USP Santander is an easygoing city, with an excellent round of tapas bars (15 minutes’ walk from the hotel), and similarly the regimen at the Hotel Real and its Thalassotherapy spa is relaxed.

QUALITY OF EXPERIENCE Friendly and direct, rather than cold efficiency. I can recommend the head masseur Cesar’s massage as both strong and sensitive. After over-indulgence at lunchtime, a hydro-jet and hydromassage treatments with salt crystals felt very relaxing but were in no way designed to address a bulging waistline. Both use seawater, which is pumped up from the nearby beach every day. The mission of the Relais Thalasso group is “to exploit all the qualities of a seaside environment for health benefits”. Even the massages had a culinary component; I chose a brown sugar and olive oil one, which left my skin feeling thoroughly and not unpleasantly scoured, though I rather envied my colleagues’ more soothing chocolate massage. A body wrap in seaweed and an express facial using La Prairie products took me into unfamiliar territory. Being coated in seaweed and wrapped in plastic felt slimy and very warm; I almost expected to start sprouting like a greenhouse plant. My skin certainly felt nourished. The facial, even though express, seemed both thorough and rejuvenating.

AMBIENCE Clean, with a relaxed Spanish feel. The large spa is set over three floors, with 20 rooms for face and body treatments, plus Vichy showers, wraps, hydrojets, jet showers, hydromassage baths. The Hidromarine Space has a glass ceiling that projects natural light over the seawater pool, a toasty 32C (89F). It is equipped with underwater massage jets. There is also a sauna, hammam and aromatherapy cabins.

FOOD The restaurant’s signature dish is supreme of hake and clams, with sherry sauce and apple purée.

IN CROWD Singers, conductors, well-padded Spaniards.

WALLET WATCH A two-night stay costs about €337 (£225) per person and includes bed, breakfast, a 20-minute massage and a short facial. A 50-minute lymphatic drainage massage costs €63 and a 45-minute reflexology sessions is €48. Flights to Santander from £50 with Ryanair; www.ryanair.com

NEED TO KNOW Hotel Real,Santander (00 34 9-42272550; www.hotelreal-santander.com)

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