Simpson Travel

36 ON TRAVEL WORLDWIDE The sensual spa Choosing a spa holiday is, for most of us, the ultimate in indulgence – somewhere beautiful, restful and pampering. How to decide on the best one for you? Easy – just follow your senses... and savour. Touch The feel of crisp cotton on the massage bed, the whisper of silk in your bathrobe, the luxury of a warm towel enveloping you after an invigorating underwater massage and the sheer sensuous swirl of an oil anointing your back. But most important of all – the hands of the therapist which bring the healing power of touch to your taut muscles, aching joints and tired limbs. Sight An open lotus blossom beneath the therapy table, the flicker of candlelight in alcoves, the spray ascending from the hydro pool and rose petals scattered on bathwater. Add to that the sunlight streaming through the walls of glass, the exotic gardens where you go to relax and meditate, the snow-clad peaks on the distant mountain tops or the white sand on the floor of your beach treatment sala. BY JO FOLEY TRAVEL WRITER Jo has been visiting and reviewing spas on four continents for over 25 years. Writing for publications as diverse as Vanity Fair and the Daily Mail, she has chronicled the great spa evolution and knows, first-hand, why these havens of tranquillity have never been better.