Euphoria Retreat in Greece offers holistic health minus negativity

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by Jackie Cooperman

In a sunny hilltop village on Greece’s Peloponnese peninsula, Marina Efraimoglou has pulled off a masterful feat of wellness. She founded Euphoria Retreat. There, Greek and Eastern medical traditions provide both a clinical and healing experience.

“The ancient Greek philosophers embraced life with joy, sensuality and excitement,” says Efraimoglou, 62, a Hodgkin lymphoma survivor. A reformed investment banker, she opened the facility in 2018 after decades of studying Eastern medicine and classical philosophy. “Euphoria is not associated with sacrifice or denial.”

I visited last month after a particularly hectic two weeks visiting universities with my daughter. Fresh off a nine-hour red-eye flight to Athens, I savored the opportunity to spend time near a perpetually shrieking toddler and test Euphoria’s restorative spirit.

The hotel driver walked me to my car and provided me with a plush pillow so I could lie down for the approximately 255 mile drive. When I woke up, I saw stone houses covered in wisteria and fields of olive, orange, and lemon trees.

The 45-room wellness resort is based on the ancient Greek theory that five elements govern our existence: water, wood, fire, earth, and metal, and that their balance leads to optimal mental and physical health. We offer a distinctly holistic approach.

There are optional hikes, lectures, exercise classes, a Pilates room, and a pristine fitness center with Technogym equipment, but we also recommend lounging around the lushly landscaped outdoor pool.

My stay began with a simple pinprick blood test to assess my glucose and glutathione levels. Next, I wore a mask device called the Pnoe device, underwent a respiratory test to assess protein and carbohydrate metabolism, and discussed the results with a nutritionist. (Visitors focused on weight loss may opt for a more comprehensive metabolic test, including a urine analysis, and plan their diet accordingly.)

Now that these standards are established, it’s time to enjoy your four-story spa.

After a lap in the outdoor pool, we swam through the door to the circular indoor pool. Inspired by Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia Mosque, this mosque features skylights and an oculus perfect for viewing while floating.

Underwater speakers play recordings of dolphins and whales, and massage jets are sprayed into 13 individual, semi-enclosed pools around the area.

Suitably relaxed, I visited all parts of the adjacent tepidarium. A sauna, a steam room, an ice-cold plunge pool, a multi-head shower, and finally, a heated tiled banquette.

An hour later, after my massage, I was inside the Spa Oceana Hydration Pod. This is a hydrotherapy machine that looks like a combination of a small spaceship and a bathtub. The therapist led me to a platform suspended above the bathtub. She lowered her lid and activated a series of Vichy her showerheads, alternating pressure and temperature to attack my entire body, flashing a series of colored lights. It was high-tech, but also high-touch. The therapist followed with hydrotherapy with dry brushing, a full body mud mask, and scalp and face massage. The name Euphoria is no longer a hyperbole.

Euphoria’s spa menu includes over 50 treatments that address aesthetic (cellulite, wrinkles), physical (acupuncture, lymphatic drainage), and spiritual (chakra balancing, Reiki) concerns. His 3-21 day programs cover weight management, yoga, and nutrigenomics.

The resort also hosts retreats that address emotional trauma, leadership and interpersonal skills. The five-day Odysseus Journey allows guests to identify their nostro (raison d’être) through guided readings of Homer’s The Odyssey, forest meditation and exercise classes.

On the second day of my visit, I woke up early to explore the beautiful ruins of Mystras, an abandoned Byzantine trading town just a mile from Euphoria. We hiked among wildflowers, visited the ruins of a 13th-century castle, and enjoyed expansive views of Sparta. The rocky, downhill roads lead to palaces, churches, monasteries and villas dating from the 13th to the 15th century, many of which retain the remains of their original flooring and frescoes.

Feeling dusty and refreshed, I returned to Euphoria’s Byzantine hammam. Lying on a marble pedestal in a candlelit room, scrubbed, lathered and massaged, I felt clean, light and, yes, slightly euphoric.