The best day spas

Star treatment:
The Jasmine Lulur Ritual (£165) offers 2 hours 15 minutes of heaven based on a 17th century Javanese pre-nuptual cleansing ceremony. Skin is polished and massaged with traditional spices, rice and ylang ylang, cleansed with yoghurt and bathed in jasmine flowers, then anointed with oils. A more modest cleanse, steam and shower is 45 minutes of Rasul (£40) - the classic Arabian total body mud pack.

The cost:
Medium to staggering. A five-hour day package like the Royal Thai Ceremony includes a lime and ginger salt scrub, coconut rub and milk float, Japanese Silk Booster facial, eye zone therapy, Hawaiian Wave Four Hands Massage and a 'ceremonial' light lunch. It costs £395 for one person and £#700 for two. More reasonable are Elemis' excellent Aromapure Facials (£70), but beware - an optional 12.5 per cent service charge is added to your bill.

The knowledge.
This award-winning spa belongs to the five-star Celtic Manor Resort. It's the UK's largest hotel health club and boasts a 52 station hi-tech gym, dance studio, hair salon, fitness testing suite and leisure cafe. Its 50-seater spa bath is also the biggest in Europe. Great for parties, then.

Why come here?
Non-residents can sample classic treatments from top companies like Elemis, Clarins and Guinot. There are great water therapies, plus treatments for men - if you can lure them off the championship golf courses.

Star treatment:
The Cleopatra Milk Oil Bath (£35). A new-style, 30-minute dry float, popular with those who prefer a warm, moisturising cocoon to soaking in a wet, itchy tub. You'll be buffed and smothered in nourishing, creamy oils, swaddled in film and left to de-stress on a waterbed.

The cost.
Amazing value. Day membership costs only £15 (if you book £50 worth of treatments) and gives you full use of the gym, changing rooms, steam room and spa bath. Treatments are reasonable - an Elemis Japanese Silk Booster Facial costs £47; a St Tropez Tan, £45. Celtic Manor's own Express Facial is a snip at £25.