USP Affordable happiness for all the family.

AMBIENCE The spanking new spa is set in a forest in a pretty lakeside location.

EXPERIENCE There’s a whole range of global treatments and the usual luxurious nonsense. I had the Elemis Absolute Spa Ritual — nearly two hours of massage, skin-brushing, moisturising and “silk boosters”.

FOOD Of the nine restaurants on site, the four I sampled served poor, overpriced food. New menus are now on offer, though, with “energising and nutritious” Food Doctor options available in the spas’ Conservatory cafés.

IN CROWD Escaping mums at the spa but a mixed class of folk in the Main Village.

WALLET WATCH My treatment cost £76. A family weekend in a comfort villa costs from £299; spa use is extra — £26 for three hours.

NEED TO KNOW Center Parcs, Elveden Forest, Suffolk (08706 009900; www.centerparcs.co.uk)

Readers' comments: Despite “having a Butlins-feel to it” all 26 respondents who had been to one of Center Parcs’ four UK spas felt it was good value for money. Only one person said they wouldn’t return because of the holiday-camp vibe. The on-site babysitting was especially appreciated, as was the “peaceful” and “relaxed” ambience with a “wide variety of steam rooms, saunas and gardens” – a world away from the rest of the bustling resort. Therapists ranged from “brusque” and “average” to “friendly”, “charming” and “helpful”. Only one person thought the level of treatment was “average” – the other 25 said it was “very high” with a “good range”.

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