MISSION After a ten-round fight with the flu and no holiday in eight months, a total recharge was needed. Plus my shoulders had more knots than the rigging of The Black Pearl.

USP Tembok Spa, which opened in the summer of 2007, is situated in northeast Bali’s untouristy volcanic coast with beaches as black and sparkly as coal-dust. The treatments incorporate natural (mostly edible) ingredients, freshly prepared outside the treatment rooms. You can also attend the Spa Academy, where the 75-year-old Kak Tis will teach you Balinese philosophy and massage techniques.

AMBIENCE Soft air, soft climate, soft colours. The twittering of birds and insects fills the garden. The 27 Kamar rooms are lined with cool, dark Balinese hardwood and are scattered with colourful silk cushions. There is loose-leaf tea and a china pot. Guests are even provided with day “pyjamas”, a suit of unbleached, unstructured wide-legged trousers and a roomy tunic, so you need not fret the small stuff, like what to wear to breakfast or lunch.

There are no kids under 16 and no TVs (except in a dedicated TV room). In the evenings the air reverberates with the live playing of a rindik, a soothing gamelan played with bamboo.

QUALITY OF EXPERIENCE When you arrive you are offered a choice of “path”, balance, creativity or vigour, depending on how active you want to be. My creativity path included a range of treatments — facials and massages — but also weaving dried leaves into tiny nesting birds (yes, it’s as tricky as it sounds) and a beach walk to pick up objects that inspired. Even someone like me, who can’t tell their art from their elbow, can spot a pretty shell.

Star-gazing involved lying on a lilo in the middle of the swimming pool with soft music piped into my ear via an MP3 player; sheet lightning swept across the sky. Simple but magical.

PRODUCTS The spa uses fresh ingredients, including milk, lemongrass, pandan leaves, ylang ylang, hibiscus leaves, sandalwood, tamarind and ginger. Balinese massage includes rubbing down the skin in long strokes with hessian pouches filled with steamed herbs.

FOOD Plentiful and based around local produce: seafood is bought daily from local fisherman (the red snapper was superb) and seasonal ingredients from local farmers turn up in dishes, including a delicious pumpkin soup that bears no relation to the sweet, yellow stuff we get here. Reassuringly, there is also fluffy chocolate mousse, and the Sauvignon is kept nicely chilled.

IN-CROWD Those seeking sanctuary from the madding crowd. Singaporeans, Malaysians and, increasingly, Europeans. This is certainly not a bling-bling crowd, out to see and be seen, but those seriously needing to unwind and shrug off the burdens of the modern world for a while.

WALLET WATCH Bali may be a long way from Britain but treatment prices are reasonable once you get here. A 50-minute wrap, or a Mesipat facial, or a body wrap with fresh papaya cost just $29 (£14.50) each. Rooms start at £249 a night , including all meals and a daily treatment.

NEED TO KNOW Spa Village Resort Tembok, Jalan Singaraja-Amlapura No.100 Desa Tembok, ejakula Buleleng, Bali, Indonesia ( +60 3 2783 1000; www.spavillage.com/tembokbali).

Qatar Airways now operates nine flights a week from London to Bali, from £574 return (www.qatarairways.com).

For more than 250 independent spa reviews log on to timesonline.co.uk/goodspaguide

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