Now revitalized and resplendent, they promise health, fitness and pampering at luxury levels.
While high-end spas dot the coastlines and valleys of the entire continent, heres our pick of the best spas in Europe.
Therme del Parco, Forte Village, Italy
Oil meets forehead at Therme del Parco.With 20 treatment rooms and 40 therapists, the highlight is a group of five saline-dense thalassotherapy pools set in a tropical garden.
Slide into each one in turn -- it takes about an hour and the temperature changes from 38 C to 20 C while jets massage and pulverize along the way.
The result is instant and total relaxation as the water takes all the weight off the body.
Its very popular with injured sportsmen (particularly soccer players), who head for the pools with their physios.
It is also one of the few spas to offer zero-gravity yoga -- another weightless exercise -- alongside a choice of massages (including watsu) and a host of beauty therapies from facials to botox.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_6mUaTrGkY
SHA Wellness Clinic, +34 (0) 966 811 199; 14-day programs cost from 10,000; www.shawellnessclinic.com
Grand Resort, Bad Ragaz, Switzerland
Caution -- may contain Olympians.Grand Resort Bad Ragaz consists of two hotels with super-luxury spa suites in a stunning Swiss valley just an hour from Zurich.
Space, clean air, mountains and rivers all contribute to the sense of well-being.
The B. Wellbeing & Spa facility is state-of-the art for sports injuries -- whole soccer squads turn up for restoration -- while the doctor in charge is consultant to the Swiss Olympic team.
There are also programs for detox, weight management and stress management alongside anti-aging therapies and sleep treatments, plus as a host of massages, scrubs and wraps.
Its the sort of place that if a treatment is not on the menu, it doesnt exist.
In the Spa Suites, all the water, including the bathwater, comes from natural springs.
Each bathroom has its own steam room and sauna, plus color-therapy baths operated by a Buddha-shaped button.
Even the mattresses can change from soft to firm at the flip of a switch.
Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, +41 (0) 81 303 3030; packages from CHF490 per night; www.resortragaz.ch
Castel Monastero, Siena, Italy
Back to the Middle Ages with style.Imagine a renovated 11th-century hamlet with rooms and suites in castle courtyards and cottages.
Add food designed by Gordon Ramsay and special spa treatments devised by Dr. Mosaraf Ali, a physician to Prince Charles, Tommy Hilfiger and Claudia Schiffer among others, and youve got Castel Monastero in Siena.
Two indoor swimming pools and three outdoor ones complement the huge spa, where guests can spend days being pummeled and pampered.
Or you can take part in one of Dr. Alis three- or seven-day programs -- choose from slimming, detox or revitalizing.
Ali uses a mixture of naturopathy, Ayurveda and modern science and has a team of doctors to carry out the treatments.
Castel Monastero, +39 (0) 577 570001; costs from 1,500 for a three-day detox; www.castelmonastero.com
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