USP If classic old-world elegance is the yin of country hotel stays, then a spa like C.Side is the yang: contemporary, design-focused and up-to-the-century. Customers here take their massages and facials as seriously as their day jobs or their parenting skills, but the atmosphere is all friendly, low-key entitlement. It's hailed as one of the best spas in this part of the country.

AMBIENCE The spa has a Modernist personality drawn with sharp, straight lines. The building looks cut out of the side of the green hill opposite the hotel, and splices its countryside roots with modern luxuries.

Floor to ceiling windows divide the heated outdoor pool tiled in blue mosaic (open from April to December) and the green Welsh slate indoor pool, blurring the lines between nature and nurture. One wall of the reception area/lounge is made in the same style as the dry Cotswold stone walls that line the nearby fields. Overall, the atmosphere is hushed and private.

In the past few years Cowley Manor, owned by the Curious Hotel Group, has replaced their children's indoor play area with its Village gift shop selling premium fashion labels and cute country accoutrements. It also monitors bookings for a good balance of families and adults, to avoid that kids gone wild feel and maintain its romantic credentials.

Bamford Hay Barn Spa, Gloucs

Is this Cotswolds retreat Britain's best new day spa? Armed with a video, Alice Fishburn finds out

• The Good Spa Guide: Day

BACKGROUND

• Barnsley House Spa, Gloucestershire

• Wyckhill House Spa, Gloucestershire

• Spa 6, Cotswold Water Park, Gloucestershire

• Sisterly bliss in Cirencester

BACKGROUND

• Bodysgallen Hall Spa, Llandudno

• Bryn Meadows Hotel Spa, Caerphilly, South Wales

• Celtic Manor, the Usk Valley

• Lake Vyrnwy Hotel Spa, Powys, Wales

• St David's Hotel & Spa, Cardiff

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EXPERIENCE If what's been missing from your spa experience is a prone journalist, snoring gently in a dimly lit treatment room, then on a recent day not too long ago, you - like one couple - might have been lucky enough to stumble in on one.

I knew they were coming because of the voices in my head - or perhaps it was the voices in the corridor, saying "Is this the way to reception? Try the door."

So yes, C.Side is the kind of place where the therapist guiding you to your room isn't a nicety, it's a necessity. Rooms aren't marked as far as I could tell, and the setting is too discreet for anything as profane as a sign pointing the way.

Even with the interruption, my treatment was top-notch. The Cloud 9 is the signature massage treatment and is perfect for getting palpated head to toe, including a scalp and facial massage.

In addition to massages, wraps and facials, the spa also offers Thai yoga massage, Reiki, Breema Bodywork (me neither) and Hopi Ear Candling (er, the experts say, save your money).

The spa has its own range of yummy products,

FOOD Tea, smoothies and light snacks are available at the spa, but head over to the house for heartier fare such as burgers, sandwiches, roasts, salads and the like for lunch, duck breast, venison and monkfish for dinner. The menu focuses on British classics, prepared with locally sourced ingredients when possible.

IN-CROWD The vast majority of guests on the weekends are visiting the Cotswolds from London, but with the spa day pass, more locals are getting pummelled and pampered. Even on the weekends, it doesn't feel crowded. When we arrived for our treatment, a father and son were the only ones splashing in the pool and a few local women were dressing in the changing room. After our massage, we had a quiet cup of tea alongside two other people, silently reading their magazines. In the hotel, the general style is chic, not countrified.

WALLET WATCH Our Cloud 9 massage costs £107. Other massages start at £80, and facials cost £80.

A day spa pass starts at £105, for a one-hour treatment of choice, a two-course lunch and use of the facilities for the day. Lunch entrees at the hotel run from £8 to £10.50; dinner entrees start at £16.50.

NEED TO KNOW C.Side, Cowley Manor, Cowley, Near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL53 9NL
(01242 870 900; www.cowleymanor.com)

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