Coconut Treat: I feel like a lamington, all soft and gooey on the inside and covered in grated coconut on the outside.  Lotus Day Spa, tucked away in a lovely garden in a back street in Port Vila, is one of the few stand-alone independent day spas in Vanuatu. It’s also one of the only ones to use natural organic products and specialise in native products.  And in Vanuatu, native means coconut. Story by Lee Atkinson

The Spa at Beechworth: You'd have to be mad not to try out the new Spa at Beechworth. There, someone had to say it! Housed in a former lunatic asylum ( they didn't mince words in those days), Beechworth's latest attraction has transformed one of the town's many historic buildings and offers a full range of pampering treatments. Great for the mind and the body.
Story by Lee Mylne

Australian retreats and spas
International retreats and spas

Australian retreats and spas

Lord of the Springs: Pamper, indulge, relax and get well all at the same time. Seems far too good to be true, but at Daylesford, 80 minutes drive from Melbourne, this is exactly what you can do. The undisputed capital of spa country, Daylesford, and nearby Hepburn Springs, are home to Australia's richest concentration of mineral springs, with more mineral springs within a few kilometres of the town centre than there is in the rest of Australia.
Story by Lee Atkinson

Yindi Day Spa: Roman-style murals adorn the walls of the treatment rooms - each one a different theme - at this Blue Mountains day spa. In a wing of the historic Carrington Hotel, in Katoomba's main street, the spa offers the usual array of treatments, as well as some Australian exclusives. Story by Lee Mylne

Spa horizons: At Villa Thalgo, part of the Sebel Resort & Spa at Windsor in the Hawkesbury Valley, they believe that the only real way to start a weekend away is with a massage – or at the very least, a relaxing hydrotherapy bath. And at just over an hour’s drive from Sydney, you have to admit the idea has merit.  Start as you mean to go on. Story by Lee Atkinson

Queensland Spas: Pampering is becoming an essential part of a Queensland holiday. No matter where you go, you are within easy reach of a white toweling robe and monogrammed slippers.
Story by Lee Mylne

Yoga in paradise:  Nothing soothes the soul like a good yoga class. And in these days of mobile phones and emails, sometimes getting away from it all on holiday is just not enough, so why not feed the body and soul with a few days of relaxing yoga at a special yoga retreat – backed up with some good food and wine, resort pampering and beautiful scenery – you are on holiday after all! Story by Lee Atkinson

A Rainforest Spa: Wrapped in warm mud, I'm lying on a magnificent leaf-shaped carved timber "wet bed", while rainwater showers down on me. It's bliss. Bliss that can be experienced at the Daintree Eco Lodge and Spa, in far north Queensland. Story by Lee Mylne

Saluting the goddess: At Villa Alba’s Inner Sanctum for Women spa near Noosa, the promise is not just to give you a nice rub down and a good soak in a fragrant bath, but to “wake the inner goddess” no less, with a choice of massage, body wraps and special baths. 
Story by Lee Atkinson

Healing Waters: The gentle sound of the Mossman River gushing through the rainforest provides the background for a visit to the Healing Waters Spa at Silky Oaks Lodge at Mossman in Far North Queensland. Tucked away in tropical gardens at the edge of cane fields about 27km from Port Douglas, Healing Waters Spa has taken its inspiration from the power of the river's mineral-rich waters and the flower and plant essences of the Daintree. Story by Lee Mylne

International retreats and spas

Thai Spas: Wherever you are in Thailand, you're not far from a massage table. Stopping over for just a few hours in Bangkok? Head to the new Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel, with its luxury urban Vous Spa for a few hours respite from travel. And for those travelling north to Chiang Mai, there is a range of slick new spa options, including the Rarinjinda Wellness Spa Resort, the Chedi, The Aspara at the Sofitel Riverside Chiang Mai, and Devarana Spa at the hip new D2 Hotel. Story by Lee Mylne

Ayeuveda in Agra: The oil hits my forehead in a warm stream, then slows to a steady drip. The loud ticking clock on the wall and the whirr of the fan in the hot, airless room are the only sounds. There's no mood music here, in the basement of my Agra hotel. This is a no-frills spa-treatment, Indian-style. But the rhythm of my Ayeuveda massage and oil treatment soon works its magic. Story by Lee Mylne

Say Goodbye to Jetlag: If the flight to Sri Lanka is too much for you, head to Colombo's Sanctuary Spa, which offers a two-hour "traveller's recovery" package along with the usual treatments. The trick, they say, is in the special blend of essential oils as well as "stimulation and motivation" to help your body adjust to normal sleeping patterns. Worked for me, but then, I'm a pushover for a good massage. Story by Lee Mylne

Spa at the Monastery: Would the monks have approved of all this baring of flesh? Frankly, I don't care. At the end of a long two weeks touring, it seems the ideal way to prepare for the long flight home from Newfoundland's capital St John's. And as I tiptoe across the mahogany floors and past the stained-glass window to my hydrotherapy bath, I bear in mind that now the "trinity" followed here is mind, body and spirit.
Story by Lee Mylne

Spa de Serville, Auckland: My therapist is wearing barefeet and boardshorts. Suddenly I realise that things are going to get very, very wet. I've booked in for a mud wrap at Auckland's most exclusive day spa, but the specialist in those has gone home sick, so I'm offered a Vichy Aqua and a massage...and with no time to re-book, am not about to complain. Story by Lee Mylne