A healthy and blissful ayurvedic spa break in Kent is not a cheap option but, hey, people go all the way to India for this kind of treatIn recent years the practice of Ayurveda, a 5,000-year-old system of Hindu medicine, has become popular in the tourist resorts of Kerala and Sri Lanka, where hotels have Ayurvedic spas offering, among other things, the ubiquitous Indian head massage. But what a surprise to come across an Ayurvedic spa in the depths of Kent.Tor Spa Retreat looks the real deal ? offering panchakarma, which can be roughly translated as "the mother of all detoxes". I know this because I tried it in Sri Lanka. I dropped a dress size, but it was no walk in the park, involving disgusting tea, weird-smelling poultices applied at ungodly hours of the morning, headaches and some explosive effects on the digestive system.The spa's website isn't the clearest ? it takes a while to discover that most of the packages (�99-�205) don't include accommodation. Ouch ? here's something else to tot up. Canterbury station is a 20 quid taxi ride away. We pull up outside a group of single-storey wooden buildings and in no time I'm being shown around by Ky Wilkinson.We pull up outside a group of single-storey wooden buildings and in no time I'm being shown around by Ky Wilkinson. This was once his grandparents' home."We used to play games and have family Christmases in here," he says, showing me a cream sitting room with huge sofas, heaps of cushions, woodburner (sadly not in use) and windows looking out across fields. There's something rather New England about it all.The surprises keep coming. His late mother, Kim, started the spa, bringing masseuses and an Ayurvedic doctor over from Kerala 10 years ago.The pool area has a mural of a tropical beach, palms and a little boat tied up on shore. By now we've progressed from reception at the gravelled front to the very rear and the two bedrooms, hemmed by decking, on the edge of a small ornamental lake with a moorhens and ducks and a little wooden bridge. I like my room. It's simple ? a bed, wicker furniture, small shower room ? and looks out across the lake. Just time to wash before lunch.Seated on scrubbed pine back in the wooden expanses of sitting room, delicious coconut dhal with rice and cauliflower fried in spices are shared with fellow guests, in their towelling robes. Lisa from Ashford and Dannielle from Greenwich are Tor Spa devotees: they love it, they say, and bemoan having to leave later in the day.We drift in and out of steam, sauna and pool in the afternoon until Jaya, the Ayurvedic doctor, fetches me for my massage.The treatment room has a carving of Ganesh and a brass oil light suspended from the ceiling. A wooden steam cabinet sits in a corner. The Abhyanga treatment starts with a head massage, progresses to the body, using medicated oil, and ends in the steam cabinet, Carry On film-style. I'm too blissed out to laugh, though, and float back to my room. The lake and garden are now dark and silent.Dinner is not as good as lunch, but my solitary evening is a welcome escape from the outside world, and sleep is undisturbed until the gardener clomps over the decking next morning. There's something very simple and uncommercialised about the place. An antidote to sale scrums and excess. As for detoxing ? two days later, typing at my desk, I get a whiff of cigarettes. It is one year since I stopped smoking. Sniff sniff. It's coming from my hand ? out of the pores. How about that? HotelsSpa breaksKentUnited KingdomEuropeSally Shalamguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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