Rituels d’Orient is a beautiful, simple spa, with lots of Arabian touches.  I particularly liked all the water sources; rain showers, a tiny plunge pool and Moroccan water bowls, so I could cool down.  There was also a super hot steam room if the main room wasn’t enough!

As soon as we arrived they introduced us to the changing rooms and fluffy bathrobes and slippers.  The hammam was huge, and we had it to ourselves for a good half hour.  We sweated in there for about 45 minutes ( I was quite happy to be naked, but a group of Spanish girls came in in their swimmies.) 

I had to actually pop out for a minute to ask them for another bottle of mineral water, as I’d already got through one - and they were more than happy to oblige.

Just as it was getting too hot for me our therapists came in, and took us to a room within the hammam, and asked us to lay down on these stone “beds”.  First of all they washed us with a gorgeous, strong eucalyptus soap and then scrubbed us down (our gommage.)  They didn’t speak English but it’s pretty clear when someone wants you to turn over - which is all we had to do.

There’s a little cloakroom outside the hammam where we slipped back into dressing gowns for our massages (with our scrubbing gloves, which they let us keep.)

Again, our masseurs didn’t speak a word of English, but it really didn’t matter - all I had to do was pop on some paper knickers, slip under a towel, choose my massage oil and turn over halfway through.  I don’t know if it was the quality of the massage, the treatment beforehand, or the fact that I was on holiday, but it was one of the most relaxing massages I’ve ever had.

And unlike massages I’ve had in the UK I completely lost track of time - I could have been in there an hour or 3 hours - and I didn’t feel rushed or that I wanted another half hour - it was just right.

What I especially loved, even though it was so simple, was the way she massaged my hands.  I thought it was just because I spend so much of my time working on a keyboard, but my sister said the same thing.  I almost asked the masseur to carry on with my hands, but I’m glad I didn’t because the rest of the massage was fantastic as well!

Chilling out in the Arabian lounge afterwards there was no rush for us to leave - even though they were probably closed by then, so we just lay back on the pillows and enjoyed our mint tea.

The walk from Rituels d’Orient to the hotel is about 10-20 minutes and it’s all downhill.  When we got back we popped into the shop across the road to pick up snacks, ordered some pasta and herbal tea from room service, put on some chilled out music, and were probably both sleeping like babies by 9pm!