From
The Sunday Times Travel Magazine
THE
BALMORAL, EDINBURGH
If the day rains on your parade, descend to the city’s best spa (pictured
bottom right), tucked beneath the Balmoral Hotel. It’s quite a playground,
whatever the weather – start with a splash in the pool, and a spell in the
sauna and steam room. That should loosen you up for an aromatic ESPA or
Ytsara treatment.
l TRY the Kamala – a hot herbal alchemy of lemongrass poultice, Thai
massage and green tea and jasmine facial (£95).
The Balmoral (0131 622 8880, www.thebalmoralhotel.com)
has an overnight Simply Spa package from £335, B&B, with one Ytsara
treatment.
MANDARIN
ORIENTAL, NYC
This flashy international hotel group (centre right) pioneered the concept of
booking blocks of time, rather than treatments, in its spas, allowing guests
to mix-and-match sessions on the day, as the mood takes them. Such
flexibility requires accomplished therapists – and they are. Their
expertise, along with lavish treatment rooms, make Mandarin special indeed.
l TRY the Vitamin Infusion Facial. It uses the current beauty-buzz
ingredient – polypeptides – meant to bring a Sex And The City glow to your
skin (£148).
Seasons in Style (01244 202000, www.seasonsinstyle.com)
has three nights, room only, from £1,150pp; Heathrow flights.
LE
MEURICE, PARIS
Take one 18th-century grande dame, whisk in some Philippe Starck contemporary
flourishes, wrap it in elegant excess and you have a recipe for sumptuous
decadence that has attracted kings, presidents, A-listers and artists for a
100 years or so (top right). And excess is the word. In its delicious spa,
femmes fatales have long given in to seductive treatments that promise to
hold back the years. Intensive facials from Swiss skincare specialist
Valmont, combined with the latest high-tech wizardry, aim to leave you
wrinkle-free and radiant. Indulge yourself. You are worth it.
l TRY the 90-minute Meurice Vitamin C intensive brightening facial
(£157); the brave can try the cold cryogenic body wrap (£65) to tone legs
and improve circulation. Brrrrr.
00 33 1 44 581010, www.lemeurice.com;
doubles from £470, room only. Eurostar (0870 518 6186, www.eurostar.com)
has returns from St Pancras from £59.
ELEMIS
DAY SPA, LONDON
The most ‘ladies-who-lunch’ spa in London, Elemis is hidden away behind New
Bond Street down a cobbled lane. It’s one of three flagships for the brand
and is cosy with candles and warm red walls. The place is so relaxing you
might nod off before you even get to your treatment room. If you want to
induct a (reluctant) favourite guy into the spa experience, the Rasul
Chamber is a good, unfeminine starter. Against a backdrop of opulent tiled
walls and night-sky ceiling, you both cover each other with mud before a
rinse-down in a ‘tropical rain’ shower.
l TRY the Tahitian Bloom – a lime and ginger salt exfoliator, followed
by frangipani wrap (£115).
0870 410 4210, www.elemis.com.
INTERCONTINENTAL,
LONDON
Padding along hotel corridors in your fluffy robe after a spa appointment can
be awkward, but Intercontinental has a new alternative: Spa Boudoirs. You
get a spacious suite, butler and treatment room in one. An Elemis facial
should send you to sleep. If not, you could order champagne, canapés and
Breakfast at Tiffany’s on DVD. The suites can even be booked for a few
hours: great for a novel girls’ night out.
l TRY an Aroma Spa Ocean Float – lie on a flotation bed wrapped in
lemon and juniper algae (£113). Four-hour minimum booking costs £500.
020 7409 3131, www.intercontinental.com
.
For more than 250 independent spa reviews log on to timesonline.co.uk/goodspaguide
