When compared with the many designer spa resorts in neighbouring countries like Thailand and Indonesia, Singapore's spas tend to rank pretty low on the luxury scale. It could well be due to the lack of resort space, but it is more likely the case that many spas - in hotels especially - seem to be "retro-fitted" from existing function room or other room space.

Which then explains why spa designs and facilities here are less than impressive. A few private rooms that are designed with en-suite shower stalls or whirlpools, piped-in music and dim lights, even when there's a Vichy shower, doesn't a designer spa make.

But there's hope for a world-class spa here, especially with new hotel projects on the drawing board.

The newly-opened St Regis Hotel leads the way in this respect, with a well-conceived spa that is integrated into the hotel design. While it has been open to hotel guests for the past couple of months, St Regis's Remede Spa - a beautiful sacntuary of calm and rejuvenation in the middle of Orchard Road - will officially open next month.

This is the fourth Remede Spa in the world; it is also the first outside the United States and the first in Asia as Remede  is exclusive to St Regis Hotels worldwide.

The best thing about the spa is is day spa facilities - signature and customised treatments notwithstanding - where no expense has been spared to create its white-marbled, black-grained "heart" housing its steam chambers, a Finnish cedarwood sauna and a hydro-massage pool. There are even heated, natural stone loungers.

The wet lounge (top) and a treatment room (above) at St Regis's Remede Spa, which will officially open next month. The spa's signature therapy is the warm jade stone massage, which costs $280 for 90 minutes.

The marbled sanctum is steamy and inviting, with the sound of swirling waters and the scent of eucalyptus instantly putting you in a relaxed mood. Then there is a small Zen gerden-like outdoor space with a jet pool and an "aqua reflex path" - a pebbled, water-covered reflexology path to massage your soles before a treatment session.

If you're not a hotel guest, you should definitely arrive half an hour or an hour earlier to enjoy the "wet lounge" facilities ($35 for non-staying guests if you've signed up for a spa treatment above $100, $85 if you're not having a treatment). I knew, for instance, that my shoulder girdle and upper back were so tight and knotted up (a modern-day plague, thanks to copious computer use, according to Remede Spa education manager Wendy Allred) that I desperately needed to have my back warmed up and made as relaxed as possible. Resting on the heated marble in the steam room, and soaking in the hydro-massage pool really helped.

So much so that when my therapist laid me down on a "bed" of warm, jade stones arranged in a circle for the upper back afterwards, it was as though the warmth continued to permeate through to the deeper areas of my back.

Every Remede Spa has a signature therapy of its own, and Singapore's is the warm jade stone massage ($280 for 90 minutes). Smooth jade stones in various sizes - warmed up by steam - are used in flowing massage strokes throughout the body, for healing, balancing and rejuvenating properties.

The therapist first oils the body with an aromatherapy blend, and then makes light to deep effleurage (gliding) strokes with the green jade stones. The strokes flow towards lymphatic areas in the body, and she also does lymphatic drainage by applying light presses in the relevant areas.

You lie on your back at the start of the session, flipping over to lie on the front only later - for better relaxation, explains the therapist. With my back being worked on longer, upon request, and with the use of more pressure in shorter, firmer strokes to ease the knots, it felt more like gua sha, but without the pain. Those who have had it done will know that gua sha, a form of Chinese treatment with scraping moves meant to remove stagnation, can be quite painful.

The treatment ends with refreshing strokes of chilled jade rollers over the face, stroking from the centre outwards. One envisions one's face getting a "lift" of sorts.

If you believe that jade has healing properties, then it's an added bonus to the warm and firm strokes that have eased tight muscles. Jade certainly sounds more luxurious than hot stones. And the heat from the warm jade doesn't feel as searing as the heat from hot stones so it's not uncomfortably hot.

After a treatment, spa patrons can also relax in the quiet "Sensorial" lounge to sip on floral tea or chilled champagne, while savouring artisan chocolates.

As Ms Allred explains, the focus of each Remede Spa is on individual customisation and results. She was here earlier to train the therapists in Remede Spa protocol. "People go to spas today and they want to feel special; and they want to feel like an individual too. Hence the customisation we offer," she says.

She recommends getting a massage every month as it improves circulation, especially in this age when everyone seems to be stuck to a desk. "Massage releases endorphins, which make you feel happy," she notes. And who doesn't want to be happy, right?

This article was first published in The Business Times, Weekend Edition, on Mar 29 2008.