Renewed trust from Norwegian health authorities: Four weeks in Lanzarote can change how you feel

For anyone living with pain, stiffness or a long-term health condition, four weeks in Lanzarote’s warm climate, with proper treatment and time to rest, can make a real difference to how you move and feel. The Norwegian health authorities have recently chosen Casas Heddy again, for the third time in a row, to treat patients through their public climate therapy scheme, after a strict quality assessment by Oslo University Hospital.

Can four weeks really make a difference?

It is a fair question, and the honest answer is yes. Four weeks is long enough for your body to find a rhythm. This is backed by studies measuring guests before and after their stay.

Casas Heddy has looked at this closely. Comparing guests with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis before and after their four-week stay, the pattern is consistent. On average, guests reported:

• Pain reduced by roughly 63%, from around 5 to under 2 on a scale of 0 to 10.

• General wellbeing is up by about 60%.

• Walking almost 100 metres further in a six-minute walking test.

• Noticeably better balance on one leg, which helps lower the risk of falls.

• Everyday tasks, like getting dressed or climbing stairs, clearly easier.

These are Casas Heddy’s own figures rather than an independent trial, but they come from standard clinical measures and they tell a consistent story. Most guests go home moving more freely and in far less pain than when they arrived.

Source: Casas Heddy’s own outcome data, based on before-and-after measurements from 236 guests over the four-week programme. Data collected in 2025

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Why you can trust the treatment

Casas Heddy has been doing this for a long time. The resort opened on Lanzarote in 1975, was run for decades by the Norwegian Red Cross, and is now led by a Norwegian team with long experience in health and recovery. It has cared for tens of thousands of guests along the way.

The clearest sign of that trust comes from Norway’s own health service. Since 1976, the Norwegian health authorities have sent patients abroad for climate therapy, a scheme run today by Oslo University Hospital, the largest hospital in the country. Casas Heddy has once again been chosen to treat those patients, and that choice is not made lightly.

Providers are picked through a strict public tender, where quality counts for far more than price. Before a place is selected, the hospital looks closely at how good the treatment is, what the rooms and facilities are like, how safe patients are and what medical cover exists, along with hygiene and food. Inspectors can even visit in person to check that everything measures up. When a national health service examines a place this carefully and keeps coming back, it says a great deal about the standard of care.

What is a stay actually like?

A stay at Casas Heddy feels closer to a good holiday than a spell in hospital, even though real treatment sits at the heart of it. Mornings might begin with physiotherapy or a gentle session in the heated pool. There is time to walk in the gardens, swim, or simply sit in the sun, and the warm, dry climate makes moving around easier than it often is at home.

The resort covers around 24,000 square metres, more than 60% of it green, open space, and it is designed to be easy to get around, with everything on one site. Meals are healthy and shared, there are other guests to talk to, and the pace stays calm rather than packed. You are looked after by physiotherapists and health staff throughout, and you also get space for yourself to breathe.

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Can you come on your own?

Yes. You do not have to wait for a referral from the health service to stay at Casas Heddy. Plenty of guests arrange their own visit, often as a group of friends, and they follow the same kind of programme as everyone else, with the same team, the same facilities and the same warm climate.

That makes it a real option if you want to take charge of your own recovery, at your own pace, without waiting for a place in a public scheme.

Whether you come through the Norwegian scheme or book your own stay, you get the same warm climate, the same experienced team, and the same four weeks shaped around helping you feel stronger.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a referral to stay at Casas Heddy?

No. Many guests book their own stay and follow the same programme as those who come through the Norwegian health scheme.

Which conditions is Casas Heddy suited to?

It is designed mainly for people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis. Many guests also come to recover after illness, injury or a period of burnout.

How long is a stay?

The structured programme runs over four weeks, which is also the period the results above are based on. It gives your body time to settle into a routine and for the changes to take hold.

Is Casas Heddy a hospital?

It is a health and rehabilitation resort with professional health staff, including physiotherapists. The treatment supplements the medical care you receive at home, in a calm resort setting.

What does the treatment involve?

A typical week includes physiotherapy, exercise in heated pools, land-based training and guidance on staying active, all adapted to how you are feeling.

Why do Norwegian health authorities send patients there?

Casas Heddy is chosen through a public tender that is judged mainly on quality by Oslo University Hospital, as part of a climate therapy scheme that has run since 1976.

Where is Casas Heddy?

In Puerto del Carmen on Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands, where the climate stays warm and stable throughout the year.