USP As soon as you get to the Esplendido hotel, you breathe a sigh of relief. It's that sort of place. Even at the beginning of May or in late September, after a less-than two-hour flight from London, we were in a place hot enough for a bikini, where the sea was blue, the sound of the waves lulled us to sleep, and watching beads of condensation form on glasses of rosé proved so exhausting we had to eat plate after plate of calamari to maintain our strength.

AMBIENCE It's a family-friendly, seasidey, place with a decent bistro, modern furnishings and bathrooms with white waffle bathrobes and Ren products. These things matter. And it has a proper spa. Lots of hotels say they've got a spa but what they mean is they've found a spare chamber maids' cupboard, put a massage table and a couple of scented candles in it, and stuck a pottery starfish on the door with 'spa' painted on it.

EXPERIENCE At the Esplendido, after you've walked across a decked walkway from the pool, past cheerful stripy chairs and those nice Moroccan mosaic tables, possibly with glass of rosé in hand, you're met by a proper therapist - in my case the lovely Luciana - who soon has you stretched out in one of the nicest spa rooms I've ever been inside (and I once had a treatment in a thatched room on the beach in Mauritius. I know. It's a tough job.)

Everything was spotlessly white, from the walls to the floor and the towels, and there was a reassuringly vast array of products lined up. Even Luciana was in white - the staff at the Esplendido all wear a fetching uniform of white jeans and white t-shirts (Luciana's, pleasingly, had 'SPA' written on the back in glittery letters.) You could see the sea through the open window shutters, and you could hear it, too, once they'd turned the music off (why it was on in the first place is anybody's guess. Most spas would kill to have a real-life soundtrack like that, so why drown it out with panpipes?)

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I had the Esplendido Spa Treatment, using Kerstin Florian products, a natural range which uses herbs, essential oils, mud and algae. They gave me an exfoliating body scrub then put me in a candle-lit scented bath with aromatic oils and thalasso seaweed extract.

After that came a full-body massage using a mix of lavender oil and Aroma Akta Harmony oil and Aroma Akta Calm Mind oil, then an algae gel mask facial; a head massage while the mask worked and, finally, a foot massage. The whole thing took more than two hours and was so heavenly I fell asleep. The products are nicely-packaged, smell good and, most importantly, rendered me relaxed, glowing and wholly lacking in the East London pallor which usually characterises my complexion. Go. It's lovely.

FOOD AND DRINK Just what you want - zingy Greek salads, decent burgers, great calamari with aioli, chips. Breakfasts are legendary - a huge buffet of continental options, from hams and cheeses to umpteen different breads and cereals; or choose from bacon, eggs any way, omelettes....the local rosé is eminently drinkable, though possibly not with breakfast.

IN-CROWD A real mix. Lots of European families with eerily well-behaved young children, but a smattering of Brits and plenty of childless couples and singles.

WALLET WATCH Rooms start at €150 per night for a standard with garden view; sea views start from €190. A spa massage start from €68, facials from €70, manicures €45. The Esplendido Spa Treamtent was €168 for 150 minutes.

NEED TO KNOW The Esplendido Hotel and Spa, Puerto de Soller, Mallorca www.esplendidohotel.com

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