THE FACTS ABOUT THERMES MARINS DE MONTE CARLO

France

Extravagant and opulent, this 19th-century monument to luxury is still going strong and winning new followers. With its slightly younger sister - the Hôtel Hermitage - it shares Les Thermes Marins de Monte-Carlo, a vast temple to well-being in pink marble and frosted glass. There is a saltwater swimming pool and plunge pools, saunas and steam rooms, as well as enough treatments to keep even the most pampered person happy. Monte-Carlo may seem frivolous but Les Thermes Marins is deeply serious about combating stress, cellulite and aiding weight reduction; it also offers great facials at its beauty salon, Le Salon Bleu. It is big on seawater therapies (baths with essential oils or algae, mud wraps, jet showers), two of the specials being the Azur Tonic (six days of seawater treatments and exercise, from effusion massages to gentle aquaerobics) and 'phelobiological' exercises, specifically designed for those with jambes lourdes (which translates as tired, aching legs). The exercises involve a mix of pleasure and pain, the pain coming from walking over pebbles (a kind of underwater reflexology), the pleasure from a jet-shower massage. Recover at the spa's own restaurant, La Hirondelle, where light, calorie-counted delicacies await, or enjoy a blow-out at the hotel's two-Michelin-star restaurant. In between, view some of the most expensive real estate in Europe and lust after the world's most expensive yachts. And there's always the casino. CONTACT Thermes Marins de Monte-Carlo, Hôtel de Paris, Place du Casino, 98000 Monte-Carlo (00 377 92 163000; fax: 163849; www.montecarloresort.com). Doubles from around £253. Massages from around £36; facials from around £39. Three-night Zen Retreat packages from around £1,004 per person (based on two sharing). All prices correct at time of going to press. GETTING THERE easyJet (0870 600 0000; www.easyjet.com) flies three times daily from Luton to Nice and once daily each from Gatwick, Liverpool and Stansted from £45 return; also once daily from Bristol from £60 return. It's a 30-minute drive from the airport