What's the difference between a health spa and a health farm?

The difference between health spas and health farms is really about the approach, the atmosphere and the menu!

In the UK, health farms were always painted as places to adjust yourself to a healthier lifestyle through some kind of discipline or deprivation. A weekend break at a health farm included lolling about in a towelling robe, and perhaps having a facial or a massage as well.

Trouble is, many of those health farms really were a bit too, er, healthy. Check in on Monday and you'd be issued with three carrot sticks and a lettuce to see you through the week. Health came first!

Lucky us. Because now we get to go to health spas. And you come first! Whilst the food and treatments are still good for your health, the focus is now on you as an individual, and finding the right way to make you feel better. And you choose how that's done. There is a more holistic idea of health - one in which being happy and relaxed is a key component.

And, in fact, just lolling about in that towelling robe really can do us good in itself. We can eat cake at the same time, and it still does us good! A bit of RandR leaves us feeling peaceful and renewed.

See also:

* Will they make me eat healthy food at a spa?

* Can I put some chocolate in my suitcase in case I get hungry?

* I want to really unwind and party - can I drink alcohol at a spa?

* My weight - how long should I book into a spa to notice a difference in it?