Kenya safari with herd of elephants tlp

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When a place becomes synonymous with a certain type of activity (Goa: raving, Germany: drinking), there's a danger travellers won't be able to look beyond it. That's certainly true of Mombasa, which is so intrinsically linked to safaris that telling mates you're visiting for any other reason will be met with squawks of outrage.

Let them squawk, because while Kenya still offers the best game-watching in the world, it is gradually carving itself out a fine reputation as a spa destination.

Beauty product brands such as Elemis are more reasonably priced out there, and when combined with white powder beaches and an aquamarine ocean laced with palm trees, the country provides a true spa experience that its European counterparts simply can't match in winter.

Plus, with a time difference of three hours, you won't be battling the jetlag so much on your return.

The Serena Beach and Spa Hotel in Mombasa, which houses the superb new Maisha spa, greets you with a sea breeze which drifts in from the ocean behind the hotel. Lamu architecture – a traditional Swahili form of decor with Arab influences – has been specifically chosen to complement winding alleys, open courtyards, fountains speckled with floating frangipani flowers, and heavy, intricately carved doors.

Booking a treatment straight after your flight is highly recommended, in particular the Elemis Visible Brilliance facial, which helps put moisture back into the skin. At £57, it costs half the price it does in London. After your initial consultation, you'll be led through to one of Maisha's spacious treatment rooms.

Light lances throughout the entire building, and the rooms seamlessly fuse with the outdoors with the clever placement of a shower in the spa's private courtyard. There are few better pleasures than bathing in the open air after you've had a vigorous Maisha coffee scrub (£17).

To say the therapists are superb is an understatement: I was so relaxed, I drifted off into loud snoring on more than one occasion.

Following a deep tissue back massage (£26), I was shown to the spa pool where you can dissolve into bubbles under a canopy of leaves.

Afterwards, you can either relax with a bottle of chilled beer by the pool, or venture out to the beach. The sand is so soft it's like melted sugar running through your toes.

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Somak Holidays offers 14 nights at the five-star Serena Hotel and Spa, Mombasa, from £1,509 per person. Price includes accommodation on a bed-and-breakfast basis and return flights with Kenya Airways from Heathrow. Valid until 28 March 2008, 020 8423 3000, www.somak.co.uk