USP Since it opened last November, East River Spa has been preening frazzled city workers who live and work in London's surrounding Docklands with its express "pick-me-up" treatments. The spa's relaxation room has great views over a sweeping bend in the River Thames to the O2 Arena, formally the Millenium Dome, on the other side.

AMBIENCE Situated on the first floor of the new £50 million Radisson Edwardian Hotel, the spa has a sort of oval-shaped design and, when I visited on a weekday morning, was peaceful and uncrowded.

There are six treatment rooms, half a dozen "experience showers", a relaxation room with curved, tiled beds, which are heated, and a newly mosaiced sauna and steam room lit by tiny spotlights and "flavoured" with freshly cut herbs. Guests of the hotel are able to use a swimming pool at a health club opposite.

EXPERIENCE I had a half-hour massage, during which the senior therapist Kersten, from Germany, worked hard on my shoulders, breaking down knots. Post-treatment I was pointed in the direction of the relaxation room to recline on the heated beds while sipping herbal tea.

IN CROWD Tottenham Hotspur's footballers doing their post-training physio, rock stars and celebrities nipping over from the O2 arena and office workers from the Canary Wharf area.

WALLET WATCH Facials start at £45 and go up to £90. The spa also offers body therapies at £65 and body wraps for £95. The Cleopatra bathing experience is ideal for those who want to take charge of their own treatments. After a quick tutorial, customers can relax in a private steam room while applying natural salts and mineralising muds to the body.

NEED TO KNOW East River Spa, Radisson Edwardian Hotel (020 8820 8123; www.eastriverspa.com) Email eastriver@radisson.com

For more than 245 independent spa reviews click here: timesonline.co.uk/goodspaguide

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