ONE of the amazing things about having a massage is that time seems to almost stand still.
There’s that feeling of drift-ing away in a sea of relaxation, your mind emptied of everyday worries and responsibilities, not to mention the relief from aches, pains and tensions.

A spa day at The Four Seasons Hotel in Dogmersfield leaves you feeling at one with the world, which isn’t surprising as it is a total experience in pampering and pleasure.
As soon as you walk into the beautifully designed spa building, you know you are in for a treat.

The decor is simple but luxurious and there is a general feeling of calm and tranquillity.
For guests, nothing seems to be too much trouble and no detail has been overlooked, right down to the complimentary tea, coffee, juices, fruit and tempting little cakes in the seating area close to the reception.

In the changing rooms, the super-soft bath robes are laid on. There are neatly rolled, pristinely white towels everywhere, meaning that, along with little touches like moisturiser, hair mousse and hairspray supplied, you can travel relatively light.

There are 13 treatment rooms, each with ergonomic beds, as well as a VIP suite for super-pampering and even a suite for couples so you can enjoy your spa experience together.

There’s a manicure, pedicure and make-up studio and two relaxation rooms where you can don eye masks before lying back for a quick snooze.

The spa boasts a full-size swimming pool housed in a Victorian-style conservatory to protect it from the elements.

Outside there is a heated vitality pool for an invigorating water massage, and sun loungers to top up your tan.

The fully-equipped gym has cardiovascular and resistance equipment, and free weights.

For members, there are also regular group classes with titles like boxercise, core control and legs, tums and bums.

After your workout, you can freshen up under a lifestyle shower, which  essentially emits perfumed water to put you in the right frame of mind. Choose from minty arctic mist or floral tropical rain.

Alternatively, you can sweat it out in the sauna or steam rooms.

Use of the facilities is restricted to spa members or guests, but anyone taking part in a spa day also has full use of them.

But it’s the treatments which really give you the feelgood factor.

The spa offers 15, ranging from conventional facials and massages through to exotic ones, such as hot stone treatment and ayurvedic therapeutics.

In September, for a limited time, the spa will offer authentic Balinese treatments by visiting specialist therapists.

Every treatment can be bought individually, but the two set spa days, Summer Treat and Summer Breeze, each offers four treatments, plus lunch and a spa gift, for a special price.
If you’re unable to make a day of it there’s the Sunset Spa, which is a scaled down version of the day spa and taken in the evening.

I tried the Summer Breeze day, which according to its leaflet “relieves stresses and tension, bringing balance and harmony, leaving you with a radiant and healthy glow”.

The  Summer Treat is similar but it aims to revitalise as well as relax you. It includes a back, neck and shoulder massage, followed by a therapeutic envelopment.

The body is covered in a marine mud containing algae to detoxify, hydrate and condition the skin. You are then wrapped up from neck to toe to allow the ingredients to do their work.

The spa uses products from the Espa range, which can also be bought for home use.

Senior spa receptionist Carole Hellewell said: “The Espa range was founded by Susan Harmsworth, who is from Farnham.

She couldn’t find the sort of products that she wanted, so she decided to make them herself.
“They’re all at least 99% natural and made from herbs, spices and essential oils.

"There is a full range of products for body, face and hair and there are also ones specifically for men.”

Both the spa days start with a welcoming foot ritual, which sounds slightly alarming but is in fact a wonderful leg and foot exfoliation treatment, combined with a massage.

Before this can commence, you have to ‘choose your colour’, which essentially means selecting what kind of lighting you would like in the treatment room.

Therapist Emily Stephenson explained: “This colour therapy is a Four Seasons signature therapy. There are three lights and you select whichever one will give you the mood you want. Red is warming, green is for balance and violet is soothing.” 

Having chosen red, my ritual could start.

First, the foot is immersed in warm water containing bath oil and sea salts before the skin is exfoliated with a wonderful smelling rosehip, lime and ginger exfoliator which smells good enough to eat.

The ritual is finished off with a massage of nourishing oil containing calendula, jojoba, sweet almond and grapeseed, and the feet wrapped in warm, fluffy towels.

During all of this you can sip on Avarta tea, a type of green tea with a distinctive but pleasant aromatic flavour.

I’m sure it has some health-giving cleansing properties but it makes a nice, refreshing little drink too.

Next, it’s time to turn the attention to the rest of the body with an invigorating salt and oil scrub to get rid of dead cells, brighten the skin and improve circulation. The skin is dampened with warm, moistened mitts and then the whole body is rubbed with a mixture of sea salt and oil.

Again, you can choose what kind of oil would be beneficial, a relaxing one with cinnamon, rosemary and clove, which has a woody smell and helps to hydrate the skin, or a sharper smelling one with lavender, lime and grapefruit.

After the scrub is finished, you pop into the shower to wash it all off, but the scented oil remains, leaving the skin perfumed, soft and silky.

To give the oil time to soak into the skin and allow you to make use of the facilities and have lunch in Cafe Sante, there is a break of a couple of hours before the next treatment, which for Summer Breeze is the decadently named Espa sumptuous and luxurious two-hour ritual.

But it’s a good description because it consists of ‘the works’, with a full body massage followed by a facial treatment and a scalp massage. What more could you want?

The treatment uses aromatherapy oils, and once again it’s time to make that choice.

Emily said: “Allowing the client to choose the type of product they would like is a big part of the Espa treatment.

"The client sniffs each product and makes a selection. We believe they will subconsciously choose the kind of oil, and hence therapeutic  benefit, they are most in need of.”

If it’s relaxation you’re after, then the soothing oil with ylang ylang, frankincense and myrrh would be the choice, otherwise there is the restorative and comforting ‘hug in a bottle’ containing orange, myrrh and rose.

When you’ve made up your mind, a few drops of the selected oil are added to a bowl of hot water so you can inhale the essential oils in addition to having them rubbed on your skin.
This is the quickest way for the molecules to get into the body.

The aromatherapy massage is divine, but just when you are most relaxed, it’s time for the facial.

This consists of a gentle massage and three cleansing treatments with exfoliation and a face mask which firms and plumps the skin.

The mask contains pelan silt along with extracts of cypress and potentilla, and essential oils of  sandalwood and frankincense to remove impurities and soften the skin.

Of course, to be effective, masks have to be left on for a while, but even this time is made good use of in the form of a relaxing Oriental head massage.

First body oil is rubbed through the hair for the scalp and then something called Pink Hair and Scalp Mud is applied.

This contains kaolin to stimulate circulation, soothing and keratin-strengthening extract of watercress, and apricot kernel oil to give shine and lustre. 

To get maximum benefit, the mud should be left on the hair for as long as possible, even overnight if you can bear it.

Finally, the face mask is removed, the face and eye areas moisturised before being spritzed with Floral Spafresh, an instant hydrator with a wonderful, mood-enhancing smell.

I mindlessly drifted through the whole fabulous process, leaving all my everyday cares and woes outside the door.

Then suddenly it was all over and time to return to the land of the living, but now I was ready to face the world afresh.

However, my day wasn’t quite over yet.

Feeling thoroughly relaxed, cleansed and radiant, a refreshing, fruity cocktail on the terrace overlooking the landscaped grounds made the perfect finish to a perfect day.

I just hope nobody noticed the pink hair.

Four Seasons’ Summer Spa Days cost £139 (Sunset Spa £90). Telephone 01252 853300.