THE REST & RELAXATION
Get a hot tub upgrade
sIttInG in a hot tub with snow falling all around you is one of those genuinely magical experiences — and while there’s less guarantee of snow in this country, if you’ve got the space, there’s nothing to stop you installing your own over here. Which is exactly what a lot of people have already done.
For those on a budget, you can get an inflatable hot tub from around £500 at lay-z-spa. co.uk — although you might have to join a waiting list, as these are in high demand.
For the true alpine experience, you could opt for a wood-fired wooden hot tub for around £2,000 ( ukwoodenhottubs.co.uk) — they’re more attractive, but take longer to heat up than electric ones. Or, for those able to really splash the cash, Arctic spas’ Canadian-made hot tubs ( arcticspas.co.uk) are designed to withstand the harshest weather conditions, and prices start at £5,350.
they say sales have more than doubled in the last year, and they are preparing for another boom year, after home design website Houzz flagged hot tubs as one of the big trends of 2021.
Roll out the... sauna
IF A sauna is more your thing, there’s the option to install one in an unused corner of the house or garden — these barrel ones (pictured) start at £3,899 ( royaltubs.co.uk) — or you can hire a mobile one (from £249 a day) to see if you like it first.
For a smaller, and far cheaper, alternative there’s the sauna steam Cloak (£17.99, amazon. a voluminous gown made of waterproof material with a drawstring at the neck and slits for your arms to escape.
the idea is that you sit (presumably on a plastic chair) with a steaming bucket of water underneath the ‘skirt’. I’ll be honest, it’s a pretty poor substitute for the real thing and the water goes cold far too quickly.
While traditional saunas involve heating the
air around you, the newest sauna tech is infra-red, which heats the body from within, meaning they operate at a lower temperature. Devotees claim multiple benefits including calorie burning, increased blood flow, stress relief and relaxation.
The other advantage is that because of the technology, they don’t need a space the size of a large wardrobe. There are tent-like designs, as loved by Elle Macpherson (Therasage Thera360 Plus, £850, rejuv.co. uk), or Lady Gaga’s choice, the telescoping tunnel (Sunlighten Solo System Personal Sauna, £ 2,800, sunlightensaunas.co.uk), which can be folded away when not in use.
The hot sleeping bag
If SPacE really is an issue, there’s always a sauna blanket, 2021’s alternative health must-have, thanks to
Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop site endorsing the Higher Dose brand (£469, higherdose. com). But I put the slightly cheaper MiHigh (£ 399, mihigh.co.uk) to the test.
Think of it as a heated sleeping bag made out of heavy duty plastic. You have to wear clothes — I went for socks, a long- sleeved T- shirt and tracksuit bottoms — partly as the surface gets hot, but also to soak up the sweat (ugh). You set the heater — number 1 is around 25c and 6, the top, around 80c, but I opted for 4 which is about 60c — then lie snug as a bug in a really hot rug for 30 minutes to an hour.
I’m not normally a fan of traditional saunas — I usually leave exhausted. But after giving my infra-red one a wipe down and leaving it to cool, I jumped in the shower and found myself energised for the whole day.