Jumeirah Al Naseem from £295pn ( jumeirah.com). Fly with emirates.com from £470. For more see visitdubai.com.