Spa with the Kids by Catherine Cooper

Family holidays are great, but sometimes it is nice to be able to lie around doing not very much without someone small poking you with a stick, rubbing sand into your stomach, demanding you play Frisbee, buy them an ice-cream or bury them in the sand. For this reason many spas all over Europe have realised that many parents appreciate the chance to do nothing now and again and are providing facilities to have the kids looked after while you relax.

Aquacity, Poprad

If getting hot and sweaty in a sauna or steam room isn’t for you, Aquacity in Poprad, Slovakia offers the other extreme in their cryotherapy chamber – the chance to spend up to two minutes at minus 120 degrees Centigrade (that’s about thirty degrees colder than the coldest temperature recorded at the North Pole.) The chamber looks like a cross between a fridge and a sauna and you are expected to go in dressed in just shorts, ear-muffs, clogs, ski socks, mittens and a paper mask. The treatment is considered quite mainstream in much of Eastern Europe and used by athletes to enhance their performance as well as by the public to increase their general well being.

Aquacity also offers a myriad of naturally-heated indoor and outdoor thermal pools – including one with a swim-up bar - and a laser-light show every night above the pools. For the kids there is a water-park with several flumes and a family splash pool as well as a supervised playroom for children aged three to ten.

Out of the Blue, Agia Pelagia, Heraklion

For a sneaky spa-break where you can pretend you are actually going somewhere for your children’s entertainment this is ideal – Out of the Blue has its own on-site Minoan Amusement Park. Aimed at 4 to 14 year olds, the whole park is based around Greek mythology and includes a carousel, labyrinth, climbing area, indoor and outdoor theatres, a ball-pit, lagoon-style pool, a Minotaur rodeo, a trampoline and a team of actors, clowns and jugglers to keep everyone happy.

Within the park there is a supervised Children’s Guesthouse for eating and sleeping and a crèche for children aged six months up. Meanwhile at the Euphoria Spa more unusual treatments include chocolate or honey massages, colour therapy or a spell in the scrub room where powerful jets are directed at your body from various heights.

Hotel Schwarz, Tyrol, Austria

High in the mountains and just 30 minutes from Innsbruck, Hotel Schwartz runs a full programme to keep kids aged 3 upwards happy while their parents enjoy some pampering. Their Hopp’l Popp’l Children’s World boats a petting zoo, magic lessons, swimming lessons and a youth theatre and there is also a separate club for one to three year olds.

The spa offers a huge array of saunas and steam rooms – including an outdoor sauna and traditional Turkish hammam. Beauty treatments, massages and bathing-rituals are also on offer but if you feel you still need more help, the spa also offers some cosmetic surgery procedures.

Sofitel Miramar, Biarritz

New mothers anxious to get their figure back while getting some well-needed R&R might enjoy the Sofitel’s Young Mother Thalassotherapy Spa Programme. It’s not cheap but includes a huge number of thalassotherapy treatments for the new mum, body wraps and a diet consultation as well as a few treatments for dad. Also included is an introduction to baby massage and two micro-bubble baths for mum and baby to share. During treatments a qualified nurse will care for babies aged from just two months while older children can be looked after in the kids’ club. After your treatments relax in the indoor and outdoor swimming pools, hammam and sauna or head to the nearby beach.

Le Méridien Lav, Split

For the ultimate in bling treatment, Le Méridian Lav’s Ceremony of Gold offers the chance to be wrapped in algae containing particles of gold. Alternatively you can opt for a gold or hot-chocolate facial or experience ‘truffle therapy’ while children aged three and up can be entertained in the hotel’s Penguin Club. As well as the gold-based treatments, traditional treatments and massages are also available as well as indoor and outdoor pools, saunas, steam rooms, an ‘aroma grotto’ and a sunken champagne bar.

Azia Resort, Paphos

At the Azia Resort you have the option to send your 2-12 year olds off to the kids’ club during school holidays – or alternatively they can join you in the spa. Mothers and daughters can sit side-by-side and have manicures and pedicures (with extra flowers and sparkles for the little girls) or watch their children have shoulder massages in a special glass-walled area of the spa. Afterwards the children can join you in a parent and child yoga class or they can go to the kids’ club while you opt for treatment options including “Intimate Moments of Renewal” for two.

La Manga Resort, Murcia

For those who might not want to spend the whole time in the spa, La Manga is a huge resort covering an area the same size as Monaco. As well as the spa with all the usual saunas, steam rooms and a vast array of treatments on offer there are three golf courses, five swimming pools and the option to go mountain-biking, go-karting, quad-biking, kayaking or kite surfing. Children aged 3 and up can be looked after at the Junior Club while older children can enjoy a similar range of activities as the adults.

Etiquette tips for dads and spa virgins

Swimwear on or off?
Difficult as it varies from country to country. Take a (discreet) look at what everyone else is doing and follow their lead. No staring and definitely no comments.

Robes:
– If the spa has a restaurant or café, it is fine to go wearing your robe, even if it does make you feel like an in-patient.
– If you want your clothes back remember where you leave your robe when you take it off as all robes look the same. Ideally pin your locker key to your trunks rather than leaving it in your robe’s pocket.

Treatments
If you’re not sure what to have, a deep tissue or sports massage is a safe bet and won’t make you feel too girly. If you are feeling more reconstructed, many spas offer a Gentleman’s Facial.

Rasul Mud Ritual for two
Not as much fun as it sounds. It’s not such much a mud-bath as a saucer of mud and a steam room. Pools

Vary from place to place, but gentle swimming rather than dive-bombing is generally expected. However, children are allowed in some during certain hours.