If health spas conjure up images of sulphurous pools and torturous diets, think again. No longer so concerned with curing ailments as preventing them, the modern spa focuses on promoting health through a range of luxurious treatments designed to pamper the body and relax the mind.

From Baden-Baden to Budapest, and Henlow to Hua Hin, take your pick from 20 of the best spas around the world.

Champneys

The grande dame of UK spa resorts puts the emphasis on alternative therapies. The food is great, as is the programme of free activities including pilates, total body stretch, fitness walks and beauty workshops. A weekend escape costs £400 including all meals, a daily massage and the use of facilities. Shiatsu (£70) and reiki (£75) are particularly good.

Champneys, Chesham Rd, Wigginton, Tring, Hertfordshire (01442 291111).

Stobo Castle

A fairy tale Gothic castle set on a 3,000-acre estate near Peebles, Stobo's lavish bedrooms look out on to sheep-filled fields and forests of Scots pine. A two-night health and beauty programme costs £165 including all meals, two body massages, facial massage, manicure and the use of facilities.

Added extras include hydrotherapy baths (£12.50), Dead Sea flotarium sessions (£28) and aromatherapy facials (£38).

Stobo Castle, Stobo, Peebleshire, Scotland (01721 760 600).

Chewton Glen

Set in a Relais & Chateaux Michelin-star hotel by the New Forest, it is a 20-minute walk from the sea. If you can't get to grips with doing nothing, the hotel has a nine-hole golf course, tennis courts and riding, sailing and fishing nearby. A three-day, half-board relax, unwind and detox break costs from £675 and includes the use of all facilities, two body treatments, one facial, a manicure or pedicure and a fitness consultation.

Want more? Try reflexology (£45), Indian head massage (£25) or shiatsu (£45).

Chewton Glen, New Milton, Hampshire (01425 275341).

Lucknam Park

A Palladian manor set in a 500-acre Wiltshire park, Lucknam Manor is an upmarket country house hotel with attached spa, rather than a health farm.

Popular with executive couples and TV celebrities, this is Noel Edmonds' favourite hideaway. Daily rates from £270 half-board (minimum stay two nights) including the use of all facilities. Choose such spa treatments as an algae wrap with full-body massage (£52), Clarins facials (£50) or Jessica manicures (£22).

Lucknam Park, Colerne, Wiltshire (01225 742777).

Ragdale Hall

A Victorian redbrick building set in landscaped gardens near Leicester, Ragdale Hall is incredibly friendly and relaxed. Food is delicious and healthy, and you are allowed vast amounts. A three-night total pampering package costs £321 and includes all meals, use of facilities, a facial, a mud envelopment treatment, a back, shoulder and neck massage and a conditioning foot and hand treatment. Choose from a daunting range of treatments including the Kanebo bathing ceremony (£70) and the Dead Sea discovery inch wrap weight-loss treatment (£61).

Ragdale Hall, Ragdale, nr Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire (01664 434 831).

The Dorchester

This is the ultimate in inner-city indulgence and great for star spotting. Cindy Crawford, Tom Cruise and George Bush are regulars at the Park Lane hotel's spa. Daily rate is from £305, including the use of all facilities. Extras include a 90-minute Eve Lom facial for £105, full-body massage (£65), Thai massage (£70) and a luxurious prenatal treatment (£120) for spoilt mums-to-be.

The Dorchester, Park Lane, London (020-7629 8888).

Grayshott Hall

A handsome Victorian house with rooms ranging from luxury suites to comfy singles. Mobiles are banned and guests pad around the hotel in dressing gowns and tracksuits. Daily rate is from £160 based on two sharing and includes all meals, a massage and use of facilities. A range of add-ons include facials and body wraps from £35.

Headley Rd, Grayshott, nr Hindhead, Surrey (01428 604 331).

Henlow Grange Health Farm

Set in 100 acres of parkland, Henlow Grange is relaxed and friendly with the emphasis on having a good time (healthily). One of the few health farms where coffee, cigarettes and alcohol are allowed and you are not made to feel guilty for doing nothing. A two-night, mid-week break costs £289.95 and includes all meals, two body massages, one facial, one scalp massage and use of facilities. More problem-specific treatments include sports massage (£27) and cellulite treatments from £42.

Henlow Grange Health Farm, Henlow, Bedforshire (01462 811111)

The Sanctuary Spa, Oasis Forest Village

Set in 400 acres on the edge of the Lake District National Park, the Oasis Forest Village offers great value spa breaks, with accommodation in lodges and self-contained apartments. A weekend break costs from £160 for two people and treatments include detoxifying algae wraps (£44), Jessica manicures (£32) and E'spa facials from £39.

The Sanctuary Spa at Oasis Lakeland Forest Village, Temple Sowerby, Penrith, Cumbria (08705 086000).

St David's Hotel and Spa

The super-stylish St David's Hotel on Cardiff Bay is one of the few spa hotels in Wales. The antithesis of the country house hotel, St David's is built like a slick cruise ship and all the minimalist rooms have private balconies with a sea view. A detoxifying two-night break costs £265 and includes all meals, a jet blitz, marine hydrotherapy bath, detoxifying algae wrap and a facial. Extras include full body massage (£35), mud wraps (£45) and manicures (£20).

St David's Hotel and Spa, Havana St, Cardiff Bay, Wales (02920 454045).

Germany

The 125-year-old Brenner's Park Hotel and Spa (recent guests: Yasser Arafat and Jacques Chirac) is situated on the edge of the historic spa town Baden-Baden. Past guests have included Queen Victoria and Napoleon III. A two-night Brenner's body-revival break with Erna Low (020-7584 2841) costs £685 and includes flights, half-board accommodation, a jet-lag treatment, a body treatment and a personal training session.

Cyprus

Le Meridien Limassol Spa & Resort, which opened this year, is set in a complex surrounded by waterfalls and grottos, with four sea-water pools. Treatments include sea-mud body wraps and algaeo-therapy detoxification.

Seven nights at Le Meridien with Argo Holidays (020-7331 7070) costs from £405 including flights and transfers. A seven-day spa package costs £430 and includes a medical evaluation, personalised exercise program and daily thalassotherapy treatments.

Hungary

With more than 1,000 medicinal hot springs, Hungarian spas are recommended for rheumatism and circulatory disorders. The approach is medicinal and prices are suitably sober. A seven-night break at the four-star Danubias Thermal Hotel Helia in Budapest with Thermalia Travel (020-7483 1898) costs from £541 including flights, half board, and a basic Balneotherapy package including consultation, six treatments and the use of thermal baths and other facilities.

Italy

Abano, in the hills near Venice, is famous for its mud treatments for muscular, rheumatic and arthritic pain. A seven-night, anti-stress spa break at the five star Grand Hotel Terme in Abano with Thermalia Travel (020-7483 1898) costs from £1,312 including flights, transfers and full-board accommodation. The anti-stress package includes six underwater massages, three anti-stress massages, two reflexology sessions, three scalp massages, two shiatsu sessions, plus the use of facilities.

France

France's speciality is thalassotherapy, and Les Thermes Marins de Monte Carlo spa, connected to the turn-of-the-century Hotel Hermitage, has 6,600sq metres dedicated to it. A three-night Discover Thalassotherapy break with Erna Low (020-7584 2841) costs from £1,265 and includes flights, helicopter transfers, half-board accommodation, a medical check-up and four treatments a day including hydromassage, algae baths, mud packs and aquagym sessions.

At sea

Most cruise ships now have onboard spas, and the 25,000sq ft Aquaspa on the newly launched Millenium is one of the largest and most sophisticated at sea. Seven nights on the western Mediterranean with Celebrity Cruises (0800 0182525) costs from £899, including flights, transfers, accommodation and all meals. Book your treatments individually or go for one of the spa packages; the AquaSpa gold package costs £289 and includes aromatherapy massages, seaweed treatments, deep-cleansing facials and more.

Strawberry Hill, Blue Mountains, Jamaica

Situated 3,100ft above sea level in Jamaica's Blue Mountains, Strawberry Hill is a haven of chic, colonial-style villas complete with an Aveda concept salon. A seven-night break with Caribbean Connection (01244 355 500) costs £1,309 based on two sharing and includes flights, transfers and accommodation. Treatments can be booked either as a package or individually - try the essential back treatment (£30) or a Himalayan rejuvenation session (£114).

Canyon Ranch,Tuscon, Arizona

The US is known for the most innovative, if expensive, spas, and Canyon Ranch, complete with counsellors, nutritionists and pyschologists, is the best for a full mind and body makeover. A four-night break costs $2,050 (approx £1,470) and includes airport transfers, full-board accommodation, activities ranging from ballet to boxercise, health and healing services and four spa treatments. Book direct on 001 520 749 9000 or visit www.canyonranch.com.

Chiva Som, Hua Hin, Thailand

The $16.8m Chiva Som is the ultimate spa experience. Surrounded by lush greenery, tropical lakes and breathtaking views, the emphasis is on east meets west and holistic healing. Seven nights with Magic of the Orient (01293 537700) costs £1,638 including flights, accommodation, all meals, medical consultation, facial treatments, body treatments and choice of daily massage.

Rajvilas, Rajasthan, India

The luxury spa at the Rajvilas hotel, set in a converted Rajasthani mansion, uses the ancient holistic healing technique of Ayurveda to treat the mind, body and soul. An eight- day break costs from £1,899 with Greaves Travel (020-7487 9111) including flights, transfers and accommodation.

Treatments include Ayurvedic massage from £24, marma point Ayurvedic facials from £20 and Indian head massage from £13.