OPIUM SPA, THE SIAM HOTEL, BANGKOK, THAILAND

Sitting in traffic this morning, my mind took me back to one of the best massages I have ever had. Back to the gorgeous, tranquil and therapeutic calm of the Opium Spa at The Siam Hotel in the leafy royal enclave of Dusit in Bangkok. Just as I am back on that soft massage bed, soothing hands kneading away pesky knots, I snap out of my reverie to the honk of horns behind me after the light turns green. Whoops!

That state of calm is easy to conjure.

I imagine walking down the stairs into the oasis, the welcoming tea and chilled face washer to refresh from the Bangkok heat, and walking into the treatment rooms. They are more like suites, with a separate shower, toilet, huge change area opening up to the stunning treatment room. Before changing, Kom, my masseuse, gives me a heat pack for my shoulders, to start the process of unlocking my tense upper body, scrunched tight from the hours at the computer. This is followed by a salt scrub foot bath, before changing into a robe as soft as a cloud. I could have had the Muay Thai massage but opted for the Aroma Therapy massage, a rhythmic, hypnotic treatment that sent me into the land of nod a few times. I could have spent a week in there, enjoying steam showers, dry and steam saunas or Jacuzzis. I could have had hair and nails done in the full-service salon and for something truly different, I could have had a tattoo of a Buddhist blessing from a master. But I was happy with my massage, and walked zombie-like to my beautiful suite in this stunning boutique property. The Siam is a member of the Legend Collection from Preferred Hotels & Resorts.