MISSION To test-run Europe’s self-styled “most advanced city spa” (according to the poster next to the hotel lift). What could possibly be hiding on no fewer than four floors of award-winning Scottish spa?

USP Its sheer scale: a modern temple of more than 35,000 square feet dedicated to massaging, cleansing and sweating every last ounce of stress and impurity out of those who step into the ground-floor lifts.

AMBIENCE Despite costing around £12m to construct, One is unlovely from the outside, resembling a glass-heavy office block adjacent to the hotel. Inside, however, is a super-slick operation that justifies the building cost.

It has been open since October 2001 and must be doing enough right to pull in a sizeable number of punters, as they have just built no fewer than eight new treatment rooms, bringing the total to 17. What this spa lacks in cosiness it makes up for in excellent facilities and professional-yet-friendly staff.

Expert View

The spa on this privately-owned island is the size of a small hotel overlooking the Atlantic

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BACKGROUND

• Amberspa, Loch Lomond

• The Carrick Spa, Cameron House, Loch Lomond

• Westin Turnberry Resort Spa, Ayrshire, Scotland

• Auchrannie Spa Resort, Isle of Arran

• The Balmoral Spa, The Balmoral, Edinburgh

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• Dalhousie Castle spa, near Edinburgh

QUALITY OF EXPERIENCE I had a 90-minute ESPA Super Active facial, which One has just introduced. My therapist, Jemma, had been well trained on the new treatment and talked me through it at length before settling on the “skin brightening” version.

The new treatment rooms have been stylishly kitted out, and although the heated blanket under my bed appeared to be on turbo-charge, the facial was very pleasant and left my skin looking rosy.

The spa’s other facilities, packaged under the name “Escape”, were a truly epic experience. It is recommended that you spend 2.5 hours in the thermal suite alone to get the best out of heat treatments from traditional rock sauna to “aroma grotto” and “tepidarium”, although an hour or so of sweating was quite enough for me.

On top of all that there is a 19m infinity swimming pool, a good indoor/ outdoor hydropool and Cleopatra baths, which fill to order with your chosen scent and demand a further 20-odd minutes of your time. It is the only spa I have ever been to that required a map and flow chart to get round, and a great place to while away a morning though not somewhere to be recommended for a flying visit. Should you have the time or energy left, there is a well-equipped gym.

PRODUCTS ESPA’s Super Active range claims to represent a scientific approach to specific skin conditions, with different products designed to target particular needs. Jemma inspected my skin at close range and conducted a “sensory test” before my facial so that I could choose those with the scents I liked best and which smelt strongest to me, the theory apparently being that you are drawn to the essential oils that your skin needs most.

After much sniffing of cotton pads daubed with various potions, the products used on me included a “balancing” face oil containing frankincense, lemon and neroli, a “restorative” oil with myrrh and lavender, and a “skin brightener” designed to give tired skin a boost using Hawiian algae and “mineral-rich wild sea fennel”. The pink hair and scalp mud with clays and apricot kernels was slathered into my locks and left them shiny. Most of the treatments on offer at One use products from ESPA’s extensive range. Jessica products for nails and Vincent Longo make-up are also on offer.

FOOD There was a small bowl of fruit on offer, as well as fruit-flavoured water, for those waiting for treatments. One Spa also has its own café, selling breakfast, calorie-counted dishes and other snacks plus drinks from carrot juice to Taittinger Brut.

The Sheraton has a number of dining options, including the somewhat soulless Santini, an Italian restaurant located in the spa building where pizza starts at £7.50 and mains reach a peak of £26. I had a starter of grilled vegetables and goats cheese (£6.50), disappointingly-bland seafood linguini (£12.50) and a large glass of decent Merlot (£6).

IN-CROWD Crowd would be pushing it, given how sparsely populated the spa felt when the Times visited, but that could have a lot to do with the size of the place. At the weekend One is reserved for members and the well-heeled international clientele of the Sheraton Grand. During the week, anyone can use the spa as a day guest.

WALLET WATCH The Super Active facial costs £120. Access to Escape at One costs £20 for hotel guests and £65 otherwise. There are spa packages including treatments and access to Escape ranging from £105 to £275, and periodic special offers on treatments. Prices for accommodation at the Sheraton Grand start from £169 plus tax per room per night.

NEED TO KNOW One Spa, 8 Conference Square, Edinburgh, EH3 8AN (0131 221 7777; www.onespa.com). For the hotel, call 0131 229 9131 or visit www.sheraton.com/grandedinburgh

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