Spa treatments good enough to eat
The i-on team samples spa treatments with a foodie twist...
Best for chocoholics…
“The Chocolate and Lime Escape at Edinburgh’s Radisson Blu hotel is the perfect treatment to completely indulge without consuming a single calorie. The 70-minute spa experience is great value at £60. It begins with a zingy grapefruit and lime foot scrub, followed by a warm cocoa back massage, where the therapist melts a scented candle into the massage oil. I could feel all my tension slip away as I breathed in the chocolate-y scent. Next came a lime blossom facial, grapefruit and lime hand massage and pressure point scalp massage. I left feeling completely relaxed and rejuvenated – and I smelt amazing!” Susie Lowe, Head of Photography
Visit www.radissonblu.com/en/hotel-edinburgh or Tel: 0131 557 9797.
Best for beach babes…
“Bathing in seaweed might not sound like a luxury spa experience but when the spa in question is Glasgow’s exclusive Blythswood Square Spa, you can bet your fluffy white towels it will be. The 30-minute ishga seaweed bath, £30, involved lying in a hot bath infused with natural Hebridean salts and actual Scottish seaweed. The smell was nothing like a soggy weekend in Saltcoats and my skin looked brightened and tighter on exiting the bath. I further indulged with a sea salt and oil scrub, £47, and left with super soft skin and a healthy ‘yoga’ glow.” Susie Cormack Bruce, Lifestyle Editor
Visit www.blythswoodsquare.com or Tel: 0141 248 8888.
Best for a sweet tooth…
“As a spa novice, I was more than a tad excited to experience the ‘Relax into Radiance’ ritual, £110, at The Balmoral Spa. The treatment uses all Spiezia Organics products, which are handmade in Cornwall and 100% organic. The best part? They are all edible. Before we began, I had a bite of the Embrace the Day body scrub - a marigold and lemon scrub with caster sugar - and it was fantastic, a sweet taster of what was to come. During my session which included a full body scrub, light back massage, mini facial and head massage, I could feel myself completely unwinding. I left 90 minutes later feeling recharged for the week ahead…and a little bit hungry.” Cat Thomson, Photographer
Visit www.roccofortehotels.com or Tel: 0131 622 8880
Best for those with exotic tastes…
“Scented candles and oriental music set the scene at Castle Thai Spa, a sexy subterranean space hidden beneath Edinburgh’s busy shopping streets. One of their signature treatments is the lime and ginger massage, £60, and the zesty aroma combined with sunflowers, sweet almond and Marula seed massage oil really does awaken the senses. Different to a standard pampering massage, the Thai oil treatment is a firm, full body massage concentrating on pressure points to ease aches and pains, followed by assisted back stretching. It left me feeling knot free, lighter and brighter in just 60 minutes.” Nicky Howden, Editor
Visit www.castlethaispa.com, or Tel: 0131 629 0794.