The Bailiffscourt Hotel and Health Spa, West Sussex

The lines are drawn clearly between the spa and the hotel - there's no hunting for a hidden spa in a shady corner of the hotel basement here. This is a serious spa housed in its own barn-like building made from green oak that sits discretly from the main medieval-style house and the smattering of other accommodation options in the grounds.

£££ The treatments are reasonably priced: the Mediterranean massage is £60 for 60 minutes and Footprints in the Sand is £50 for 60 minutes.

Christchurch Harbour Hotel, Dorset

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BACKGROUND

• Captain’s Club Hotel, Christchurch, Dorset

• Moonfleet Manor, Fleet, Dorset

• Middle Piccadilly Natural Healing Centre, Dorset

• Chewton Glen, Hampshire

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• Spa expert: holistic break in the UK

Christchurch Harbour Hotel on Dorset’s increasingly fashionable south-west coast has just emerged from a £8m makeover that celebrates the best of British so expect a shimmering subterranean spa with award-winning products by Hampshire-based Espa and an eco-chic waterfront restaurant overseen by a Michelin-starred chef - Gary Rhodes - who doesn’t shy away from kidneys, jellied eel or even spotted dick.

£££ The spa menu features some tempting Espa offerings. What woman in her right mind could resist a facial called The Age Defyer, even if it costs £62? Apparently me, as the helpful spa manager recommended I try something from the second featured range, the French brand Guinot. Its impressive Hydradermie facials (from £56 to £88) use rollers that emit a small electrical pulse that encourages penetration of the products and detoxication of the skin and generally “irons out” those unwanted wrinkles better than the deluxe service at Sketchley’s.

Budock Vean Hotel Spa, near Falmouth, Cornwall

The hotel’s spa offers all-Cornish Spiezia spa products grown and created in the county by Dr Mariano Spiezia and made at St Martins, Cornwall. Budock Vean has the added attraction of being set in an exquisitely beautiful valley in one of
Cornwall’s smartest areas. Anyone who has visited the world-famous neighbouring landscapes at Glendurgan or Trebah will be instantly at home in Budock Vean. All three are set in steep natural valleys running parallel to each other down to the Helford River.

£££ The Heads in Heaven treatment lasts one hour 25 minutes and costs £70. Overnight prices are very reasonable for what they include. The tariff per person per night includes bed, breakfast and five course dinner plus use of the golf and tennis courts and swimming pool and ranges from £76 in a standard room in low season to £123 for a superior room in high season

Midland Hotel Spa, Morecambe

A trip to a spa could seem like an unnecessary expense in the face of the second depression. But hour-long treatments for £30? A three-hour package which includes an Indian head massage, body massage and a facial for £90? My winter fuel bill worries vanish in a haze of lavender and bergamot aromatherapy oil.

£££ You don’t need to stay at the hotel to use the spa, just book a treatment direct (01524 417 674). An hour-long manicure costs £27 and an hour-long aromatherapy massage is £35. A room mid-week costs from £99 including B&B.

The Quay Hotel and Spa, North Wales

The views from the Quay, across the Conwy Estuary to Conwy and its impressive castle, are absolutely beautiful. This location also means that the hotel is ideally situated for an overnight spa break from north Wales or Merseyside as well as the affluent acres of Cheshire. The hotel and spa are also already benefiting from the patronage of wealthy boat-owners whose craft are moored in the waters nearby.

£££ The prices are a major selling point for the Quay spa. My treatment lasted almost an hour and a half and costs £55 - the price of a perfunctory facial at many places. An hour's Turkish Hamman massage will set you back £45, and "finishing touches" such as a full leg wax (£22) or eye lash tint (£10) are also good value for such an upmarket establishment. Full day and half day spa packages, including a light lunch, are a bargainous £149 and £89 respectively, and the hotel also offers residential spa packages.

L'Horizon Hotel and Spa, Jersey

A great place to kickback and feel as though your miles away from the smog of the city. Smiley and seasidey, but slick. Located bang in the middle of the glorious St Brelade's Bay, a huge, perfect, curve of white sand and gentle surf, the whole hotel has recently had a smart £8.5 million upgrade. The spa is small but perfectly formed, with two treatment rooms (expansion is planned) a seawater swimming pool, and sauna and steam room.

£££ A back, neck and shoulder massage costs £28 for 25 minutes; an O2 marine facial and the Aroma Essential Facial are both £42 for 55 minutes; a manicure costs £26 for 45 mins and the pedicure £31 for 45 mins. From £230 bed and breakfast per room per night in summer, £120 in winter.

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