Beauty treatments can be strange and wonderful things. Take the ‘scrubs deluxe’ at the Bliss spa in the super stylish W hotel. . . First of all the setting: Bliss is smart and trendy, but not remotely intimidating. The staff wear sort of casual sports gear and there is no ‘yes ma’am-ing’ or ‘no ma’am-ing’. Hurrah.

When so much in the beauty industry can be po-faced pseudo scientific waffle, we like Bliss’s jokey language. The menu includes ‘the love handler’ slimming treatment and a ‘foot patrol’ pedicure that gives scary Franken-feet a major overhaul – we think they must have seen the state of our heels.

We opted for the ‘scrubs deluxe’ and were invited to climb onto the treatment couch, which appeared to have been covered with one of those tin foil blankets they give marathon runners – was it going to be that arduous? Ah no, it was warm. How lovely.

Khadija, our Tunisian therapist (who has super strong hands), scrubbed us from head to toe with a lemon and sage grainy ungent – it sounded like a Jamie Oliver recipe for basting chicken, in which case, lucky chickens, because it smelt superb and good enough to eat. Isn’t it impressive how therapists can uncover and cover bits of you, like an exotic dancer, ensuring they massage everywhere that’s needed, but don’t compromise your modesty? Such a skill.

Anyway, after being satisfyingly scrubbed, a slightly scary-looking set of six shower jets deluged us with hot water. There was something slightly disconcerting about being showered with water while lying on a couch in a treatment room, but it felt invigorating. We presume it’s a wet room or Khadija’s in big trouble. A rub down with body butter and we were done, and boasting skin as soft as a baby’s whatnot.

Bliss has a fun nail spa too, with a sushi-style conveyor belt showing off the products, headphones linked to TVs for those long manicure sessions and a rack of colours to get you giddy. They also have a steam room and laconium – a Roman idea, this one, consisting of a warm room with heated benches to sit on.

We liked the chill-out room, where you can relax in your dressing gown after your treatment, like a convalescing patient. Crackers, apples, tea. . . but why go healthy when they have the famous Bliss chocolate brownies? Frankly, it’s worth going just for those. We also enjoyed all the goodies in the changing rooms – Paul Mitchell hair products, Bliss products (of course) and even a bottle of mouthwash.

The downside? Well, it isn’t cheap, and body treatments start at QR450, but you do feel pretty special. Just one other downside, our skin was so soft that we spent all day weirding out our friends, asking them to see how soft it was for themselves.
Bliss@Spa, W Hotel (453 5353). Open 9am-9pm. Scrubs deluxe treatment costs QR500.