The best day spas

Star treatments:
Jump Eve Lom's legendary waiting list and get her hour-and-a-half decongestant Facial (£95) here. Or go for a SPAce.NK Essential Rose Body Coccoon (£55) where you'll be exfoliated, then lubricated with rose creams, serums and essential oils.

The cost:
Reasonable. A basic half leg wax costs £20. There are men's treatments too, like the B.Kamins Gentleman's Facial (£50).

The knowledge:
A salon-cum-spa in a Grade II listed townhouse near the Royal Pavillion. Inspired by resorts like the Banyan Tree in Thailand and the Maldives and Kerala's ayurvedic centres, founder Claire Rogers has brought Eastern-style tranquillity back home to Brighton.

Why come here?
It's so comfy. You'll find lots of natural wood, rattan chairs and Keralan loungers, waffle robes and slippers in the changing rooms and extra-wide couches in the treatment rooms. As well as Eastern promise, you'll also find top name treatments from Dibi, E'Spa and Aromatherapy Associates.

Star treatment:
The Treatment Rooms Ritual (£149). Three hours of rose-based rejuvenation includes a footbath and massage, full body exfoliation and organic rose gel wrap, ayurvedic marma point massage, and full body and scalp massage with rose oil and stone therapy.

The cost.
Reasonable to indulgent. A Blissful Day Out (#195) gives you five and a half hours of customised pampering with massage and stone therapy plus fruit and refreshments. Or at £59, 85 minutes of ayurvedic Shiro Dhara/Head Oil Flow is one of the most deeply relaxing treatments going.

The knowledge:
Having starred in top spas and salons for the past 10 years, aromatherapy-based Elemis opened its own, long-awaited day spa in 2000.The treatments - based on rituals from Morocco, Thailand, India, Bali and Polynesia - are seriously exotic, if a tad flamboyant.