The Body Camp review: we tried the OG fitness retreat that celebrities love – plus, win a stay this summer!

Sixty percent of people who do a week at The Body Camp return to do another one. That’s an awful lot of repeat business – especially when prices start at around £2000, with flights and transfers on top. And celebrities love it as much as civilians: there was a period about five years ago almost every singer or actress I interviewed would namecheck The Body Camp as their last/next holiday. Lisa Snowdon, Gabby Logan and various Spice Girls and All Saints are among its enthusiastic alumnae who can’t get enough the ‘holistic lifestyle transformation’ retreat. It involves a varied, fun fitness programme run by former Royal Navy PT Rick Parcell, delicious ‘plant-forward’ meals created by experienced chef Ben Whale, personal development sessions, yoga, massages, luxe accommodation and Mediterranean sunshine – what’s not to like?

Despite its name, The Body Camp is not a weight-loss programme – they don’t count calories, there are no scales involved and if you wanted to smuggle in Haribo in your suitcase no one is going to confiscate it – but it’s certainly a good opportunity to clean up your diet and the thought of coming home a few pounds lighter is surely part of its appeal. It was for me, anyway (more of that in a bit).

Launched in 2015 by luxury hospitality pro Kate Whale (chef Ben’s older sister) with stints in Ibiza and Mallorca, this year The Body Camp’s home until late September is an Andalucian finca tucked away in the hills north of Malaga. Then in October, it decamps to Koh Samui in Thailand for a four-week pop-up – one for The White Lotus fans (although hopefully not featuring any murders) – and then on to Marrakesh next year. When you have that many returning clients, you’ve got to keep things fresh.

A decade back the programme had a hardcore fitness focus – think burpees from dawn ‘til dusk. It’s evolved over the years, after feedback from guests, to include more downtime and as much emphasis on mind as body. So, while it’s challenging and there’s plenty to keep you busy, there’s ample time to kick back too.

I wanted to give it a whirl because I could do with dropping those aforementioned few pounds and was hoping the trip would act as a dietary reset: I was finding it hard to break my bad snacking habits (hello, 4pm KitKat at my desk) so hoped the combination of nutritious, chef-made food plus lack of access to my own fridge would break the circuit.

I was also intrigued (albeit slightly scared) by the personal development element – I would never in my normal daily life have time to ponder my goals (I barely have time to brush my hair) and found it faintly ludicrous and self-indulgent to even think about it. But who knows what might happen with some time and headspace on my hands?

So off I went to do a taster version (three days) of the seven-day retreat.

Get with the programme – a typical day at The Body Camp

Let’s start with the timetable because that’s what we all want to know before we book a wellbeing holiday: what will I be doing all day – and do I actually want to do it? The vibe here is more relaxed and less bootcamp-y than other fitness retreats I’ve tried. You don’t have to get up ridiculously early – we met at 7.45am each day for a cup of tea/ coffee (yes, caffeine is allowed in the mornings) before doing fitness activities from 8am-9am. This was followed by a leisurely breakfast, more fitness and personal development work then lunch around 1pm.

Afternoons were usually free until 4pm, after which there’d be another mind or gentle body session (eg yoga). Dinner was always 6.30pm, then there was an optional evening group activity, such a pop quiz. Everyone typically slopes off to bed about 9pm. There’s no alcohol on site.

The location: birdsong and olive groves

It’s frankly worth coming for the scenery alone – glorious hillsides, a 50-minute climb from the city thrum of Malaga, are dotted with olive groves, almond trees, and purple, yellow and red wildflowers as far as the eye can see. Body Camp HQ stands alone in peaceful solitude – a yellow-walled, Moorish-style finca, its courtyard filled with vibrant tropical plants, and, round the back, a shady terrace, with a satsuma tree and views down to the 20m outdoor pool. The air is heavy with jasmine and all you can hear is the birdsong and bees buzzing. Each morning, I woke to the sound of a cockerel crowing, which is rather rustic and lovely – although if someone can tell him to keep it down until 7am, that’d be grand.

The rooms: sweet dreams guaranteed

There are 10 spacious, en-suite rooms in the house. I had my own one with an imposing four-poster king-sized bed but many guests book shared occupancy rooms to keep down costs, which means staying with one or two strangers (of the same sex). The dark wooden furniture, parquet flooring and shutters keep things cool. It’s comfortable, immaculately clean, there’s loads of storage space. There’s Ren beauty products in the bathroom, along with two robes – one for the pool, one for the house and your Body Camp merch – a baseball cap and water bottle.

Who comes to The Body Camp? The clientele

Men sometimes come to The Body Camp, often as part of a couple, but my group of six was all female. People tend book in if they’re seeking something: a new start, a fresh perspective, a reset. Everyone in my crew was in their forties or fifties (including a lovely pair of best friends who were celebrating their 40ths). Inevitably, given this demographic, there was a lot of chat about menopause, motherhood, dealing with elderly parents, divorce and burnout.

There’s a big emphasis here on connecting with your group, teamwork and sharing your life experiences. You spend a lot of time together. At every meal, our place names were moved to a different spot around the table, presumably to avoid cliques forming and ensure everyone speaks to everyone else. Regular clients told me that they’ve stayed in touch with people from previous camps – a lot of lasting friendships are struck up.

Our groups conversations certainly got very intimate very quickly – within about an hour of arriving, we’d all compared notes on our HRT regimes. As a nosey parker journalist, I adore meeting new people and hearing their stories, but if you’re very introverted or just prefer to be anti-social when on holiday, this is something to bear in mind.

Kerry (left, in centre) goes hiking with her new Body Camp buddies

’80s pop and hill training: the fitness programme

The Body Camp’s exercise offering is overseen by Rick, a man who will surely have ‘a bit of a character’ emblazoned on his gravestone. He’s a gregarious, ex-military Yorkshireman who’s obsessed with ‘80s pop (inevitably, we did bicep curls by the pool one morning to Physical by Olivia Newton-John) and wears a fluorescent yellow bumbag and sweatbands. He’s also a very good PT (and life coach and NLP practitioner – we’ll come onto that in a bit).

As an insufferable fitness freak (I work out six days per week, sometimes twice daily), I was concerned that the activities might not be sufficiently challenging. Turns out I shouldn’t have been so cocky. Rick is excellent at gauging your level and pushing you just beyond it.

We did a couple of workout sessions each morning – a mix of weight training, body strength circuits (squats, burpees), hikes, interval training (sprinting up some serious hills, trying not to die), swimming, boxing training and stretching. Just when you think you can’t do any more, it’s lunchtime, followed by free time to recover, which most of us spent lolling by the pool. It’s all perfectly calibrated.

Food glorious food: sensible portion sizes, vibrant dishes and lots of plants

It’s a testament to just how good Ben’s cooking is that I didn’t really notice there was no refined sugar, dairy, pasta or bread during my three-day stay. You get three daily meals, plus two snacks, such as a bowl of watermelon or a small glass of banana and nut butter smoothie.

They don’t track calories or macros here, they don’t weigh you, you’re allowed caffeine in the mornings and you can put salt on your food – basically, it’s not a fat-loss camp and it doesn’t feel restrictive. Instead, the focus in on ‘plant-forward’, in-season whole foods, with optional eggs, meat and fish to boost protein intake. Never mind aiming to eat 30 plants per week, I must’ve nailed about 300.

We typically ate eggs, plus tomatoes and/or greens for breakfast, a salad for lunch and dinner might be a green Thai curry with tofu and rice noodles. Everything burst with colour and flavour. On arrival, you decide whether you want a small, medium or large bowl for your meals. I went for the small, most of the others went for medium. The portion sizes were a lot smaller than I would eat at home, and there were no second helpings, multiple courses or loitering around the fridge foraging for snacks. I had the odd afternoon hunger pang but could stave it off with a sweet herbal tea – they have a weird and wonderful range, including a strawberry cheesecake flavour (a girl could but dream!)

It made me realise that I do need to watch my portion sizes at home – at 5’1, I need substantially less on my plate than my 6-foot husband and super-sporty teenage children.

Kerry’s colourful meals, created by chef Ben Whale (centre)

The personal development sessions (this is where it got challenging!)

It may be called the Body Camp but there’s a huge focus on training the mind and personal development here too. Rick is big on gratitude and positivity, so we were encouraged to reframe any negative utterances: “I can’t run up that bloody hill”, for example, became “I can’t run up that bloody hill… yet”. Given that 90 per cent of my conversation consists of self-deprecation, cynicism, moaning and piss-taking, this was the greatest challenge I came across at Body Camp. Perhaps I must take a vow of silence, like a monk?

We were each given an ‘Inner Technology Manual’ exercise book and spent group sessions journalling. This could be listing new habits to adopt back home, or unpicking elements of our lives (eg financial, relationships) that we need to change. Again, I found this tricky – firstly, writing things down felt too much like my day job and, secondly, ruminating on my feelings seemed self-indulgent. But I guess that was the whole point of being there.

We were encouraged to discuss our revelations with the group, which was initially confronting – I’d just met these guys! But actually, I soon realised, there’s value in talking about your issues with relative strangers as opposed to family or friends. People who don’t know you will challenge you more and come up with different angles, as, unlike your best mate, they haven’t heard you moan about that thing a million times before.

Rick was an absolute master at managing the different personalities around the table and gently encouraging rather than hectoring. He ran pop quizzes and charades sessions in the evenings to boost group connections – once you’ve seen someone act out Debbie Does Dallas, you certainly form a bond (you can hide in your room if that sounds like your idea of hell, by the way). It was heartening to see members of my group grow happier, more outgoing and more confident as the week progressed.

Ice baths and massages: the wellbeing offer

There are no cutting-edge biohacking protocols or high-tech medical treatments here – if you’re into, say, hyperbaric oxygen chambers or contrast therapy, this won’t be your thing.

They do have ice baths though, which we do as part of a circuit early one morning, coupled with dancing around the pool (which I dreaded more than the zero degree water) and lap swimming. Again, the emphasis was on teamwork – we all had a partner and held hands. A sauna would be a great addition here, to lure in those, like me, who aren’t especially keen on freezing their bits off.

Also, local masseurs visited the house. This is an additional cost, at around 150 Euros (£125) for an hour, which initially seemed steep but my sports massage was one of the best I’ve had. My therapist was also an osteopath, and he treated a niggling tendon injury in my lower arm and gave me a rehab exercise programme to do at home. So money well spent.

My verdict on The Body Camp

I emerged back into the real world at Malaga airport bursting with energy and feeling grateful for all that is good in my life. I vowed to be less judgemental and less moany – that, I must admit a month on, is a work in progress. I bought a kombucha and packet of almonds for the flight (rather than a sandwich and a Twix) so I clearly had been reprogrammed.

Back home, I noted I’d lost 3lb in three days (it’s not unusual to drop half a stone in a week) and I looked less tired. I felt motivated to finetune my habits – smaller portions, putting my phone down and listening to the birds more often and making 10 minutes every day to do some yoga to decompress my over worked-out muscles.

The Body Camp is a well-oiled machine, finessed over a decade and 10,000 customers. It’s perfect for a one-week reset, whether you’re just tinkering around the edges of your lifestyle or need a serious reboot of mind, body or soul. The Spanish sunshine and Wham! soundtrack are the icing on the (dairy-free) cake.

A 7-night stay at The Body Camp Andalucia starts from £1895 in a sharing room and costs £3560 for Kerry’s sole occupancy double room, all activities and all food (flights and transfers not included). thebodycamp.com

Win! A 7-night stay at The Body Camp Andalusia, worth £1895!

Do you like the sound of all that and fancy a one-week reset this summer? We’ve got one FREE PLACE* at The Body Camp Andalusia this June, July or August up for grabs in our brilliant giveaway! Click here to enter – but be quick!

*Terms & conditions apply – see our giveaway page for the details