After six hours on a bus from London, Sue Ostler can’t wait to try The Thermae Bath Spa.

When I booked the Fun Fare for the bus ride that would take me from London to Bath, I didn’t realize the fun element meant it would take six hours instead of the advertised four. “Curiouser and curiouser” as Alice would say.

We finally got to drizzly Bath, and I wasn’t wasting anytime. My package (a better Christmas gift I’ve never received – well not since the tickets for Madonna’s Confessions Tour) included lunch, along with plenty more pamper-tastic treats. I found my way into the massive change rooms, complete with gadgets and gizmos and changed into my fluffy robe and hotfooted it straight to the Springs Café & Restaurant. And ladies I have to say, they had me at the restaurant.

A light, airy, spacious room, all Georgian architecture, high ceilings and gorgeous views enticed me to indulge more than just a little. The food was actually ridiculously good with choices designed for both the health conscious and girls who wanna have fun – and thus came my rich serving of veggie lasagna with lashings of cheese and freshly baked bread that was both crunchy and deliciously garlicky, followed by a serving of the richest toffee and caramel cake with clotted cream.

After pigging out and observing my spa buddies for the day: gaggles of women, moms and daughters, couples – lots of couples – I dragged myself off and decided to work my way upward through this impressive three level structure.

Britain’s only natural thermal waters allows the opportunity to bathe as the Celts and Romans did over 2000 years ago. Not to be confused with the original Roman Baths, the Thermae Bath Spa prides itself on past, present and future joining for a spa experience of sci-fi proportions.

The ground floor space is taken up by a massive pool with warm currents and ripples that ebb and push you along on your little floaty stick. Floor to ceiling windows let you bathe in the sun that was by now peeking out from behind the rain clouds. Hours and hours glide by before it’s time to make the short stroll to the treatment area where more pleasure awaits with a dizzying array of delights.

A stint in the Kraxen Stove got the party started. Famous for its therapeutic benefits as well as the social aspects, the open stove is positioned in a cosy communal space where soothing, aromatic herbs are released through a stove, gently radiating the upper body in an innovative and warming way. The perfect way to prepare for the queenly Cleopatra bath and body scrub, and the hot stones spa therapy where the warm stones guided by the therapist melt away tension, aches and pains caused by one who is forced to sit upright at a keyboard for hour upon hour upon hour.

And then it was up to the next floor where my jaw hit the floor as I copped a view of futuristic sauna station where four massive circular glass covered steam rooms offered different aromas designed to revive, stimulate or relax. Ahh, and just when I didn’t think things could get any better I made my way to the rooftop.

Late afternoon was turning into evening when I found myself frolicking in the warm, mineral-rich water in the outdoor bath perched high atop the hazy Bath hills. There I glided effortlessly, overlooking the cities rooftops, museums, cathedrals and misty landmarks; the gothic grandeur and galleries that dot the landscape and keep you wanting to take in just one more look before leaving. I oohed and aahed as the gradual change in the light and eerie atmosphere kicked in at twilight with the mist from the baths curling over the steeples. This was not an image I’d forget in a hurry.

Nor will I forget the whimsical B & B just a short hop down the street and around the corner. I wandered up the narrow staircase and ducked my head as I entered my room, no bigger than a rabbit hole, with its miniature looking glass and tiny bed. And there I drifted into a deep beautiful sleep and dreamt of tea parties with tartlets and raspberry shortcake and tea in flowered cups served by mad hatters in white fluffy robes.

Website: http://www.thermaebathspa.com/