USP Salty chic on the North African coast. Thalassotherapy is always top of the Tunisian spa menu. This seawater treatment involves being cradled in a hot seaweed wrap or sprayed with powerful jets of water, depending on how brave you are.

AMBIENCE The look is slightly kitsch but with a sense of luxury.

EXPERIENCE Clinical: therapists in white coats pad along marble floors and many treatments focus on a specific ailment. For sheer bliss, choose the four-hand massage and surrender to the undivided attention of two therapists.

FOOD Four smart restaurants and a couple of beach-view cafes to choose from. Il Delfino has a special low-fat menu for dieters.

IN CROWD Well-groomed French ladies and the Tunisian elite - with a few pamper-hungry Brits. For local people this spa is part of a health programme to cure all manner of ills from poor circulation to respiratory problems.

WALLET WATCH For the best deal, book a package. A three-day spa programme, at £165, entitles you to four different treatments a day plus use of all facilities. A typical menu includes an algae wrap, two hydrotherapy cures and a 50-minute massage. A four-day package costs £221; five days, £277. A hotel suite costs from £120 per night.

NEED TO KNOW Hasdrubal Thalassa Hotel, Yasmine Hammamet, Tunisia (00 216 72 248 800; www.hasdrubal-hotels.com)

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