From the Sunday Times Travel Magazine, February issue

The Complete Retreat, Gaucin, Spain

A week at The Complete Retreat is one of the toughest things you’ll ever do. It’s climbs in the Ronda Mountains (no dawdling at dawn), the occasional massage, more climbs, and very little food: green drinks three times daily, one shot of wheatgrass, gallons of water, and itsy-bitsy morsels of rawness – salad, guacamole, hummus and seeds (admittedly it is probably the best vegetarian food you will ever taste). One hike is called ‘Kylie’ because of the wondrous things it does to your bum. Sleep deep in a white-washed finca and an infinity pool around which yoga classes (three hours twice-a-day) are held in the sun.

Seven nights all-inclusive from £1,750pp (07941 214750). Bmibaby (0871 224 0224, www.bmibaby.com) flies from East Midlands, Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff to Malaga from £63 return.

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Mountain Trek Retreat, British Columbia, Canada

Wedged into the Purcell Mountains and with a sweeping view over the pristine waters of Kootenay Lake 60 metres below, Mountain Trek’s setting has long left guests breathless. Little wonder – the daily routine includes a four-hour hike, as well as yoga, cardio exercises and strength-training programmes. Here, the emphasis is on weight loss and significant improvements in fitness. A staff-to-guest ratio of 2:1 means would-be slackers have no escape – and a 900 or 1,200 calorie-controlled diet ensures results even after a short stay. It’s tough but guests return year after year for a Mountain Trek top-up.

One week full board, with all activities and three 50-minute massages, costs from £2,970pp (00 1 250 229 5636, www.hiking.com). BA (0844 493 0787, www.ba.com) has flights from Heathrow to Vancouver from £569.

The Camp, Nr Dumfries, Scotland

This was the first boot camp to launch week-long women’s-only weight-loss courses in the UK, two years ago, and it’s still the best. Based on a military-style regime, and run by ex-Special Forces and Marines who came up with the idea on active service in Afghanistan, it’s a programme that promises guests they’ll drop a dress size and tone up. Combining mountain-biking, abseiling, river-crossing and hill-walking with punishing cardio workouts, it’s very demanding. Luckily the setting, a stately pile near Dumfries, in one of the most stunning spots in the country, and the blazing fires and squashy beds in the house soften the shock of the hardcore regime. But it’s the professionalism and dedication of the instructors that makes this a great course; they are also all particularly attractive, in a man-in-uniform way, which helps.

From £1,450pp per week, including all meals, fitness and insurance (0870 033 2375, www.thecamp.co.uk).

The Ashram, SANTA MONICA, California, USA

With past alumni including Oprah Winfrey and Gwyneth Paltrow, first-time guests might assume this California retreat panders to the extravagant whims of Hollywood’s glitterati. Not so. Here, guests share basic dorms and bathrooms and engage in a gruelling week-long fitness programme. A typical day begins with yoga at 6am, followed by lengthy hikes through the verdant Santa Monica Mountains and concluding with eccentric workouts, including the martial arts of qigong and kalari. Espousing a ‘food is fuel’ mentality, the vegetarian menu is unprocessed but tasty. Defiantly demanding of its discerning clientele, this resort isn’t the place to go to if you want to take it easy, but dedicated participants could lose several kilos in a week.

A week’s programme costs from £2,875pp including all meals and activities (00 1 818 222 6900, www.theashram.com). Virgin Atlantic (0870 380 2007, www.virginatlantic.com) flies from Heathrow to Los Angeles from £402.

Camp Biche, LAUZERTE, France

Rejoice: a fitness week where scallops with hollandaise sauce and desserts drizzled in Cointreau are as important as workouts and weights. Luxury is the mantra of Camp Biche, a unique bootcamp in the lush, sun-licked hills of southwest France. Swaddled in the medieval hilltop town of Lauzerte, it caters for a maximum of five guests in an elegant 11th-century mansion with vast beamed rooms, a jumble of period furniture and eclectic artwork.

"The French are the skinniest people in the western world," says svelte owner Libby Pratt. "They eat three times a day and regard it as uncouth to snack between meals. They simply take smaller portions and are more active. You don’t need to suffer to get fit. It can be fun."

Our days started at 7am with crunches and gentle encouragement to tighten our abdominals, with afternoons of yoga, Pilates and massage.

But it was the regular morning hikes that were the ace in Camp Biche’s pack. The three-to-four hour excursions didn’t just burn calories, they provided a glorious taste of rural life in the Tarn-et-Garonne, passing through barley fields and oak forests laced with poppies and daisies, the air reeking of mint and fennel all the way.

And, of course, they were also the perfect excuse for candlelit suppers washed down with healthy red vino and stimulating conversation. But did it work? Libby insists the programme is about toning up rather than slimming down. All I know is that I definitely tightened my belt over the week. But I also managed to shed three-and-a-half kilos. As did fellow guest Jeff on his third visit of the year – he’s now nearly 10 kilos lighter than when he first arrived. ‘I don’t snack,’ he said. ‘I walk more.’ The proof of the pudding, as they say, is in the gourmet eating.

Camp Biche (020 7617 7253, www.campbiche.com) has seven nights, full board, for £3,314pp, including yoga, pilates, massage and exercise classes, personal-fitness training and guided walks. EasyJet (www.easyjet.com) flies from Gatwick to Toulouse from £45 return.

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