Here's a headline list of my favourite detox spas to get you going in 2008. Click on the title of each spa to read a fuller review

The Soma Centre, Kensington, London
(020-7937 8000; www.royalgardenhotel.co.uk)

USP Their claim of even the slimmest possibility of being able to look ten years younger in a single day calls like a siren. Just treatment rooms but the best facial I've had. The one hour slimming and detoxifying body treatment using algae harvested in the North Sea actually made my skin feel ten years younger.

WALLET WATCH The day costs from £400, with anti-ageing work, such as Botox, costing extra.

Grayshott Spa, Grayshott, Surrey
(01428 602020; www.grayshottspa.com)

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We've hand-picked five of the capital's best day spas for part-time pampering

BACKGROUND

• Top 5 serene retreats

• Spas for real people

• Top 10 breaks to get you out of a rut

Related Internet Links

• Read more than 240 reviews in our Good Spa Guide

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• Ayush Wellness Spa, St Helier, Jersey

USP Staff and facilities at Grayshott are excellent. The spa area is clinical and frighteningly modern, but there are lots of facilities — tennis courts, nine-hole golf course, indoor and outdoor pool, whirlpool, cinema.

WALLET WATCH A two-night pamper package, including a refresher facial, manicure and back massage, costs £425 for a single room.

Bath House Spa, New Park Manor, New Forest, Hampshire
(01590 623467; www.newparkmanorhotel.co.uk)

USP Staff are efficient, friendly and full of knowledge about their trade and the products they use. The six treatment rooms have a ranch like feel in keeping with the location. There’s a 16m indoor swimming pool with 270-degree views of the surrounding paddocks and forest, an outdoor hot tub, sanarium, sauna, Klafs steam room, Kneipps foot baths, Klafs experience showers and a hydrotherapy pool – good for cellulite and mobility problems.

WALLET WATCH A 75-minute Hot Stone Massage costs £70. Spa days start from £105 per person. The spa offers various special pampering days throughout the year. Overnight Post Christmas detox packages start from £275 and include a tailor-made fitness programme to take home.

Donnington Valley Hotel and Spa, Newbury, Berkshire
(01635 568169; www.donningtonvalley.co.uk)

USP New, light and roomy spa – with excellent wet facilities - thoughtfully conceived and not too over the top in its décor. I came to experience the anti-blues Aquasun mineral treatment - "a virtual holiday treatment which recreates the key beneficial elements of a beach holiday".

WALLET WATCH Aquasun mineral treatment costs £32 for 30 minutes; an Indian head massage is £35 for 30 minutes. A Holistic One Night Spa Break is £179 per person (Single Room Occupancy £199). A half-day spa Relax for four hours is available Monday to Thursday for only £60 per person and includes a 30-minute Clarins Absolute Radiance Facial and tea. The popular holistic treatment is £99 per person during the week and £115 Friday to Sunday - a Full Body Hot Stone Massage, a Deluxe Foot Ritual, a healthy Spa Lunch and hour relax and then a choice of ESPA Salt & Oil Scrub, Indian Head Massage, Aquasun Mineral Treatments; followed by a fruit sorbet and a product gift pack.

Tree of Life Centre, Staverton, Gloucestershire
(01242 680450; www.blockclearance.com)

USP Along with yoga and massage, the founder Patricia Sterry, a psychiatrist trained at Guy’s Hospital, offers sessions in psychotherapy, reflexology, naturopathy and craniology, yoga and massage. At the core of the centre is block clearance therapy (BCT), which helps to break negative cycles or patterns, such as eating disorders and alcoholism, by communing with the subconscious. Other treatments include two consultations with a naturopath, a massage (I had a neck and shoulder massage) and/or yoga, and reflexology. There is also plenty of time to read, chat or, if you like, cook.

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