5. The Solo

TRADITIONAL MAJESTIC HAMMAM

Cost: Dhs610 / Dhs990 (with massage) Length: 60 minutes / 120 minutes (with massage) Nobody does understated luxury quite like St Regis, and the spa at the international chain’s newest UAE outpost is no different. Standing out among the city’s many more traditional hammams, the Iridium Spa’s marble-slabbed room is beautifully muted, with some very classy metallic accents and, crucially, designed for just one customer at a time. If you’re shy, this is the hammam for you. We start out being covered in black soap, before transferring to the steam room for ten minutes to let it soften our skin. Next up is the scrubbing – harsh but fair – before we are coated in a luxurious body oil. Are we the only ones who think there’s often something intensely comforting about having your hair washed for you, as though you get to revert to being a little child?

Modesty factor?

You’re the only person in the room bar your therapist, so there’s no need to feel embarrassed.