USP This independent day spa based in an early-19th century Baptist church in the centre of town has a community feel about it and is a real wellbeing temple for locals. Time out there should be prescribed for deserving cases by the town's GPs.

AMBIENCE The slightly frayed exterior gives way to a reception area full of products (Elemis, Carita, Eminence, and Mama Mio pregnancy range) and then a large central room with a bar where the robed congregate to eat, drink and relax on the sofas. The decor has a distinctly Moroccan feel - rugs, cushions, mosaic-edged mirrors and date plams - with the odd sitting Buddha statue for good measure.

Downstairs in the old morgue are the men's and women's changing facilities, separated by a small, windowless gym. A door from the changing rooms leads to the wet facilities (steam room and hydropool) surrounded by a dozen loungers and a good selection of up-to-date magazines for men and women. There is a naturally-lit yoga studio in the gallery and stations for non-surgical treatments on the balcony.

The spa won Day Spa of the Year in 2005 and 2006 at the British Spa and Beauty awards.

EXPERIENCE After some uneasy relaxing by the candle-lit pool downstairs - the loungers are crammed in a bit and all focus on the one pool - I was called upstairs for a light lunch and then taken to one of the seven treatment rooms for the signature Eminence Body Reviver treatment with Isabel, the spa manager. It was not ideal eating just before a treatment but I was hungry and sensed that it was going to be an epic.

The two-hour treatment using water-free organic products from Hungary included a full-body exfoliation, massage and a facial. It was broken briefly by a minor shower incident - smoothly managed by Isabel - and was so long that we listened to the same Ray LaMontagne album four times on the in-room iPod.

A no-nonsense cactus-bristle brush prepared the way for my grainy coating (ten grains actually, including flaxseed, cinnamon and ground walnut) which was washed off in the shower. The massage was carried out using a nourishing age-old calendula oil and my reluctance in the facial department was eased somewhat by an excellent stone-crop wash and gel and rose-based exfoliator and mask. After a grubby weekend in the open country I felt thoroughly cocooned and insanely soft-skinned.

FOOD Next door's Story Teller restaurant supplies the fresh reasonably priced food. The lunch menu changes every three months and as well as plenty of Mexican-style fare features a chargrilled veg and goat's cheese salad and an aubegine, lentil and polenta crumble using locally sourced ingredients. Wine and JD Telmont champagne are supplied by Bibendum, and start at £12 for a bottle of the house plonk.

IN CROWD Chilling Cheltenhamites, mainly women but mixed couples, too.

WALLET WATCH Pretty good value. My Eminence Body Reviver cost £90. A "Chaps" Organic Warming Deep Tissue Massage costs £32 for 40 minutes; a 45-minute Yummy Tummy massage for mums-to be is £60, and a Sweet Red Rose Facial is £50 for 55 minutes.

NEED TO KNOW Chapel Day Spa, North Place Chapel, North Place, Cheltenham, Glos GL50 4DW (01242 518075; www.chapelspa.co.uk)

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