ZEM ALTEA and the Medicine of Everyday Life
"Health is personal. A clearer picture leads to better choices."
Alba Maroñas
By the second or third day, a single laboratory result can change the course of the stay. The nutrition plan may change, the team may choose a different therapy or the trainer may adjust the intensity of a session. Conversations about lifestyle and the initial measurements have already begun to form a picture; the latest result brings it into sharper focus. By lunchtime, Salvia’s kitchen may already be adapting the next meal to revised nutritional guidance, while the afternoon training session may have a different goal.
In Altea Hills, above the Mediterranean coast, ZEM brings together a private clinic, a five-star hotel, a wellness and spa centre and the Salvia restaurant. ZEM offers seven health programmes, including Essential and Neuro Balance, alongside programmes focused on metabolism, immune support and longevity. The programme sets the direction, while consultations, assessments and results determine how it develops for each guest. ZEM’s approach to Mediterranean Longevity brings clinical understanding together with nutrition, movement, restorative care and the Mediterranean way of life.
The terraces look out over Altea Bay and the Sierra de Bernia. Daylight fills the corridors, lounges and rooms, while pale stone, wood, water and Mediterranean planting soften the clean lines of the contemporary architecture. Pools sit among gardens and secluded places to rest. The rooms feel spacious and quiet, while private terraces offer somewhere to retreat between consultations and treatments.
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If a consultation runs over, the hotel team adjusts the next appointment. When a doctor revises a guest’s nutritional guidance, Salvia’s kitchen incorporates the change into the next meal. The therapist already knows the aim of the programme before the session begins. “The technology and facilities are exceptional, but what brings guests back is the professionalism of the team and the care they bring to every treatment,” says Dr Gastón Rangil.
The reasons people come to ZEM vary widely, says Alba Maroñas, Brand & PR Manager. Some want to understand why their fatigue persists, others why sleep no longer leaves them feeling restored, while still others are concerned about changes in digestion or metabolism. “People want to understand what is happening, what deserves their attention first and what they can realistically do next,” she says.
Essential runs for three or seven nights, and the first few days help the team establish what genuinely needs attention for each guest. The three-night version provides an initial overview and introduces the ZEM method. Seven nights allow more time for a broader assessment, additional therapies and closer monitoring of how the body responds. When the results come in, the team revisits the plan in light of the guest’s medical history, eating habits and what specialists have already observed during consultations.
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“Before working here, my job was largely about illness, diagnosis and treatment. At ZEM, I learnt to look at what happens before disease develops,” explains Dr Rangil. When an illness already requires treatment, he relies on conventional medicine. In preventive care, he also considers sleep, physical activity, nutrition and how a person manages stress.
After three or four days, guests often notice better sleep first; more energy tends to follow. Dr Rangil draws a clear distinction between these early changes in how someone feels and improvements that take longer. During a seven-night stay, the team has more time to monitor metabolic response, see how the body reacts to a new routine and refine its recommendations.
Immediately before a treatment, the therapist asks again how the guest is feeling that day.
“We use a great deal of technology, but never on its own. Human touch is always part of the treatment,” says Liliana Paraipan, Wellness Director. That conversation may lead the therapist to adjust the massage pressure or temperature, or choose a different product or essential oil.
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Libra Edge is a sensory hydrotherapy treatment that combines water, contrasting temperatures and massage in a single session. The therapist monitors the guest’s response as the temperature shifts throughout the treatment. Liliana singles it out because it brings together technology, water and hands-on treatment within one hour, three elements that recur throughout ZEM’s approach to wellness.
At lunch, Salvia turns the day’s nutritional plan into a fine-dining menu developed with the nutrition team. Chef Javier Díaz Esterri spent the first part of his career in Michelin-starred restaurants, where flavour, technique and presentation shaped his professional standards. He later began studying nutrition in depth and now applies the same gastronomic discipline to dishes designed to play a specific role in the programme.
We asked him which dish, if he had to choose just one, best represents Salvia. He explained: “No single dish represents us. The whole concept does.”
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Some of Salvia’s ingredients come from Finca Althaya, ZEM’s 200,000-square-metre agricultural estate between the Mediterranean and the slopes of the Sierra de Bernia. Each week, the farm sends the kitchen a list of what is ready to harvest, and the chef adjusts the menu accordingly. Seasonal fruit, vegetables, herbs and olives grow across the estate, while the greenhouse gives the team greater control over growing conditions. Guests can walk through the fields and take part in cooking workshops, where they work with ingredients and learn techniques they can use after their stay.
“A week here is a very good start. After that, you need to change some of your everyday habits,” says Liliana. Part of the conversation during the stay therefore focuses on what each guest can realistically continue at home.
Alba Maroñas sums up the aim in a few words: “Health is personal. A clearer picture leads to better choices.” The idea is for guests to know what genuinely needs attention and where it makes sense to begin.
Asked what people can change in their own lives, Dr Rangil points first to physical activity. He links it to more energy, better sleep and a greater willingness to change other habits.
“The key is having the drive to take that first step; you can always dial up the intensity as you go,” says Dr Gastón Rangil.
Video: ZEM Wellness Clinic Altea / Official YouTube channel
This article is part of AH Magazine Issue No. 8.
To experience the full digital edition, visit your private Digital Library.
Editorial visit hosted by ZEM Wellness Clinic Altea.
All images courtesy of ZEM Wellness Clinic Altea.
