USP Le Spa at Le Meurice is a calming, chic relaxation area with its own outdoor terrace, yet it’s right at the heart of Paris, on the rue de Rivoli, opposite the Jardin des Tuileries and between Place de la Concorde and the Louvre.

AMBIENCE Refined, art-filled and exquisitely decorated, Le Meurice is one of Paris’s finest hotels and its soothing, uplifting ambience continues in the spa. There’s a low-lit, marble-clad unisex Jacuzzi and adjoining steam room lightly infused with eucalyptus, three simple treatment rooms and an outdoor, wooden-decked terrace with loungers and tables for sunny days.

In the gym you can exercise while watching the hustle and bustle of rue Castiglione; in each of the men and women’s changing rooms you’ll find a small sauna, lockers and showers. This is very much a beauty spa – treatments include facials, scrubs, wraps, bust firming and leg toning and slimming massages using products from Swiss company Valmont as well as simple, relaxing or energising massages.

On cooler days, the only place to relax is on a little sofa in the corridor – or, of course, your room. Ours was stylish and elegant, with a huge and comfortable bed, an Italian Arabesscato marble bathroom, vases full of bright pink roses dotted about, hard-back books on Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton to leaf through and two tiny balconies overlooking a bustling street and a distant Sacré-Coeur.

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QUALITY OF EXPERIENCE I'm rather adverse to treatments with products unless they are organic, so I opted for a relaxing massage with ginger and cardamon-infused grapeseed oil. The charming spa manager, Sylvaine Decleves, slipped off her heels as she entered the room to begin her work. Her strokes were strong and smooth, and after an hour I felt evened out and soothed. Sylvaine is a delight, and we chatted after over a giant mug of green tea.

This is a discreet little spa where I enjoyed a feeling of privacy and felt cocooned, but just as important to my wellbeing was its location opposite the Jardin des Tuileries. Here I enjoyed regular gentle walks through the garden, and a little light reading sat on the green iron chairs by one of the ponds.

FOOD AND DRINK On sunnier days you can lunch on salads, carpaccio, sandwiches, fruit and vegetable juices and iced teas on the spa terrace. In the hotel, Restaurant Le Dali offers a more substantial menu (Dali used to stay here one month every year), or treat yourself to a gourmet feast under painted ceilings and astounding chandeliers at Restaurant Le Meurice, where meals are created by three-star Michelin chef Yannick Alleno.

IN-CROWD Monied Parisians, American tourists, business people, and couples for a treat.

WALLET WATCH One-hour Energising or Relaxing Body Massage €120; Champagne by the glass €24; Classic Room €640 per room per night; Superier room from €470 (without breakfast, taxes and services included); Continental breakfast €36.

NEED TO KNOW Le Meurice, 228 rue de Rivoli, (+33 1 44 58 10 10, www.lemeurice.com).
Eurostar operates up to 19 daily services from London St Pancras International to Paris with return fares from £59 (T 08705 186 186).

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