The Decor:

This compact spa sits on two levels. On the ground floor there’s an elaborate (and alluring) 17-metre indoor pool, change rooms and steam rooms. The six treatment rooms and relaxation lounge, which have an ultra-chic design, are tucked away on a floor below. 

One is a large couple’s room, featuring a two-person sunken spa bath, and another boasts a therapeutic Vichy shower. For the uninitiated, that’s a shower where you lie on a cushioned table while being drenched with water from up to seven shower heads above.

The Treatments:

In 2005 the hotel joined the Accor group, and as part of its rebranding, the day spa has been treated to a face-lift, and a new menu of treatments by the premium French aromatherapy spa range, Decléor.

Anyone who has spent time in Europe will be familiar with the name - and the brand’s distinctive, bright yellow signature colour. It’s the top selling spa range in France and the UK, and has a fanatical following. It’s also well known, and highly regarded, for its holistic approach to skin care, and its use of naturally derived, aromatic oils and extracts.

Decléor has a laundry list of signature body and facial treatments, one of which is an indulgent Aroma Mosaic Body massage. It can be enjoyed for either 60 or 90 minutes, and fuses a variety of healing Oriental techniques, including the relaxing strokes of Japanese shiatsu, and the invigorating manipulations of Thai massage. 

You get to put your olfactory system to work at the start, selecting your own aromatic massage balm from four choices, and it ends with a scalp massage. At this point, if your tensions haven’t already melted away, this will seal the deal.