A Conversation with Dr. Harry König of Villa Stéphanie

Located in the historic German spa town of Baden-Baden, Villa Stéphanie is a 15-room annex at Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa, part of the Oetker Collection.

“It’s hard to imagine someone would come up with something better than Villa Stéphanie,” an Indagare member wrote in our story, How To Choose A Wellness Spa in Europe. “It’s so extraordinary and I’m really picky…A very similar vibe to Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc: aristocratic, old-school, palace feeling.”

Dr. Harry König is the creator of the spa’s renowned Kings Way program, which includes more than 100 treatments, sessions and consultations over 10 days. Below, he shares the best changes to make today and over six months; his feelings on Ozempic and preferred beauty treatments.

Contact your Trip Designer or Indagare, if you are not yet a member, to start planning a trip to Germany. Our team can match you with the accommodations, reservations and activities that are right for you.

On Aging Well

“We are positive and pro, not anti, anti, anti—we love the terms good-aging and well-aging,” he says. “If you look at longevity science, we are limited to 120 years of aging well at the present limit. We have a saying in Germany—everybody wants to get old, but not to be old. This is what we want to achieve, aging with dignity and respect to yourself.

Studies show that if you’re extremist to one side or another that both of them die younger. The meaning of holistic is traditional and modern medicine together, not alternative.”

On How to Make a Change Today

“The one thing that is so simple—don’t eat in between your meals. No sweet drinks or snacks in between. If you cannot hold it because you think you’re going to collapse, have some nuts like cashews, walnuts and macadamias. Take a handful and eat them slowly. You should also have herbal teas and water.”

On How to Change in Six Months

“Give yourself enough time to sleep, hydrate yourself properly with herbal teas or water and try intermittent fasting. We don’t call it sports, we call it moveability. Do your 10,000 steps a day and one or two times a week, do muscle building like Pilates or something with your friends that you won’t cancel.

Check your blood on a regular basis, specifically for iron and Vitamin D levels which you frequently have to correct. Most deficiencies are here, so it’s simple to correct and gives you a great change in energy.”

On Beauty Treatments

“We decide which ones are the best for each individual and there are some very good treatments. I prefer the non-cutting ones, which doesn’t mean I’m against cutting ones, but there are very simple ones that make a huge difference. The biggest recommendation I have is to start earlier rather than later. If you continually do a little bit, you’re in a much better position. But also don’t overdo it too early—if I see 25 or 28-year-old girls full of Botox or hyaluronic acid, I ask what they want to do at the end of their thirties and early forties. Look for a good person that you trust.

I’m a strong believer in PPI’s [proton-pump inhibitors], which we use for joints and scar tissue. It’s simple and really not dangerous. I am also a strong believer in stem cell treatments, but the problem is accessibility. We are working on it every day to get it done with us. Until then, we are using everything around concentrated plasma and PPI’s and I think it is the most modern, effective and side effect-free way of treatment because it’s from you.”