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WORDS BY CATHERINE COOPER
Family holidays are great, but sometimes it´s nice to let someone else mind your little treasures while you unwind with the best of health treatments. Spas with creches genius!
Aquacity
Poprad, Slovakia
 If getting hot and sweaty in a sauna or steam room isn´t for you, Aquacity in Propad, Slovakia (closest easyJet airport: Krakow) offers the other extreme in it's cryotherapy chamber: the chance to spend up to two minutes at -120ºC (that's about 30 degrees colder than the coldest temperature recorded at the North Pole.) The chamber looks like a cross between a fridge and a sauna and you're expected to go in dressed in just shorts, ear-muffs, clogs, ski socks, mittens and a paper mask. You'll look ridiculous but the effects will take your breath away. The treatment is considered mainstream in much of eastern Europe and used by athletes to enhance their performance. Aquacity also offers a myriad of naturally heated indoor and outdoor thermal pools, including one with a swim-up bar and a laser-light show every night above the water. For the kids there is a water-park with a several flumes and a family splash pool as well as a supervised playroom for children aged three to 10.
www.aquacity.sk; Tel. +44(0)845 272 0300
 Agia Pelagia, Heraklion, Greece
For a sneaky spa-break where you can pretend you are actually going somewhere for your children’s entertainment, this is ideal. Out of the Blue (fly into Heraklion) has its own on-site Minoan Amusement Park. Aimed at four to 14-year-olds, the whole park is based around Greek mythology and includes a carousel, labyrinth, climbing area, indoor and outdoor theatres, a ball-pit, lagoon-style pool and a Minatour rodeo (not with real Minotaurs alas). Within the park there is a supervised children’s guesthouse with a creche for children aged six months and up. Meanwhile at the Euphoria Spa, treatments include chocolate or honey massages, colour therapy or a spell in the scrub room where powerful jets are directed at your body. (www.capsis.com; Tel. +30 2810 811112)
Biarritz, France
 New mothers anxious to get their figure back while getting some well-needed R&R, should sign up to the Sofitel’s Young Mother Thalassotherapy Spa Programme. It’s not cheap but includes a huge number of thalassotherapy treatments (where they use sea water) for the new mum, body wraps and a diet consultation as well as a few treatments for dad. Also included is an introduction to baby massage and two micro-bubble baths for mum and baby to share, the signature treat. During treatments a qualified nurse will care for babies aged from just two months while older children can be looked after in the kids’ club. After your treatments, relax in the indoor and outdoor swimming pools, hammam and sauna or head to the nearby beach. (www.bodyandsoulholidays.com; Tel. +44 (0)20 7594 0290)
Tyrol, Austria
 High in the mountains and just 30 minutes from Innsbruck, Hotel Schwartz runs a full programme to keep kids aged three upwards happy while their parents enjoy some pampering. Their Hopp’l Popp’l Children’s World boasts a petting zoo, magic lessons, swimming lessons and a youth theatre, and there is also a separate club for one- to three-year-olds. The spa offers a huge array of saunas and steam rooms, including an outdoor sauna and traditional Turkish hammam. If you feel you still need more help, the spa also offers some cosmetic surgery procedures. Obviously, not for the kids. (www.hotel-schwarz.com; Tel. +43 (0)52 645212.)
Split, Croatia
For the ultimate in bling treatment, Le Méridian Lav’s Ceremony of Gold offers the chance to be wrapped in algae containing actual particles of gold. Alternatively you can opt for a gold or hot-chocolate facial or experience “truffle therapy” (using the famously rare funghi for face packs, body wraps and more) while children aged three and older are entertained in the hotel’s Penguin Club. As well as the gold-based treatments, traditional therapies and massages are also available as well as indoor and outdoor pools, saunas, steam rooms, a sunken champagne bar for the truly decadent and an “aroma grotto”, which is actually much more serene that the awkward name suggests. (www.lemeridien.com/split; Tel. +385 (0)21 500400)
Murcia, Spain
 For those who don’t want to spend the whole time in the spa, La Manga (nearest easyJet route: Alicante) is a huge resort the size of Monaco.
As well as the spa with all the usual saunas, steam rooms and a vast array of treatments, there are three golf courses, five swimming pools and mountain-biking, go-karting, quad-biking, kayaking and kite surfing. Children aged three and up can be looked after at the Junior Club while older children can enjoy a similar range of activities as the adults. (www.lamangaclub.com; Tel. +34 968 331234)
Paphos, Cyprus
 At the Azia Resort, you have the option to send your two- to 12-year-olds off to the kids’ club during school holidays; alternatively they can join you in the spa. Mothers and daughters can sit side-by-side and have manicures and pedicures (with extra flowers and sparkles for the little girls) or watch their children have shoulder massages in a special glass-walled area of the spa. Afterwards the children can join you in a parent-and-child yoga class or you can opt for treatment options including Intimate Moments of Renewal for two. The mind boggles. (www.aziaresort.com;Tel. +357 26 845100)
 SWIMWEAR ON OR OFF?
Difficult as it varies from country to country. Take a (discreet) look at what everyone else is doing and follow their lead. No staring and no comments.
ROBES
If the spa has a restaurant or café, it is fine to go wearing your robe, even if it does make you feel like an in-patient.
TREATMENTS
If unsure, men should pick a deep tissue or sports massage—both safe bets that won’t make you feel too girly. If you’re feeling more reconstructed, many spas offer a Gentleman’s Facial.
RASUL MUD RITUAL FOR TWO
Not as much fun as it sounds. It’s not so much a mud-bath as a saucer of mud and a steam room.
POOLS
Gentle swimming rather than dive-bombing is generally expected.
Children are allowed in some at certain hours.
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