lf you're in need of a little pampering there are plenty of venues in Scotland just waiting to soothe your mind. body and spirit.
If you're shOrt on time and just want to spend a few hours or a day relaxing. you'll be pleased to hear that Edinburgh and Glasgow both now have several world-class spas to choose from. The six-stOrey One spa (0131 221 7777, www.one—spa.com) at the Sheraton Grand on Edinburgh‘s Lothian Road will tempt you with a huge range of features: aroma grotto. mud room. scented steam room and lots of treatments from ESPA. The Escape Leisure Club at the Scotsman Hotel (0131 556 5555. www.theSCOtsmanhotel.co.uk) extends over three levels. featuring “arctic and tropical showers', five treatment rooms and classes in yoga, dance and lots more. Glasgow’s Langs Hotel (0141 333 1500. www.langshotels.co.uk) is home to the Oshi Spa where you‘ll find Aveda treatments on offer to help you relax.
Outside the cities there are a wealth of spas and retreats, many of which offer day packages as well as longer stays. If it's luxury
FAGTFILE SPA BREAKS I. I
The Bclvedmc un Arum
Feel the healing touch at Edinburgh’s One Spa
you're after there are several castles where you can indulge yourself. Dalhousie Castle just outside Edinburgh (01875 820153) specialises in hydro-therapy with jet pools, steam room and sauna. Stobo Castle in Peebleshire (wwwstobocastlecouk) lets you enjoy the Borders countryside while offering over 70 treatments including underwater and aromatherapy massage. You're even encouraged to wander around in your bathrobe. The Peebles Hydro (01721 720602. www.peebleshotelhydrocouk) is set in 30 acres of grounds and has a full range of Elemis face and body treatments.
If it's a real rural retreat you're after. the Birchbrae chalets might be the answer (01855 821261, www.bbchalets.co.uk). These self-catering lodges are described as an “oasis in the woods' and there's a health & beauty studio on-site offering a range of facial and body treatments using the Phytomer natural marine range. Meanwhile. Boath House (01667 454896. www.boath- house.demon.co.uk) is a Georgian Mansion up in Nairn where Ayurvedic treatments are available.
Travel
TRAVELOGUES
BEN BLACK
Breaking Ranks (Lonely Planet £6.99) 00.
Ben Black’s light-hearted journey through the Jewish homelands of the late 803 and 90s is unfortunately destined to date quicker than you can say Lemon Popsicle. Black’s story begins in the late 805. A teenage Jocko Ashkenazi, he leaves to live in a Jerusalem kibbutz with some mates. A more innocent time, between the Oslo Accords and the Intifada ending in 1993, Black falls in love with his country, nation and the ladies. He bums around with his mischievous drug-addled mates until the events of the late 90$ force him to face his true Jewish inheritance. Black is a fine writer keen on fragrant similes seeded into the middle of the simplest of prose, but this funky trawl through Israel’s recent history never lingers long enough on any of its fascinating subjects to leave an impression. (Paul Dale)
TONY WHEELER ED.
Lonely Planet Unpacked Again (Lonely Planet , £6.99) 0.00
In this book Lonely Planet writers reveal the less glamorous side to their
jet-setting careers, and 1...,” rip... what happens when their well-planned trips go awry. ,_ 14W”,
The catalogue of disasters include meddling bureaucrats, wrongful arrests, varying illnesses, local culinary delicacies, naked bicycle maintenance, forces of nature and a brush or two i
with death. The settings are unique and varied, from deserts to oceans, from lowly Brixton to the coasts of Brazil. This collection is best experienced from the safety and comfort of your armchair at home, but perhaps useful to have at hand to make that delayed train journey seem like a minor irritation. (Lucy Quinton) I Breaking Ranks and Lonely Planet Unpacked 1 Again are out now.
Inny vhf—ck” -i’
HOTEL GUIDE HERBERT YPMA Hip Hotels: Budget (Thames 8 Hudson 5:18.95)
Hip hotel hunter extraordinaire Herbert Ypma is back with the latest instalment in his sumptuous series, and this book takes a financial realist’s HOTELS approach. 80 what does he mean by budget? The average is £65 a night with a few £25 bargains. Ypma has ‘! dug up hotels where providing hospitality and style, rather than pulling in corporate bucks is the motivation. So what we see are the red adobe walls of the La Aldea in Chile, the very industrial chic of Hamburg’s Hotel Gastwek, and the retro cool of Brighton’s Hotel Pelirocco which has one room entitled Modrophenia, complete with scooter. It’s a surprising and intriguing read, succinctly detailing the history of the buildings and the philosophy of the owners. (Louisa Pearson)
18 Oct—t Nov 2001 THE LIST 125