What Clinique La Prairie’s New 5-Day Detox Reset Program Is Like

For years, I have wanted to visit Clinique La Prairie to see what this world-renowned medical spa located in Montreux, Switzerland was like in person. After a ten-hour flight and three train rides, I finally made it there to experience it firsthand. I was deliriously tired by the time I arrived having not slept on the plane and lugging around three heavy bags, none of which had wheels (don’t ask). Needless to say, after a full day of planes, trains, and automobiles, I arrived at my detox program exhausted and in pain.

For those unfamiliar with Clinique La Prairie, it was founded in 1931 by Professor Paul Niehans MD, who was a pioneer in anti-aging, immunity, and cellular therapy. “The industry considers us to be the first medi-wellness institution ever,” Simone Gibertoni, Clinique La Prairie’s CEO tells me. Since then, Clinique La Prairie has established itself as one of the premier health and wellbeing destinations in the world based in scientific research. “We continue to constantly pool strengths in research and science. In recent years, we were the first medispa to offer genetic tests, and now epigenetic tests, for example. We are also bringing the exclusivity and expertise of the clinic into stunning destinations across the world. The first will be Amaala, Saudi Arabia in the Middle East.”

All of the clinic’s Longevity programs are designed to promote vitality of the mind, body, and spirit, enhance immunity, and slow down the aging process holistically based on four pillars—medical insight, wellness, nutrition, and movement. I opted for the new 5-Day Detox Reset which Gibertoni explains to me is as a program that will uncover physical and mental wellbeing through diagnostic procedures and therapeutic treatments. “With a focus on natural methods for the purification of the body and mind and nutritional processes to boost gut microbiome, guests will discover a greater sense of purpose and fulfillment through achieving a rested body and a reformed mental balance.”

I wanted to share what my experience was like for anyone curious to see what the program is like or is sitting on the fence about booking their stay.

Day 1

As I mentioned, I arrived quite late in the day after traveling, so the only parts of the program that I experienced my first day was meeting with the clinic’s dietician Oliwia, to go over any dietary restrictions I may have, a detox massage, and dinner. The massage was fantastic. When I met the massage therapist, Nittaya I got a glimpse of what some people may have wrongly thought of me back in the day when I was a massage therapist—that I was petite and may not have the strength to deliver a deep tissue massage. Nittaya was an intuitive healer who found all my trouble spots and worked on them intensely. Her small, but mighty hands were able to get into the tiny nooks in my body that needed it most.

Day 2

My second day was my first full day at the clinic. It started off at breakfast and followed up with a body scan that measured various types of fat in the body as well as your metabolic age. I learned that not only do I have well below the amount of fat on my body both viscerally and otherwise, but the best news was that my metabolic age was 32, which is 15 years younger than my chronological age. I left that test definitely feeling like a winner and confident that I am doing something right in my life. After the scan, I had an hour-long breath work class, which at first, I was a little skeptical about in terms of how breathing could actually fill up an hour’s time. But it was quite relaxing, and I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with the instructor, Phil. Next up was lunch followed by a private nutrition masterclass with Olivia to better understand the principles behind the anti-inflammatory diet I would be eating over the next few days.

After my class, I went to the medical center to meet with the medical director, Dr. Adrian Heini (who I happened to interview for an article on what folks could do to boost their immunity right as the pandemic began), who ran another scan on me that evaluated whether I had heavy metals in my body as well as an analysis of minerals and trace elements in my body. Like the body scan, I learned that I am in excellent health and that I could not do much more to improve upon my health. After the scan I had my afternoon detox tea in my room followed by two treatments in the spa.

First up was cryotherapy that releases nitrogen while standing upright in a chamber where you keep your head and arms out. My therapist, Wararat, was a lovely human. She walked me though the whole process since I had never had cryotherapy administered in this manner before. Before I entered the chamber, I had to put on wool socks and special cold-temperature boots. Once inside, the nitrogen slowly filled up the chamber and enveloped my body as the temperature slowly reached -300 degrees. I don’t think I need to say it, but it was incredibly cold. But luckily, only three minutes are needed to achieve the health benefits of strengthened immunity, quicker muscle recovery, and even weight loss.

After having cryotherapy came a warm experience in the Vita Dome, an infrared therapy that further helped move along any toxins in my body. It was essentially like sitting in an infrared sauna, but in a capsule where my head remained out of the dome. I laid in the dome for about an hour. It was a lovely contrast from the freezing cold temperatures I was in moments before.

Day 3

I spent most of my third day walking around the beautiful town of Montreux where I was struck by the both the architecture and the unique micro-climate. I was so confused by seeing snow capped mountains all round yet, on the ground were palm trees that seemed to be thriving in the cold. I walked a total of 9 miles that day. Later in the afternoon, I had a body wrap with Wararat for an hour. The treatment started with her using a detoxing and exfoliating scrub that felt more like a relaxing massage. Once that was done, I rinsed off, and then she applied the detoxifying mud and wrapped me in plastic to further facilitate the detoxifying process. In the end, my skin felt super soft, and I felt both relaxed and rejuvenated. Similar to Nittaya, Wararat was petite in stature, but simply an amazing practitioner all around from demeanor to skill set.

Day 4

Day four was another day that I had mostly to myself, so I ate breakfast then caught up on work and explored more of the area on foot before having lunch followed a detoxifying facial in the afternoon with Isabel. The spa uses Clinique La Prairie’s own vegan, performance-based skincare line Swiss Perfection that left my skin feeling hydrated, calm, and plump. I even got some samples, which was great since I couldn’t bring my usual skincare routine since I was pressed for time and didn’t get a chance to by travel-sized containers prior to my trip.

Day 5

My last day was spent preparing to travel to my next destination in Switzerland, which required a few modes of transportation. I ate breakfast, packed, and left feeling refreshed and revitalized.

Overall, my trip was amazing. I made new friends who live in Dubai who were also on the same program and who invited me to come visit them. Everyone who I met on Clinique La Prairie’s team went far and above to make my experience one I will remember for the rest of my life—Lorenzo the GM was incredibly welcoming, George from the restaurant made me laugh every time I saw him, and Carlos from reception took care of my special requests, all of which I am incredibly grateful for.

The accommodations were elegant with historic charm, yet modernized in all of the right places (like radiant floors that kept your feet toasty), and the bed was one of the best I have ever slept in. There is even a pillow menu for any kind of sleep concern one may have be it to offer options for specific sleep positions or to not wrinkle the face. The program was challenging at times (for me, not having dairy or coffee is painful), but I learned a lot about my health including what I have been doing that has been working so far and what I can improve on, which was invaluable information to get. I walked away with more tools to continue my own personal health journey and most importantly, I got to scratch a bucket list destination off my list.