USP The spiritual nature of the Dead Sea site is mesmerising, as is the privilege of floating in the world’s largest natural spa. This is the lowest point on the face of the earth, where the sun’s rays are filtered by an additional 1,400 feet of oxygen, so that the fairest skins tan but don’t burn, and chronic skin conditions are alleviated. The sea’s mineral salts are rich in calcium, magnesium, bromine, potassium, lithium and sulphur. No man-made spa treatment can compete with the majesty of nature, but it can complement it. At best, the spa combines the authenticity of Dead Sea treatments, based on healing muds and mineral salts, with the poise and professionalism of the Thai therapists.

AMBIENCE By day, the tawny colours of the spa resort’s Jerusalem stone merge into the stark, bleached-out landscape. By night, any rough edges or Babylonian excess are erased by the soft light, tumbling terraces and show-stopping water features. You may have ecological misgivings: for a region suffering from severe water shortages (even the Dead Sea is dehydrating fast) the spa resort is awash with water, from fountains to infinity pools and plunge pools. Yet water is a beguiling backdrop to the best bars, creating a soft-focus, sociable element missing from many spas, even if privacy is respected. The Sunset Terrace, overlooking the circular infinity pool and the palm-fringed Dead Sea beyond, is the place to meet up after a late-afternoon massage. If you want to chill on the beach, retreat to a “contemplation tent” with your own aromatic hubble-bubble pipe and surround sound (iPods available but silence is superior).

EXPERIENCE The spa treatments are superb, a mix of Middle-Eastern mud wraps and salt scrubs allied to hard-core Asian massages by talented Thai therapists. The soulful Pompom is the star, a small bundle of energy who pampers you to sleep but leaves you feeling uplifted. The mud facials blend Jordanian olive oil, honey and aloe vera with the rich Dead Sea mud. Paying treatments in the spa can be combined with free mud therapy by the Dead Sea, where a mud jar and the services of eager Jordanian mud-slatherers are on tap till sunset. A full range of Bloom Dead Sea muds, masks and bath salts beckon in the spa shop, along with Biblical lessons from Bassan, a fervent Jordanian Christian just waiting to sweep fellow-believers off to Jesus’ Baptism Site. (His wife, a more commercially-minded chemist, makes all the resort’s Dead Sea products). By May 2007 this boutique spa will be complemented by a new destination spa, with saltwater pools and lagoons offering a Jordanian version of thalassotherapy. The emphasis will be on therapeutic and holistic treatments rather than simply the blend of Middle Eastern and Asian treatments. But even without waiting for a big-sister spa, the Anantara remains special.

IN CROWD Stern Gulf States potentates rub shoulders with laidback European professionals but, as in any Bond film, the Baddie doesn’t wear Prada. (Think: Palestinian scarves, prayer beads and flashing scimitars). To compete with the visiting Sheiks, book an Ishtar Royal Villa, which comes complete with chef, chauffeur, butler, and a personal masseuse. Look elsewhere for celebrity trappings as the resort will never be studded with stars, except those twinkling over Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Dubai may cater to the nouveaux riches but Jordan sits secure in its Holy Land status, waiting, in all serenity, for discerning visitors who know their Sodom from their Gomorrah, or at least their Dead Sea mud wraps from their salt scrubs.

FOOD Served with due Thai ceremony, cold ginger tea precedes a foot bath while any treatment ends with steaming ginger tea taken on the spa terrace overlooking palm and olive plantations trailing off to the Dead Sea. While the resort restaurants strive too hard for spurious internationalism, the food is far from bland, with the poolside Ashur Mediterranean restaurant a perfect spot for sundowners and a plate of tapas. Dishes make full use of the prized olive oil from near the Roman city of Jerash, produced from groves planted by the Phoenicians over 3,000 years ago. Westerners will adore the Lebanese-inspired Jordanian mezze, dishes the Middle-Easterners scorn in favour of Italian pasta, cooked by an Italian chef. Breakfast includes an array of local delicacies as well as an international buffet. Impressively, during Ramadan, guests are invited to join staff in breaking their fast with a joyous post-sunset feast, known as Iftar.

WALLET WATCH Excellent lead-in deals apply until May 2007, when the largest spa in the Middle East opens in the resort, and the current Anantara spa then becomes the boutique spa. Spa treatments are good-value: the half-day Dead Sea Retreat (foot bath, Dead Sea salt scrub, mud wrap, herbal steam and massage) costs £85, while the Dead Sea Rejuvenating Mud Facial costs £40; and the Thai Herbal Healer (aromatherapy massage with Thai oils and spices) is £50. Doubles rooms currently cost from £125 (weeknight) or £140 (weekend) per room per night on a B&B basis. Accommodation rates are subject to 10 per cent service charge and 7 per cent government taxes. All villa-style rooms have Dead Sea views and superb bathrooms but it’s worth paying around a third more for the airiness of a terrace room, which apparently satisfied Renee Zellweger on a recent visit. Avoid the rather soulless Royal Villas unless you have the budget of a Middle Eastern potentate and can’t manage without a private masseuse, several plunge pools and your own “chocolate fountain” to ruin all the good work in the spa. In-room massages are available to all, in any case, as are mineral-rich Dead Sea bath and spa products. For the furtive fundamentalist in thrall to Western tipples, a complimentary mini bar means that guilty secrets remain just that.

NEED TO KNOW Kempinski Ishtar Dead Sea, Jordan (00 962 5356 8888; www.kempinski-deadsea.com)
E-mail: reservations.ishtar@kempinski.com. Only guests staying in the resort are allowed to use the spa, restaurants and other facilities. British Airways franchise partner, BMED, flies daily between Heathrow and Amman. To book, visit www.ba.com, or call 0870 850 9850. First Class and Club Class passengers have complimentary access to the two Molton Brown spas at Heathrow terminals. The transfer from Amman airport to the Dead Sea takes 45 minutes. The Jordanian dinar is currently worth 75p in pounds sterling. As for safety fears, Jordan swiftly dispels lingering doubts: this may be the Middle East, but the country has survived by being “a quiet house with noisy neighbours.”

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