Kempinski Grand Hotel Heiligendamm, Germany (+49 38203 740 0; www.kempinski-heiligendamm.com)

The spa is an alternative therapy health farm sheltered by a forest of beech trees and the sweeping sandy beaches of the Baltic Sea. Treatments range from a Baltic Sea Hammam to traditional Thai massage. A Thalgo Suprême Sculpt Corps costs £110 for 90 minutes.

Spa Vilnius, Druskininkai, Lithuania (00-370-313 53811; www.spa-vilnius.lt)

An enticing treatment list includes honey massages and red-grape bath all at beat-the-credit-crunch prices, a quarter of what you’d pay in the UK. This eight-storey hotel-with-wellness-centre in a low-key Lithuanian resort is more glam than glum and the therapists are kind, calm and deeply professional.

Padaste Manor, Estonia (+372 - 454 8800; www.padaste.ee)

Splendidly isolated Pädaste Manor spa and hotel sits by the edge of the sea, looking out over the marshes on the southern tip of the island of Muhu. The Scandinavian-style spa is in the old dairy where there are saunas, seawater hot tubs and other facilities, with treatments such as goat-milk facials, oatmeal and yogurt scrubs and hay baths.

Puhajarve Spa Hotel, Estonia (00 372 7665 500)

In an idyllic setting next to the "holy" Lake Puhajarv, this medieval manor house has been converted into a shiny modern spa with an emphasis on health as much as lifestyle. Treatments range from traditional joint and muscle therapies to Asian massage. There's a big indoor pool, and a thermal suite with classic forest and lakeland views.

Sofitel Grand Sopot, Poland (+48 58/5206000; www.sofitel.com)

The wellness centre at this historic five-star hotel on the Polish riviera overlooks a private garden with a fountain and sandy beach. The Grand spa by Algotherm opened last year and sports a swimming pool, sauna, hammam and ice bath. Hands-on “five senses” treatments are administered by French and Norwegian therapists.

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