No, seriously, it can be done! The Belgian Ardennes is a beautiful region that so many people just drive by without a thought. Several towns have their own small downhill slope and there are miles of cross-country trails through the forests. While the snow is never guaranteed, when it comes it can be in prodigious quantities and of a quality that would stand up to scrutiny anywhere. Just don't expect groomed pistes, and ski early in the day before the Dutch arrive from across the border. When there's no snow, enjoy the walks on the moors (the 'Hautes Fagnes'), sampling the mineral springs, watching the wildlife and trying the local food (often the same thing).

Stay in the eponymous Spa, with its curative waters, and try Thiers des Rexhons www.skispa.be/
Route de Berinzenne - Thier des Rexhons
B- 4900 SPA
+32 90)87 77 30 28
Google map: bit.ly/yjDqA2

Or Mont des Brumes
www.montdesbrumes.be/fr/index.html
+32 80 78 54 13

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About one hour outside Rome, near the lovely lake and town of Bracciano is the Grand Hotel delle Terme di Stigliano. The hotel is beautiful and the setting in the hills of Lazio very peaceful. You can relax by the huge hotel pool or choose one of the various thermal pools. Spa treatments are available in the hotel, but also in the thermal centre nearby which is open to the public. There have been thermal springs here since Roman times: one of the treatments is in an original Roman Grotto!

www.termedistigliano.it/
Via Bagni di Stigliano, 00060 Canale Monterano (RM)
+39 06 99805977
Google map: bit.ly/zhCBk5

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A geothermal spa that helps to relax every muscle in your body, cleanse your skin and provide an incredible volcanic setting for all that visit. Spending a day here is rather too easy: the 37–39 °C waters, containing an array of minerals and algae for those aching appendages, are ideal for men and women alike. Even visiting as a 17-year-old, I loved the openness and steam filled surroundings whilst being pampered beyond belief. There is even a hotel on-site so that the tranquility can be extended for as long as you like.

www.bluelagoon.com
240 Grindavík
+354 420 8800
Google map: bit.ly/uZHXce

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The hotel is the perfect mixture of traditional Austrian and modern facilities. The new design rooms and the spa with indoor and outdoor pool has been a highlight for the whole family. The food was delicious and the hospitality of the family Fischbacher and their hotel team has been outstanding. Just perfect for active families who like to ski in the alps or like to be active in nature in summer.

www.alpenhof.info/
5542 Flachau, Flachauer Straße 98
+43 6457 2205
Google map: bit.ly/nSSILJ

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A fantastic yoga retreat for those who are looking to relax, unwind and let go. Never mind if you are new to yoga; the retreat caters for all levels. Advanced practitioners will enjoy too. relaxing atmosphere, vegetarian food to die for, a range of holistic therapies from Thai yoga massage to acupuncture to reiki from highly professional therapists. In just a couple of days you are miles away from a hectic city lifestyle mentality.

www.kaliyoga.com
Apartado de Correos 171, 18400 Orgiva, Granada
+44 (0)1373 814 663
Google map: bit.ly/pLESAN

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If you really want to experience fantastic health benefits of Ayurveda, go on an ayurvedic retreat. On your day one an ayurvedic doctor will access your health condition and will prescribe a bespoke programme of various ayurvedic treatments including all sorts of massages, herbal baths, your bespoke diet etc. Even chronic serious diseases can be dealt with, not to mention an overall benefit on your mental and emotional health.

www.barberynresorts.com
Barberyn Reef Ayurveda Resort
Beruwela, Sri Lanka
+94 34 22 76036

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Not the most authentic of spas in the city, but it has everything that any reputable spa should: a relaxing atmosphere, with baths of three temperatures, spa jets, a steam room, and all the tea you could wish for. Until the end of August there are appealing offers available too. Enjoy a 90 min circuit and 30 min massage for €25 or 70 min circuit and 20 min massage for €20. Or on week days grab a 2for1 offer of a 90 min circuit (no massage) for just €24 for two people!

www.sevillaspa.com
Hotel Melia, C/ Doctor Pedro de Castro, 1
Open Mon - Sun 10 a.m. - 11 p.m.
+34902 144 440
Google map: bit.ly/oRibMJ

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Recommended for pure romance and delight for bright cold winter days, (though beautiful in summer too). Give yourself two days. Drive through the winding Alpujarras mountains to reach El Ventorro, a rural hotel and restaurant, a couple of kilometres outside Alhama de Granada. Here, you can feast on incredible local food, from mushrooms collected in the forest, to local cheese and serrano ham, washed down with surprisingly delicious locally produced wine (well marketed in smart bottles- take one home with you) by a roaring fire in winter. At night you can stay in a beautifully lit cave room, with a four poster bed-the best sleep of your life! And the next day, you can choose whether to luxuriate in the atmospheric, heavenly (and spotless) Arabic baths built in the next door caves, or walk through the sandstone river valley and canyon to the historic town of Alhama de Granada, replete with Nazari ruins, a castle, historic squares, fountains and everything that Andalucia has to offer. If you can fit in the baths and the walk, you may be tempted to stay a second night in one of those beautiful caves and start the whole cycle again! And this whole delicious assault on the senses (cave bedroom, dinner, breakfast arabic baths) will only set you back about 70 euros. Stunning.

www.elventorro.net/
Carretera de Jatar, KM 2, 18120 Alhama de Granada
+34958 350 438
Google map: bit.ly/k4yFj4

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Alhama de Granada is one of the most beautiful locations in Spain, in the fertile land of the Poniente Grandadino in Southern Andalucia. This is the 'real' Spain - incredible light, authentic fabulous food, great people and hardly any English spoken. It isn’t far from the airport at Malaga, but it is a million miles from the pubs and full English breakfasts on the coast. There are churches, lovely squares, a spectacular gorge, a red Moorish fort, an Arabic quarter, fresh food shops and 38 cafe bars and restaurants all in easy walking distance. Perched nearly a thousand metres above sea level on the edge of Tajos Gorge. Famous throughout Spain for the thermal baths - hot therapeutic water bubbles up in to four thermal pools next to the river. 12km from town is the spectacular Bermajales lake with sandy beaches. There is great walking, sailing, abseiling, kayaking, quad biking, mountain biking and skiing activities all within easy reach of the town. Granada and the spectacular Alhambra are a mere 45 minutes car drive or an hour on the bus. There are a number of good quality yet inexpensive hotels and hostels in the town.

www.alhama.org/
Google map: bit.ly/iKDCvU
www.laseguiriya.com, +34958 36 08 01

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It's a day spa in Bali. They offer great Balinese massage and spa treatments, even have professional spa courses running there. We enjoyed a couples spa together in one of their lovely open-air rooms. Got free pick-up from our hotel (free transport available for Nusa Dua, Jimbaran and Kuta). From the start to finish we received an extraordinary service. Spa was terrific and good value for money.

Jalan By Pass Ngurah Rai No. 96, Mumbul, Nusa Dua, Bali 80363
www.BalineseSpa.com
+62 0361 770210

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I'm not a great one for history. I'm not a great one for the whole 'spa experience' thing. And I baulked at the £12 admission. But my fiancee wanted to have a look round and we'd got a discount ticket as part of the city bus tour. Having done the tour, I would have gladly handed over double the admission for the enormous privilege of viewing what the curators of this truly marvelous exhibit have thus far unearthed. The experience was immeasurably beyond my expectations. We spent an absorbing three hours looking around the fabulously presented ancient Roman baths. Technical wizardry allows you to see the ruins as they really were, projected right onto the remains as they are now; complete with spectral, be-toga'd Romans wandering about the place taking the waters. The museum side of things is like none I've been to before and recorded tour guides are available pitched at brainy history-fanatical adults, less demanding but keen to know adults, and children alike. A revelatory visit, and one which I have already recommended to friends and family, and await a return visit myself, with eager anticipation. An absolute joy! Go there now, and don't forget to taste the sulphurous waters themselves on the way out through the Pump House!

The Roman Baths, Stall Street, Bath
BA1 1LZ
+44 (0)1225 477785
Google map: bit.ly/hAfuFs

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Cafe Beeg is an old-school German cafe, formal atmosphere, delicious food, cakes and coffee. What makes it wonderful is that it is so welcoming to children - they warmed our daughter's baby meal, brought it out on a silver salver, with doily and her own spoon.
The adult meals were the best we had this trip and the cakes ... ah the cakes. To die for, with a selection of about 25 different kinds. Naturally including the region's speciality: Black Forest Gateau.
The Caracalla spa is the new spa in Baden-Baden and is sparklingly lovely. It has a creche for children. It's worth noting (Lonely Planet doesn't mention this!) that none of the spas in Baden-Baden let children under seven years old in as they all use the local thermal water, which is unsafe for small children.
When you arrive at Baden-Baden, switch off your satnav and follow the signs for the "Bädergarage" to park right underneath Caracalla. Entry for three hours is €17 per adult and parking costs €1 for 3 hours - bargain!

Cafe Beeg: Gernsbacherstrasse 44-46, 76530 Baden-Baden, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany +49722136760
Google map: bit.ly/fa274U

Caracalla: CARASANA Bäderbetriebe GmbH • Römerplatz 1, D-76530 Baden-Baden
+49 (0) 7221 2759-20,-40
www.carasana.de/
Google map: bit.ly/dTHxkO

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Despite being only a short car or train journey from bustling Berlin, the idyllic region around the Scharmützelsee and its surrounding smaller lakes is as off the beaten track, as reasonably priced and as untouristy as they come. You can pamper yourself in the thermal brine spas at Bad Saarow, spend the night in the opulent surroundings of the fairytale Schloss Hubertushöhe, a former royal hunting lodge, or just take in the protected beauty of the unspoilt beaches, woodland and wildlife in, on and around the lakes.

Scharmützelsee region, www.scharmuetzelsee.de/dateien/HOLIDAY.pdf. Nearest railway stations coming from Berlin: Bad Saarow - Pieskow, Wendisch-Rietz, Storkow/Mark.
Schloss Hubertushöhe, www.hubertushoehe.de/. Nearest railway station coming from Berlin: Hubertushöhe.
Bad Saarow thermal spa, www.bad-saarow.de/de/bad-saarow-therme/saarowtherme/Cached. Nearest railway station coming from Berlin: Bad Saarow-Pieskow (some direct trains, else change at Fürstenwalde)
Google map: bit.ly/e0d9T4

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Ryanair fly to Karlsruhe-Baden from Stansted with fares rarely more than a fiver. Flight timetables are perfect (out Friday evening after work, back Sunday night) meaning you can spend a long weekend enjoying the spas at Baden-Baden. There are two: the modern Caracella, which has a family atmosphere with large thermally heated pools, and the Roman Friedrichsbad. Enjoy coffee and cake in one of the smart cafes in the pedestrianised town centre and maybe take in the opera or a concert in the cultural district. You needn't worry about paying extra for hold luggage because in the Roman baths (and parts of the Caracella), it's compulsory not to wear clothes, so you can ignore the airline's swingeing baggage restrictions.

www.carasana.de/home/en/roemisch.html
+49 7221 2759-40
Römerplatz 1, D-76530 Baden-Baden
Google map: bit.ly/h7QkDY

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On a week's holiday in Reykjavik last November, I went swimming every morning outside(!) in the thermal pool at Vesturbaejarlaug.
The pool is in a suburb of Reykjavik and filled with all the local grannies gossiping in the (very) hot tubs and school children doing lengths. There is a sauna and steam room and it's a fabulous way to mix with the locals and get a real taste of Reykjavik life. So refreshing. It's great to walk around outside in just your swimming costume, you don't feel cold, but if you do, the hot tub will cook you up like a lobster.

Hofsvallagata, 107 Reykjavik
+354 411 5150
www.spacity.is/index.php?lang=en
Google map: bit.ly/hj16Fw

Open Mon-Fri 06.30—22.00
Sat-Sun 08.00—22.00
Entry 360ISK adult, 110ISK for 6-18 years, free for seniors and under 6
Sauna 450ISK extra
Entry, towel, swimming costume 850ISK
Entry, towel, swimming costume, sauna 950ISK

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Nothing beats a massage or spa session after a long hike in the mountains. A 30 minute therapeutic massage is a bargain at €20.
Paco, the owner, would go out of his way to ensure that you go away knot-free! He even stayed after hours to make sure that my friends and I were all seen to.

C/ Laguneta, Nº 32
11610 Grazalema (Cádiz) España
+34956 132016
Google map: bit.ly/eKCh0l
www.spagrazalema.com

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The scenery is fantastical on the trek through this unique Atlantic rain forest. It is like watching the earth evolve in fast motion beneath your feet. Exciting and spellbinding lush rain forest meets the lunar scape just before the boiling lake. The best place to relax is on the way back from the lake, in the gentle thermal river with small hot natural pools, safe to bathe in and the water is the colour of blue white.

Best to get a local guide as the landscape is as unpredictable as is the weather.
www.avirtualdominica.com/thelake.cfm
Google map: bit.ly/g2fMOe
whc.unesco.org/en/list/814

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Hidden just at the edge of the ramparts of Tangier's casbah high above the medina, is this gem of a small hotel with only ten rooms. During restoration work the owners discovered an old hammam within their walls, which now is the secret centrepiece of the hotel. Sooner or later you will share a beer with your convivial host and he will offer to introduce you to the oldest form of wellness - his master of ceremony will heat the private hamman with fire wood, give you a perfect rubdown in the steamy marbled vaults scented in oriental fragrances and wrap you in cosy blankets afterwards. Fresh mint tea on the diwans on the roof terrace overlooking both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean complete the joutney back to the old Tangier of poets, spies and smugglers ...

19 Riad Sultan Kasbah, Tangier
+212539947731
www.latangerina.com
Google map: bit.ly/ifBlHb

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This authentic hammam is located in London's vibrant Turkish community, and is a brilliant place to unwind. I went on one of the ladies' days (Wednesday and Saturday) and was encouraged to spend as much time as I wished in the calm, marbled steam room. A foaming scrub followed, after which an 'anti-stress massage' of my back and legs left me feeling relaxed and rejuvenated, all for £35. Other packages include deep tissue massage and full-body aromatherapy.

4A Crossway, London N16 8HX
www.turkishbathhamam.co.uk
+44(0)207 249 5554
Google map: bit.ly/dZOVCv
Nearest station: Dalston Kingsland

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About 8km out of Pai are hot springs. Apparently many of the hotels and resorts have tapped into these as part of their “spa treatments” – again one is tempted to draw some loose comparisons here - if Chiang Mai is Thailand’s Stratford -on-Avon, then Pai is its Bath or Cheltenham.
Anyway forget about palatial classical buildings housing marbled baths - this place is an open stream in the middle of a wood.
Having parked and paid ( I think it is one of those places that charges about 200 baht - ten times extra for foreigners!) I walked up through a wooded valley. It was forested with a teak plantation but nearer the stream natural vegetation ruled – including some extraordinary phallic flowers (like red hot pokers) that protruded about three or four feet straight up from the ground, with garish green and orange tops. Apart from the plant life around the stream there were a lot of algae in the water - amazing how nature can evolve to such extreme environments. The stream from the hot springs flowed down through the valley in a series of pools. These pools were labelled and some had planks forming crude benches over them to allow bathers access.
First of all we walked up to the top were the hot water emerged. On first arriving we had noticed people buying what appeared to be eggs in a net bag – we now understood why, taken up to the top you could dip them in the water for a few minutes and cook them. Mists hung eerily over the water, the only indication of how hot it was until you looked into the pools and saw the water bubbling and shimmering with heat. A low timber wall had been set up to deter folk from thoughtlessly taking a dip in that scolding water.
As we walked back down the valley the heat was dissipated somewhat and my companion took a liking to a pool labelled “Mineral Bath” - he duly stripped down to swimming trunks, in his bag he had packed towel etc. – for those less prepared, I noticed there were rustic wooden screens to change behind at a discrete distance for the water. He lowered himself in, I dangled a toe in - my god! It was still hot!
My friend managed to sit in in this pool up to his neck for quite a long time, apparently without any discomfort. The only other people to brave this part of the stream were some rather large Germans poaching quietly away in a pool just up stream a little – eventually I managed to dip my feet in for a few seconds – maybe a minute or so, but it was too hot for me, full body submersion was out of the question, at least in that pool.

About 20 minutes out of Pai - you can hire a bike.
Or your hotel will arrange a trip out for you.
We stayed at Baan Tawaan. www.baantawan-pai.com/

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