SPA SPECIAL
NEAR OR FAR? WITH CHILDREN OR WITHOUT? FOR BETTER SLEEP OR BRIGHTER SKIN? FIND ALL THIS AND MORE IN RED’S ROUND-UP OF THE LOVELIEST BEAUTY AND WELLBEING DESTINATIONS
LA ZAMBRA
I fly through a storm to reach La Zambra, palms clinging to the armrests as I focus intently on the 325 days of yearly sunshine bestowed upon the Costa del Sol. Happily, the sun plays ball on landing and all turbulence is forgotten once I’m safely cocooned within the hotel’s white Moorish walls. La Zambra hasn’t always been this calm. Formerly the Byblos Hotel, it was a decadent party spot beloved of The Rolling Stones and Julio Iglesias (the Bamboleo bar is named in his honour). The lavish 1980s decor has left the building and the new owners have let the magical local light in; it bounces off the cool stone floors and is practically a design feature in the spa. Treatments here follow different ‘journeys’, determined by your therapist over a house smoothie or steaming cup of whatever you fancy. It’s gently suggested that relaxation is a state I need to tap into, this being my first trip away from a one-year-old live wire, so a lavender and orange blossom massage follows. Sheer curtains enhance the ‘cloud nine’ vibe of my sun-dappled treatment room, separating my space from my husband’s (‘No talking!’). Warm oil is drizzled on limbs tired from toddler hauling, and we drift in and out of Turkish baths, saunas and a cavernous Jacuzzi. The more adventurous can limber up with a Thai yoga massage, or hop aboard a ‘floating’ massage bed, but I stay grounded. Before leaving, we pop into the (complimentary) baby club, ‘just in case’. It turns out that serenity and soft play can coexist; we’ll be back.
ROOMS, FROM AROUND £430 A NIGHT; RELAX & RENEW MASSAGE, FROM AROUND £116 FOR 60 MINUTES
UNIVERSITY ARMS
A book butler is not the first person I expect to meet on my arrival at the University Arms, but then this is not your standard spa experience. This is bookwormery with a side of spa. In fact, I’d met the book butler (on email) a week before I arrived. As part of the hotel’s Peace Within The Pages package, she’d asked me about my favourite literature (gothic, noir, as dark as you like, please). And as I enter my room – a sublime suite with a terrace overlooking the green space of Parker’s Piece – I understand why: a beautifully wrapped copy of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca is an unexpectedly lovely gift. I quickly realise that the snuggling-down-with-a-book aspect of my stay will be just as relaxing as any treatment. About which I’d love to wax lyrical but can’t, since I fall asleep moments into it (my unknotted muscles and lighter-feeling self, however, are testament to how good it was). I have a 90-minute full-body massage by Aromatherapy Associates, which runs
