Gentlemen, you have been hoodwinked; we ladies have had you believing that spas are not for the boys.

And while you played poker or pursued other manly activities, we were snickering into our extra-fluffy towelling robes at our little secret; that spa treatments are so intensely pleasurable, they make you glad to be a girl.

Sadly for us ladies, the idea of the spa as an all-female preserve is getting washed away with the birch-and-sea-salt soap suds.

Health clubs and hotels have got wise to the fact that men have been missing out and they’ve developed some extra masculine options that will have you packing for a male weekend retreat faster than you can say “beard trim and mini facial”.

So let the scales fall from your eyes (and the rest of your body) and find out what the girls have been keeping secret for so long.

Park Hotel, Kenmare, Ireland

Ireland’s very climate is enough to pummel the colour back into your cheeks, and the Park Hotel, a 19th-century mansion, has Sámas spa that will address the rest of your body with the Gentlemen’s Total Body Ritual (two hours costs €245), guaranteed to undo your tightest knots.

For a more gentle introduction to spa life, you can book the one-hour Sisley Gentleman’s Facial (€145).

When you aren’t being pampered, you can hike in the surrounding forest or enjoy deepsea diving and sport fishing in Kenmare Bay.

The hotel itself is a subtle mix of tradition (think silver-laden sideboards and antique furniture) and ultra-modern comforts, such as the stainless steel pool in the fitness centre.

www.parkkenmare.com

Champneys, Henlow, UK

Champneys is synonymous with luxury spas in the UK and the brand has been quick to capitalise on the demand for men’s treatments.

Its Henlow property stands on the site of a Cistercian monastery and is set in 150 acres of parkland; the weir built by the monks still exists.

Reward yourself afterwards with a dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant

The spa itself is based in a Georgian manor, with hand-painted walls and Venetian-style mirrors.

As part of an 85-minute treatment there, you’ll get a mini back massage, facial cleansing, skin buff, hot stone neck and shoulder massage, ice-cold stone eye massage and eyebrow trim (€123).

If that doesn’t turn your waterwheel, there are more than 80 other therapies, including a paraffin wax bath, physiotherm and Chinese body therapy.

Afterwards, you can relax in the state-of-the-art Thalassotherapy pool.

www.champeys.com

Terme Di Saturnia Spa And Golf Resort, Saturnia, Tuscany, Italy

This award-winning spa has 54 exquisite treatment cabins and the public areas are flooded by sunlight and clad in expensive building materials.

There’s a natural thermal spring here and many treatments are based on the natural exfoliating and cleansing effect of the mineral salts in the water, which has a constant temperature of 37.5°C.

Reboot your circulatory system with a hot mud therapy session, which costs €55 for 50 minutes.

If you’re nursing some Action Man injuries, the spa also has a wide range of physiotherapeutic treatments, including ultrasonic treatment to relieve contracted muscles; electrophysiotherapy to reduce inflammation or pain; and physiokinesiotherapy to address any muscular and mobility problems.

Reward yourself afterwards with dinner at the Michelin-starred restaurant, All’Acquacotta, where Tuscan traditional cuisine is given a twist by chef Alessandro Bocci in a healthy menu that uses local ingredients.

www.termedisaturnia.it

Ayasofya Hurrem Sultan Hamam, Istanbul, Turkey

This historic bath house was ordered by the wife of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th century, with the sections for men and women constructed as mirror images of each other.

If you’re feeling shy about a spa experience, this segregated layout might help.

The hammam has a prescribed order. You start in the Cold Room, where you change into a pestamal (silk wrap).

You’ll go back there after your bath to relax and drink a sherbet under the dome that has loomed over generations of sultans.

Next is the Hot Room, where the tempera­ture is around 42 to 47°C.

The heat will prepare your skin for the scrub and you’ll return to the marble massage platform for the bubble wash and massage service afterwards.

If you’re tired of overly light massages, this is the place for you – the staff are merciless. The scrub takes place in the Warm Room, which has parts of the old hamam heating system exposed.

You’ll feel like you shed your old, dirty skin and grew a new, baby-soft one.

Price start from €85 for the Pir-i-Pak ceremony, which includes a gold-plated ottoman bath bowl, a pestamal and slippers, comb, bath glove, olive oil toiletries a traditional body scrub, bubble wash massage and a head and neck massage.

www.ayasofyahamami.com