Stimulation and wellness at Fonscolombe

Spend some time devoted entirely to wellness backed by the expertise of INSTITUT ESTHEDERM:

Indulge in a moment of pure relaxation as exceptional products are deployed with unparalleled know-how. Skilled aestheticians apply a customised selection of products to leave your skin beautiful and healthy. Our professional skincare expertise helps skin look great at any age, thanks to carefully sequenced treatments combined with high-precision formulas. Entrust your skin to our Beauty Experts and enjoy a unique experience designed just for that will melt your troubles away.

The goal of our massage therapists at Château de Fonscolombe is to help you relax and let go. You will walk away from a calming session with a sense of profound well-being. Each massage is customised depending on what you need and want, in terms of pressure, focus areas, massage oil fragrances and background music. Our practitioners listen to you to ensure your session is unique and calming.

Experience our estate in a new way by taking a forest bath, or shinrin-yoku.

This practice originated in Japan and has been shown in over 2,500 scientific studies to have many beneficial effects on stress, sleep, perceived pain, cardiovascular disease, blood pressure, and immune system stimulation.Taking a forest bath begins with walking and tuning in to nature, using your senses. It is also a unique opportunity to develop your sensitivity and cultivate your ties to nature, to yourself and to others. You will engage in mindfulness exercises, during which your guide will invite you to pay attention to various sensations through touch, sound, sight, etc.The activity will be led by Dr Sophie Rasson, a psychiatrist, micro-nutritionist and certified forest bathing guide since 2019. She is especially interested in preventing and reducing the effects of stress and leads people into the forest to enable them to restore their bonds with nature, others and themselves.

These 90-minute sessions are offered for a fee and upon request at our concierge desk.

We offer a Morning wake-up routine on Thursdays at 10am. This one-of-a-kind experience in the shade of hundred-year-old trees on our grounds will help you energise your body for the day. Led by therapists specialising in sophrology, traditional Chinese medicine, naturopathy and reflexology, this activity will give you tools to build your own morning routine by putting you in touch with your body and your senses. This can benefit you by strengthening the immune system, eliminating toxins, opening up any blocked energy flows, invigorating each part of the body, giving you time to stop and breathe and grounding you in the present.The Morning wake-up routine is also suitable for families.

Join us on Sunday mornings at 10am for a session of Qi Gong, which means ""energy work"". This is a series of vigorous practices derived from traditional Chinese culture. They promote individual fulfilment and wellness, continuing good health, harmony between body and mind and overall balance between the different parts of the body and its various systems.The practice consists in a combination of postures and slow movements to awaken your vital energy and loosen up your body while bringing breath awareness. The experience alternates between static exercises (holding a pose) and dynamic exercises (executing movements) which encourage overall relaxation, improve sleep, and reduce stress and fatigue. It opens the doors to meditation by urging you to be fully mindful as you work to coordinate movements and breath, which restores inner peace.

QI: vital energyGONG: mindful, regular work

Qi Gong is also suitable for families.

By request, in all of our suites, you have the option to use and discover the benefits of weighted blankets; our staff will be delighted to loan you a NAP LAB weighted knit blanket.

The blanket fosters a sense of relaxation and security, like a hug. The principle underlying weighted blankets is called deep pressure stimulation. This is a well-known therapeutic technique which stimulates the body's pressure points. The practice lowers cortisol levels and boosts serotonin production, which brings down your heart rate and blood pressure. We have air conditioning and the blanket was designed not to provide warmth.

According to neuroscientists, it is a biological fact: our negative thoughts travel faster and carry more weight than our positive thoughts. A recommended practice in positive psychology or "the science of happiness" is to take a moment each night to reflect on 3 things that made you happy or 3 positive things about your day and to write them in this journal. Doing this reduces stress and helps you live a happier, more peaceful life by focusing on what is positive in your life. These "happiness mental acrobatics" will help you to remember the best parts of your stay with us and, of course, we encourage you to make this new habit part of your routine when you return home. It is a quick, simple and effective way to cultivate joy and approach each day with a song in your heart.