AMBIENCE The décor in the spa could not be more different to the house – a neat contemporary finish of muted colours and modern lighting as opposed to lavish velvet furnishings and Versaille-style burnished mirrored panels and vast chandeliers dripping with crystals.

The spa building is not without character though – all six treatment rooms have sash windows and some have original features such as fireplaces. The mood lighting in the treatments rooms creates a warm glow in your chosen hue and candles and soft inoffensive music also add to the relaxing ambience.

The only let down is the “deep relaxation room” for post or pre-treatment repose, where there’s a crescent of gauche leather reclining chairs, which probably make up for in comfort what they lack in aesthetics. Curiously, these chairs look onto a tropical fish tank that is backlit in neon blue – a touch tacky for its elegant surroundings.

IN CROWD A businesswomen was the client before me at the spa, and will be among the well-heeled locals who I imagine will become regular clients. As for the hotel guests, they were mostly business travellers and over 50s celebrating special occasions, although the hotel is likely to be popular with younger professional couples at the weekend.

East River Spa, Docklands, London

A Thameside urban retreat with express treatments for frazzled city workers and a mud bath for two

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• inside the £5m spa

FOOD Across the courtyard is Adam’s Brasserie, an airy restaurant where the best seats are the banquettes along one wall. The food is beautifully presented with colourful drizzles of oil and delicate garnishes, but it’s more catered to a golf crowd than a health-concious spa crowd. There’s only the odd healthy salad and fish dish, but most dishes come carb-heavy, otherwise it’s the excellent Luton Hoo burger with thick cut chips, risottos, pasta or snacks like sandwiches and jacket potatoes in the bar next door. It’s also fairly pricey - £13.50 for the burger and £18.50 for the confit of Gressingham duck.

WALLET WATCH The spa is also pricey, at well over the average price of £1 per minute for a treatment at most UK spas. "Organic facials" lasting 40 minutes cost £70 and “organic massages” for 55 minutes cost £85. That said, if you make use of the sauna, steam and pool beforehand, you’ll get better value for money. The hotel also offers treatments using Circaroma products

NEED TO KNOW The Spa at Luton Hoo, Luton Hoo Hotel, The Mansion House, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU1 3TQ; www.lutonhoo.co.uk

For more than 250 independent spa reviews click here: timesonline.co.uk/goodspaguide

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