Top Ten Bikini Body Treatments

by Jessica Baldwin (July 2012)

Yes, it is that time of year again; the sun is out, the airport is calling and the bikini you have been hiding from all year is back with a vengeance. So tan up those legs, tone up that midriff, shift that cellulite and get ready for some poolside posing with the help of my top 10 bikini body treatments…

1. Bovey Castle

North Bovey, Dartmoor

Surrounded by a serene national park, Bovey Castle offers a rural retreat like no other. Where else can you wear Hunter wellies at breakfast, riding boots before lunch, golf spikes after and killer heels to dinner? However, nobody will be looking at your shoes after you try their ‘Firming Bust Treatment’. A light exfoliation, followed by a mask of gotu kola and peptides will firm and tighten your décolletage in no time.

2. Sequoia Spa

The Grove, Chandler's Cross

After The Grove’s ‘Anti Cellulite Hip & Thigh Treatment’ you’ll look so good you will be desperate to don your cozzie and hit the hotel beach. Concentrating on the areas of the body prone to cellulite, fluid retention and uneven skin texture the lymphatic drainage will gently purify and cleanse the body leaving you feeling lighter and tighter and ready to compete with the hotel’s A-list celeb fans.

3. The Grand Hotel

King Edward's Parade, Eastbourne

Affectionately referred to as ‘The White Palace’, The Grand is Britain’s only 5* hotel on the coast. Their ‘Turkish Salt Scrub with Eucalyptus’ visibly brightens the skin whilst stimulating circulation. The treatment promises to boost the immune system and aid detoxification, but if that’s not enough get your hiking boots on and head to the nearby South Downs National Park to burn a few calories amidst miles of unspoilt countryside.

4. Titanic Spa

Low Westwood Lane, Linthwaite, Huddersfield

On the edge of the beautiful Pennines, hidden within an old textile Mill you will find the Titanic Spa. The eco-friendly spa offers a great range of relaxing treatments but for a thorough pre-beach cleanse you can’t beat their ‘Decleor Silhouette Aroma Wrap’. The treatment disperses energy-sapping toxins with a unique blend of mineral-rich marine algae which breaks down fatty deposits and eliminates water retention.

5. Thermae Bath Spa

Hetling Pump Room, Hot Bath Street, Bath

Follow in your ancestors footsteps and submerge yourself in Britain’s only natural thermal spa pool. While you absorb the minerals, gaze across the stunning World Heritage city of Bath before trying out the spa’s unique ‘Green Coffee Slim & Tone Wrap’. Using pure micronised green coffee it stimulates the body's ability to break down fat and transform it into energy, increasing metabolism and eliminating water retention.

6. The Balmoral Spa

1 Princess Street, Edinburgh

Having been crowned ‘Scotland’s Leading Hotel’ at the World Travel Awards last year, there’s no doubt The Balmoral is the most luxurious place to lay your head in the country and their ‘ESPA Stimulating Hip and Thigh Treatment’ will have you posing around their pool in no time. After a thorough exfoliation with a special blend of seaweed, salt and oil it’s time for the lymphatic drainage. Using stimulating essential oils the deep massage purifies the body and encourages localised cleansing.

7. Harrogate Turkish Baths & Health Spa

Royal Baths, Parliament Street, Harrogate

For centuries people have turned to Turkish baths to improve circulation, cleanse the skin and strengthen the immune system but they’re also a relaxing way of detoxing. Set in the UK’s most popular spa town you will find an Aladdin’s cave of Turkish baths with three different levels of heated rooms to choose from; Tepidarium (warm), the Calidarium (hot) and Laconium (hottest). For the best results brave the plunge pool to flush out those toxins!

8. Cowshed Spa

Babington House, Babington, Frome

Part of the infamous Soho House Group, Babington is the ultimate spa retreat for city slickers. Its Cowshed spa offers the cheekily labelled ‘Slender Cow Total Body Treatment’ for those looking to return to the city smaller than they left it (easier said than done given their delicious restaurant!). Dry skin body brushing revives tired skin, a detoxifying massage firms and tones and a generous slathering of body butter will leave you glowing.