I visited the world's 'best' spa - it cost £250 but was worth every penny

The five-star luxury Dolder Grand Hotel, with its turrets and fairytale glint, overlooks the blue mirrored expanse of Lake Zurich in Northern Switzerland. It is a popular spot with celebrities, honeymooners, and anyone seeking a fleeting taste of the good life on a Swiss hillside - where time, reason, and bank accounts are entirely subservient to the balm of top-end spa exclusivity.

With a day ticket costing £250 for a single entry, venturing into the hallowed halls of the Dolder Grand Spa feels faintly absurd for anyone whose everyday luxury is a nice cup of tea and whose exercise regime is a trip to the local gym (my West Sussex gym is a steal at £105 per month).

Yet, arriving at the Dolder Grand by chauffeur-driven Bentley Flying Spur - as a guest of the £100k-a-week Zurich-based Paracelsus-Recovery Clinic where I am writing an article (their clients are invited to spend time here between treatments and therapy sessions) - all nerves are quickly assuaged by the gentle hush, the curving marble corridors, and large fluffy towels so soft they could make a cloud jealous.

For one evening, Zurich's finest wellness experience makes even the most sensible penny-pincher muse that maybe health and hedonism were meant to be soulmates. Inside, 4,000 square meters unfurl in a temple to relaxation, with the Ladies' Spa and Gentlemen's Spa each boasting sauna, steam and aroma pools, plunge baths, and scents so beguiling one suspects they're piped directly from an Alpine meadow.

In the Aqua Zone, I traced sleek laps in a 25-meter pool with magnificent double-height windows gazing out over the mountain tops in the distance. There is hardly anyone here, which is probably part of the plan: The sky-high entry fee ensures exclusivity.

Meanwhile, braver souls than me are chilling in the "Snow Paradise" - where snow falls indoors, presumably just so no one forgets they're in northern Switzerland. Massage treatments, all based on the Dolder Grand Life Balance programme, blend Swiss precision with pampered extravagance: some reviewers claim to have left with skin softer than a fondue cheese and spirits lighter than an airlifted Toblerone.

Apart from time spent in the outdoor, hillside infinity pools - set to different temperatures - my favourite moment was the stress-healing 30 minutes I spent in the spa's famous pebble loungers. These warm stones, within a bath-like shell, cradle you in gentle warmth, contouring to every curve, and making a person momentarily forget the stresses of looming deadlines, recalcitrant children, or laundry piles surely amassing back home.

How could one not feel transformed while gazing over Lake Zurich as the sun sets with cinematic intent?

A spa evening at the Dolder Grand is a beautiful escape from common sense, and that's precisely its magic. For £250, indulgence is not only allowed, it's actively encouraged. And if your wallet feels the sting in the cold light of Monday, your soul, warmed by Swiss hospitality and a little glitz, will sing long after the steam has evaporated.