What do you look for in a spa? Are you longing for a countryside retreat or is a quick designer fix in town more apt? Then there are add-ons to your spa package: you may like access to colonnaded pools and bubble beds or you may prefer free blow-dries and Michelin-starred cuisine. Amidst endless choices, Louise Simpson tours the French Riviera for sweet-smelling answers to your spa desires. For a city spa with a view, look no further than the Thermes Marins Monte-Carlo. Perched above the Monte-Carlo harbour, this lavish spa spreads over four floors dedicated to wellness.
The spa menu features both Swiss-laboratory facials by Cellcosmet and La Prairie and hydrotherapy treatments. My favourite way to enjoy the vista is from my own hydrotherapy-bath suite. Some day spa packages come with access to the large indoor pool and the sundeck where you can soak up the rays between treatments. This spa pays homage to contemporary design with its white marble floors and bronze fittings.
Signature treatments include Le Soin Noir facial using black algae extract. After your spa treatment, you can finish off with a hot-cold experience vacillating from sauna and caldarium to ice fountain and sensory showers and back again. Fitness addicts may like the Pilates or the Global Muscular Reinforcement gym session.
This huge top-floor spa is bathed in natural light. Painstaking research was used for every detail of the recent renovation from the couples suites with double hydrotherapy tubs to the ladies relaxation lounge where friends can share bento box lunches. Choose between a Spirulina Detox body wrap by Kerstin Florian or a cellulite and body contouring treatment with Velashape. Signature treatments include the Caviar and Collagen Cocoon. The best view is from the nail spa: as you relax with your feet in a spa bath, you can gaze out the floor-to-ceiling windows over the famous hairpin bend of the Monte-Carlo Grand Prix racetrack.
This hilltop castle dates back to the Knights Templar. The La Prairie spa is set amidst olive trees, fragrant flowers and birdsong within the acre landscaped grounds. Couples can enjoy the duo treatment cabin, while children can enjoy back massages and fairy nail treatments.
