The world is finally coming full circle with the ski spa. Back in the 19th century, people took to the mountains to breathe in the rarefied mountain air, take the waters and subject their bodies to treatments of sometimes questionable efficacy, all in the name of well-being. Since then, skiing has become main attraction in the mountains but in recent years, hotels have been opening glitzy new spas to tempt people away from the slopes. Spas are also realising that after a day out on the slopes, nothing is more welcome than a good firm massage, to tease away the aches and pains.

Here are my five favourites for a spot of Alpine pampering

Bergoase, Tschuggen Grand, Arosa, Switzerland

Sometimes you walk into a spa that has been so beautifully designed that you instantly feel peaceful. The Bergoase is one such spa. Designed by Mario Botta and opened in 2006, the 5,000 square metre spa combines rugged white granite and Canadian maple to put you at your ease. There are 12 rooms offering treatments using products from Kanebo, Clarins, Dermalogica and Thalgo. POme pf the more unusual treatments is a 20-minute long bath in whey from the Sennerei Maran Alpine Dairy in the resort.

75-minute La Stone therapy CHF200; 50-minute sports massage CHF150

www.tschuggen.ch

Givenchy Spas des Neiges, Courchevel, France

Courchevel’s Hotel Cheval Blanc was opened in 2006 by the luxury goods house LVMH. It contains the first Givenchy spa in a snow location. The spa is small - like the hotel – but has been beautifully designed, using natural elements such as pebbles, wood and water. The four treatment cabins make you feel as though you are in an ice palace, while the plunge pool will certainly do so. Check out the après-ski massage, the perfect tonic for tired limbs after a day on the slopes of the Three Valleys.

50 minute après-ski massage, €170; head and neck massage from €140

www.chevalblanc.com

Remède Spa, St Regis, Aspen, Colorado, US

If there’s anywhere that needs a good spa it’s Aspen in Colorado, the glitziest resort in the Rockies and a regular haunt of the likes of Golide Hawn, Will Smith and Kevin Costner. The Remède Spa at the St Regis hotel fits the bill nicely. It opened in the 2004/05 season and instantly gave the town’s Aspen Club and Spa a bloody nose.

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