Ragdale Hall continues to set the standard that other spas strive for when it comes to creating the perfect retreat.

Set in beautiful Leicestershire countryside, this former hunting lodge is a little oasis of calm, tranquillity and luxury from the moment you step through the door.

Its customers are about 90 per cent women, although there appears to be an increasing number of couples flocking here to enjoy its facilities.

The large country house feel to the place, with its Laura Ashley-style décor and easy chairs, which once you have sunk into are hard to get out of, will make the most stressed out executive feel at ease.

You don’t have to go bonkers on treatments here as there are plenty of other things to do, but looking at the extensive menu, it is hard not to.

Many of the treatments include Elemis, Decleor, Clarins, LI’TYA or Spa Find products.

Facials can cost from a minimum of £51 to £89 and you can get a basic, but decent, full body massage for £56.

There are also treatments specifically designed for men with the menu listing anything from a good muscle massage to the rather more metrosexual sounding hand maintenance treatment.

You do have to book your treatments before you arrive, although there are a limited number available when you get here, should you wish to shoehorn in an extra facial or a bit of reflexology.

You could even survive at Ragdale without a single treatment, although I doubt many could resist the urge to forgo the pampering, if you can manage to lever yourself out of one of the armchairs. The exercise class list is almost as fulsome as the treatment list with the usual yoga and Pilates complemented with the more adventurous disco dancing, hula hooping, street dancing workouts and something that involves pom poms.

Ragdale has also tapped into the current ballroom and Latin dance revival, offering a Strictly Come Dancerside Break in September. Of course when you are not in an exercise class, lying in an envelope of mud or snoozing in front of a roaring fire, then Ragdale’s Thermal Spa is an excellent way to spend an hour or two.