USP State-of-the-art spa on the banks of Loch Lomond combines urban luxury with rural tranquility.

AMBIENCE When you finally stop gawping at the awesome scenery and get into the circular reception decked out in creams and dark wood it becomes obvious that a lot of care and attention to detail has been lavished on the interiors. Happily, the designers have eschewed some of the more hackneyed trimmings of “relaxation” and “tranquillity” (statues of Buddha and the like, which only really look right in Asian spas) in favour of a clean, modern look with clever lighting.

EXPERIENCE It’s one of only three spas in Scotland to use the US spa brand Kerstin Florian (they also use Carita, the - even more - luxurious sister brand of Décleor) and my 90-minute caviar facial is almost medical. Well, it would be if it wasn’t so incredibly luxurious.

But as always, business before pleasure and we kick off with a glycolic peel. This is the most gentle of the exfoliating peels in which fruit acids take off the top layers of dead skin to stimulate cell growth. Even so, it feels quite hot and a bit stingy. My therapist warned me about this and the skin sensitivity it can cause - no hot showers or baths for 24 hours after as the steam can cause rashes - at the consultation before the facial, so I’m not too worried. Plus, it’s a small price to pay for great skin (I’m hoping).

The rest of the facial is all about soothing the face after the peel. I lose track of the creams being rubbed into my face – but who’s counting! The highlight is a divine face massage, which seems to include both pressure point and lymphatic drainage techniques. My therapist has a deft touch - neither feeble nor wince-inducingly firm and I feel total relaxation wash over me, which I don’t usually get from a facial.

Next is the mask. “I’m going to put the mask over your eyes,” the therapist warns me at the beginning of the treatment. “It can feel a bit weird but just try to relax.” When she puts it on my face, I’m surprised by how thick it feels. Weirder still is when she smoothes it into my eye sockets filling them in and it is at this point that I get a shade uncomfortable. I’ve been lying in a gentle daze for so long I can hardly remember what my eyelids are for. Suddenly with them glued shut I have a perverse urge to open them. Typical. But once I relax into it, everything is fine.

Last, a caviar serum (a little bottle of which I get to take away with me for further treatment) is rubbed into the face to nourish it. Then just as I’m about to drop off, Patricia touches me gently on the arm and says, “That’s you,” and tells me to stay in the room for as long as I need to come to.

A final note: the therapists are unbelievably helpful. My bags did a vanishing trick on the flight from London and when they heard they gave me a goodie bag full of face creams and an impromptu lesson in the art of mineral makeup and a loan of some of their i.d. bareMinerals range of make-up so I could make myself presentable the next day!

FOOD Claret Jug restaurant on the ground floor provides yummy gastro-pub grub and the spa has a restaurant with a balcony overlooking the loch especially for spa guests to have a bite to eat without getting out of their robes.

IN-CROWD West of Scotland’s pampered beau monde mingle with a surprising number of male golfers using the amazing hot and cold sauna zone to untangle stiff muscles.

WALLET WATCH Kerstin Florian Signature Caviar Facial, 90 mins, £125; Golfer’s Recovery Massage, 50 mins, £80, European Deep Cleansing Facial, 60 mins, £65

NEED TO KNOW The Spa at The Carrick, Cameron House, Loch Lomond, Dunbartonshire G83 8QZ (01389 755 565; www.devere.co.uk/chs1)

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