MISSION To get a suntan, hear birdsong and feel the sea breeze beneath my love handles while having a massage. All without being sold water melon or worry beads on the beach.

AMBIENCE Modern, clever cosy. We are talking about an architectural triumph nestling in the mountains. Ideal for claustrophobics and anyone else in need of a chill-out view on a grand scale. Blink and you might think that you were kipping in a mountain.

Cosy rugs and ethnic cushions create nooks from which you can gaze out to an indecently green 27-hole golf course with rugged terrain above. The hotel has a top-floor infinity pool (one of seven pools on the complex), with turquoise water blending into the sky-line. What better place to watch the sun set on your cocktail? It is like being on top of the world.

QUALITY OF EXPERIENCE Top hole. Friendly but laid-back Spanish staff, enthusiastic golf professionals (I’m hooked). The beds are all the Sheraton’s own Sweet Sleeper brand.

Expert View

My daughter was asleep, bottom in the air, within ten minutes of her treatment

Alice Miles

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Plus, all-day, everyday sun, with an average annual temperature of 23C (73F). So there’s none of that anxious staring-up-at-the-heavens and saying, “Surely in five minutes that cloud will have blown away, sod it, where’s the beer. . .?”

The spa treatments include Swedish massage and hot-stone therapy and cost from €20 to €120 (£14.40 to £86.50). The aloe vera wrap is the signature dish, but the spa’s age-defying treatment and lymphatic drainage is another productive way to spend your time.

PRODUCTS Espa products. The carton of Canarian “miracle juice” (aloe vera) is essential, of course. Fab for haemorrhoids, constipation and ulcers – ailments I wouldn’t admit to but, as an age-defier, bring it on. I swear I look ten days younger already. The spa is named after the Canary Islands’ own “miracle” herb, aloe vera.

FOOD Fine dining means Mediterranean fusion. “Boletus mushroom risotto, with black truffle oil, asparagus and parmesan cheese crunch” to name but one original combo. Stunning breakfasts, from bespoke omelettes to a tipple of rosa cava should you wish it first thing – and, er, yes, we did.

IN-CROWD Yummy Spanish mummies, men with laptops and shiny shoes, fashionistas, Brits in search of something a bit different (or just a nice lie-down on a reliably tasteful lounger). No tattoos or double buggies in sight. Only fashion shoots, society weddings and motor-dealer conferences when we went. But go now. The spa has been open only nine months and things might change.

WALLET WATCH Rates vary, but seven nights can cost from £369 per person based on two sharing, including bed and breakfast. Deluxe rooms start from £68 per room; premier rooms from £105 per room. There is a free shuttle service from the hotel to the beach. One-way fares on GB Airways from London Gatwick to Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, start from £49, including taxes. Visit www.gbairways.com

NEED TO KNOW The Aloe Spa, the Sheraton Salobre Golf resort and spa, Gran Canaria (0034 928 943000 or visit www.sheraton.com/grancanaria)

For more than 235 independent spa reviews log on to timesonline.co.uk/goodspaguide

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