Come fly with me: Time to rejuvenate

I was in Mumbai for almost a week. I'd done crazy travelling and had both indulged in and punished myself by staying up till the early hours of the morning. So, back in Dubai, I was ready to collapse on my bed, go for a swim, sunbathe and do nothing. And with my passion for spas, I was ready to try a few I hadn't yet tried. My only dilemma was I needed so many things done — from the pedi-mani salon specials and a haircut to a long body massage and a back scrub — that I wondered a) how I could spend so long at a spa b) whether there was a spa salon combo that could combine all this and c) how much all this would cost. And what with all the pollution I'd been exposed to, my face was just a bit unsmooth — that's the nicest word I can use — so, of course, a facial was imperative.

So I began with a recommended Fusion massage at the sumptuous Palace Hotel — from an oil-free Shiatsu scalp massage to a Balinese massage on the arms and an oil Hawaiian technique on the legs. For a facial, I made a day out of going to the Madinat Talise spa with a friend, where, having been greeted with amethyst crystal water, I was so relaxed I decided to change to a body massage just before my treatment began. The therapist Kathleen gave the perfect amount of pressure and by the time 50 minutes were up, I was half asleep. While sipping on ginger and honey tea, I entered the hot plunge pool — it took me five minutes to get my whole body in, after which we lounged on the beach. For the body scrub, I went to Sensasia spa in Jumeirah. I've tried the cocoa-butter hot-stone therapy at Sensasia but this time, I chose the cinnamon-spice body scrub. It was stimulating and soothing and the zesty ginger and honey tea, with a rather odd selection of carrot and cucumber sticks after the treatment, helped wake me up a little.

For a facial, I'm glad I ended up going to Dermalogica in Dubai Mall, where the skin specialists used exfoliation, steam and extraction, along with a range of products for my skin type to make my skin glow again. And to round off, I'd recommend Beauty Connection in Oasis Tower on Shaikh Zayed Road — I haven't had such a good pedicure in a long time!

While Dubai spas will certainly pinch your pocket, they do rank highly in the world of spas. So make the most of it, especially during Ramadan.