241 Pizza

Marks out of five: four

Best thing: the personalised massage

Worst thing: the spa atmosphere and the hotel building itself
Lucy Alexander

AGUA SPA

Spa trends: the family way

• Massaging the bump

• Me and My Baby Therapy Rooms, Chelsea, London

• Red Sea bliss for a pregnant Mum

Location: Sanderson Hotel, Berners St, London W1 (020-7300 1414, sandersonlondon.com)
Treatment: Rose Renew Facial
Cost: £75
Length: 1 hour
Products: Aromatherapy Associates

Agua is a bit like one of those dreams where you’re stranded in a labyrinth of endless white corridors, only nicer. The spa is a network of tiny rooms separated by swathes of white voile curtain, which is an improvement on the dentist’s waiting-room ambience of some spas, but does cause disorientation in the pregnant brain. The changing rooms are properly luxurious, but the treatment room itself was merely curtained off and therefore not as quiet or private as it could have been.

I’ve yet to come across a facial specifically for pregnant skin, but I sure as hell needed one, having developed a killer combo of teenage acne and red, sensitive patches, so I decided to see if a regular facial would help. It didn’t. This may be the fault of the pesky hormones, but the therapist didn’t offer to personalise the treatment or adapt it to my particular needs. It was all very relaxing and smelt lovely, but there was, for my taste, too much time spent on applying fragrant unguents and not enough on extractions, analysis or consultation.

Marks out of five: two

Best thing: the décor and changing rooms

Worst thing: the efficacy of the treatment
Lucy Alexander

THE VINEYARD AT STOCKCROSS

Location: Newbury, Berkshire (01635 528770, www.the-vineyard.co.uk)
Treatment: Mother-to-be Body Bliss
Cost: £70
Length: 55 mins
Products: ESPA and ISHI

Some women can barely eat while pregnant and some - like me - can barely stop. So what more appealing combination could there be than a restaurant with two Michelin stars, headed up by the scientifically-inclined chef John Campbell, with five-star hotel and brand-new spa attached?

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