Seven indulgent spa treatments for under £100

The best wellness treatments don’t need to blow the budget – if you know where to head. From cocooning sauna sessions to luxury spa days, light therapy to speed facials, these seven experiences will leave you recharged without going into the red.

WHAT: Ultimate Baths Experience

WHERE: AIRE Ancient Baths, Barcelona

In Barcelona’s historic El Born district, AIRE offers a theatrical take on ancient bathing rituals, complete with flickering candlelight. Set in a converted warehouse, it’s headily atmospheric: all exposed brick arches, craggy stone walls and lantern-lit thermal pools. You can visit it for just €80 throughout the week, which allows access to its baths, alongside a steam room and dry sauna. The Ultimate Baths Experience lets you take matters into your own hands, with a DIY renewing scrub, hydrating eye patches and a refreshing juice to be enjoyed while relaxing on warm marble seating.

WHAT: The Cloudboots experience

WHERE: The Maria Spa, Helsinki

Just stepping inside the Maria hotel in the Finnish capital is an instant wellbeing boost: think liveried doormen, exquisite chandeliers and an air of unruffled luxury. You don’t need to be staying here to use its standout spa, with its soaring glass-roofed atrium and five-star facilities (pools, a Finnish sauna, and a steam room complete with recliners). A 90-minute session is €69 – or free, if you’re booked in for a treatment. Our recommendation? A 30-minute Cloudboots experience (€65) to tackle any lingering jet lag. The half-hour session centres on compression therapy, boosting wellbeing and reducing swelling. If you tend to experience post-flight puffiness, this one is for you.

WHAT: The Discovery Skin Therapy Session

WHERE: The Budapest Institute – Omorovicza

Beauty editors swear by this Hungarian skincare brand, whether it’s a spritz of facial mist or dab of Blue Diamond Supercream. Its flagship institute in Budapest lives up to every expectation: a pared-back showcase for the products that’s also a serene treatment space. Its Express Skin Therapy Session (£75) is 40 minutes well spent: an energising facial that leaves the skin plump and glowing, using massage to boost cell renewal and collagen production. If you do fall for its products, you can redeem half of the facial’s cost against any post-treatment purchase.

WHAT: A day spa pass

WHERE: The Irene Forte Spa, Rome

This city moves at a furious pace, especially if you’re armed with a lengthy list of must-see sights. It’s worth skipping a minor Baroque masterpiece or two for the Irene Forte Spa, set at the foot of the Spanish Steps in the five-star Hotel de la Ville. If its treatments are out of reach, you can still relax in the spa – a serene, orange blossom-scented escape from the busy streets outside. A day pass (€80) buys two-and-a-half hours’ access, including use of the salt room, sauna, steam room, Kneipp foot baths and plunge and hydro pools. Afterwards, retire to an infrared lounger with a complimentary cup of herbal tea.

WHAT: An afternoon at the sauna

WHERE: Sauna Deco, Amsterdam

After a few days cycling around Amsterdam, you’ll be ready for a rest at Sauna Deco. Set amid Nine Streets’ independent boutiques, it’s famed for its interiors, with 1920s fittings salvaged from a Parisian department store. Now, its gilded grandeur backdrops the spa’s facilities: a Turkish steam bath and cold plunge pool, plus infrared and Finnish saunas. A standard day pass is €28.50, with discounts for students, while a 25-minute massage starts at €40. In line with sauna etiquette, swimwear’s not allowed: you’ll just need to don a towel or robe outside the saunas, showers and steam room.

WHAT: LED Light Therapy

WHERE: Ara’kai Beauty, Copenhagen

In the centre of Copenhagen, this shop, spa and studio space feels like a blissful cocoon, with its movement classes, results-driven facials and clean beauty ethos. Here on a weekend break? Try a quick LED-light therapy session (520KR), a non-invasive way to boost collagen production, and combat inflammation and redness. Afterwards, browse the shelves downstairs for hard-to-find brands and products – a shiso-scented Japanese shampoo, perhaps, or cult Belgian sunscreen. If you’re in town for longer, check out the studio’s schedule, which runs from yoga and sound baths to small-group Pilates sessions.

WHAT: The Green Flash Manicure

WHERE: Green Club, Paris

Newcomer nail brand Manucurist has taken the beauty world by storm, with a gentle, eco-friendly alternative to conventional gel polish. Easily removed, its plant-based formulations don’t leave nails damaged, and have scooped a slew of industry awards. Head to Green Club, its Paris HQ, for a game-changing Green Flash Manicure (€45), which should last for up to ten days. The colour, of course, is up to you. The range runs from timeless reds to this summer’s pale pastel yellows.