Away from baby's cries, Lindsay Jennings and her-sister-inlaw find sanctuary at The Titianic Spa in Huddersfield.

AFTER six weeks of sleepless nights thanks to, an albeit, beautiful baby daughter, my sister-in-law Vicki is in dire need of some pampering. She has the kind of tiredness where you walk into the furniture; discover the phrase 'automatic pilot' is invented just for you, and forget what you're talking about the moment you've started a sentence.

She deserves some rest, a respite, and thankfully she finds it at the Titanic Spa, set in a former textile mill, nestled in the shadows of the Pennines in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. There is no sign of trouble at t'mill here. Only the lure of sensory heaven as we are shown to leather chairs before being handed a cappuccino and our itinerary for the day.

A tour reveals the spa oozes contemporary style with slate floors - complete with underfloor heating in the changing rooms - dark wood and olive coloured walls. In the relaxation room, a couple are lying on the huge bean bags in fluffy dressing gowns, looking as if they can't move.

"I like the look of that," I say, but not in a weird way.

We head off to the Heat Experience - a huge room compared with most spas that is dedicated, as you've probably gathered, to a range of hot and cold rooms. We sit with our feet in swirling footbaths, being nurtured by the aromatic salts we have added. Then we venture into the Aromatherapy Room, where we find curved mosaic seats and colourful low level lighting.

"It's like a trendy nightclub," says Vicki, and she isn't wrong, such is the chilled out ambience. Essential oils are pumped into the air, while the floor, benches and walls are heated. We lay back and think of absolutely nothing. The spa also boasts a crystal steam bath - like a Turkish bath - a sauna cabin and for the really brave, an ice room where crushed ice can be "gently applied" to the body. We bypass the plunge pool and the suspended ice bucket (although one woman is happy to tip the lot over her head with a yank of the chain and a "yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaa!" after emerging from the sauna).

Instead, we venture into the mud chamber, a treatment inspired by ancient Egyptian bathing. We're handed a bowl of three different types of mud - which looks like they've been scraped from Leonardo Da Vinci's paint palette - for the face, upper body and legs. We have only three minutes to slap it on before the steam begins and we sit, for 20 minutes. Awaiting with dread the moment the showers suddenly switch on, I chicken out and rinse off the mud in the adjoining shower room to reveal silky smooth skin.

After a swim in the salt regulated 18m swimming pool, we enjoy a delicious lunch in the spa's bistro cooked in front of us by the bistro chef in a central island unit. We tuck into rocket salad with balsamic vinegar and sun dried tomatoes followed by red peppers stuffed with cous cous and feta cheese.

In the afternoon it's treatment time. The 20 rooms all have plenty of space and most come with showers - there's even one with his and her couches for romantics or friends who want to natter through their treatments. I enjoy the Aromatherapy Cocoon body wrap (£55 for 55 mins) which entails a salt exfoliating scrub and being wrapped in two towels containing essential oils. Next, I'm wrapped in a blanket and an outer, thermal blanket which is pinched together like a Cornish pasty. I stay there, cocooned, while the therapist gives me a sleep-inducing head massage.

Later, I have the Prescription Facial (£55 for 55mins) which involves a spell under the glow of an assessment lamp where I learn my skin is dehydrated. The therapist picks out the right range from their Pevonia Botanica products, a botanical skincare range which contains marine extracts.

The hours fly by. Vicki comes back to the world of the living. She professes there is nothing she wouldn't change about the day as she blows on her freshly manicured nails. She is looking forward to seeing her baby again, but boy, has she loved the respite too.

TRAVEL FACTS

Titanic Spa runs various packages. The Summer Top to Toe Day Package is £99 per person and includes a Reviver Facial, Target Massage; Mini Manicure; Mini Pedicure, use of Club Titanic and lunch in the bistro.

If you can't bear to leave, Titanic has three deluxe apartments open for overnight stays where you can even have dinner cooked in the bistro.

The spa also has a hair salon; a separate health and fitness club with a TechnoGym gymnasium and an extensive range of men's treatments

Titanic Spa is at Low Westwood Lane, Linthwaite, Huddersfield HD7 5UN. Contact the spa on (01484) 843 544 or visit www.titanicspa.com.