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From Times Online

March 12, 2008

8 spas for budget-seekers

Thrifty indulgence: from the best £30 massage in London to a full hammam for a fiver in Syria

From The Sunday Times Travel Magazine

Check out 40 more budget spas in the Good Spa Guide

SIAM BEAUTY, CLAPHAM, LONDON

Cheap urban spa treatments are hard to come by. If you want to get the full treatment and still have change to recharge your Oyster card for a week, you’re going to have to forgo plush surroundings. On a busy road in south London, this little place is the antithesis of a five-star spa, although use of the saunas and steam rooms is included in the price of a massage. What you get, in a clinical treatment room with limited strip lighting, is the best massage in London. Ask for light pressure – anything else generally results in squeals of pain (and giggles from the Thai masseuses).

l TRY a one-hour massage (£30).

020 7585 1222, www.siambeauty.co.uk . See Lastminutelondon.co.uk for bargain city break deals.

TAI PAN FOOT REFLEXOLOGY CENTRE, HONG KONG

Hong Kong is a mad, bad, glamorous consumer whirl and it’s impossible to be here without getting sucked in. Compensatory massages don’t have to cost a fortune, though – get your feet treated on the Kowloon side, at this authentic, well-priced spa. It’s set beside a strip joint on backpacker-thronged Nathan Road, but it’s spotless: buddhas gleam, tinkly music seeps from the sound system, and therapists work your toes and soles so that you exit as if walking on air.

l TRY a one-hour pedicure and foot massage (£14).

00 852 2301 1990. Trailfinders (0845 050 5871, www.trailfinders.com) has five nights in Hong Kong, from £519pp, with flights from Heathrow.

BAGNI DI PISA, ITALY

How many spas let you speed-dial the bar for a Mojito? In a bizarre twist, this indulgent palazzo at the foot of the Tuscan Hills also majors in detox treatments, thanks to the 40ºC thermal waters gushing from nearby Mount Giuliano. The Grand Dukes’ hammam – an underground steam bath – is a real toxin-blaster. The best bit, though, won’t cost you anything at all – a soak in the hotel’s alfresco thermal baths.

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I've had massages all over the world, but the best massage I have every experienced was by a guy called Anthony Griffin at Touch Bodyworks in Cheltenham. You really get your monies worth - he uses a mixture of aromatherapy, hot stone, deep tissue, pressure point and thai stretching. He's also a personal trainer and diet and nutritionist - so he knows his stuff. Set in great surroundings - all cotswold stone and beams - you are mad not to try him. I am very pleased to hear that Touch Bodyworks are planning on starting work here in London doing mobile treatments - I am sure that they will be in great demand! I can't wait! Try him - you are in for a real treat!

Claire, London,

Unbeatable massage, on the beach at Bang Tao Bay, Phuket, Thailand outside Sheraton Grande Laguna.

Various treatments including full massage 400 baht about Â£7.

Clean unpretentious, 20 massage beds in open air. Well worth the price of the flights!!!!

GWhitt., birmingham, uk