Petit by name, petite by nature. Nestled away in Birmingham's Malmaison hotel, this city spa is definitely on the smaller side, but that doesn'™t mean to say it scrimps and saves on the decor, or the treatments.

Just a flying visit, I managed to fit in a Fantasy spray tan between meetings, although this did mean I couldn'™t take full advantage of the facilities on offer. The tan used was a bespoke formula that means you can dictate exactly how brown you want to be, as instead of using specific shades the therapist mixes and matches them to suit your skin tone. This means you'™re left with an even looking tan and there's no risk of streaks or stripes afterwards.

An odd experience, the spray tan is performed by a therapist who directs the spray gun at you. So it doesn'™t cover the treatment room, you're made to stand in a weird tent like enclosure and then asked to strip down to a pair of paper pants. With your arms and legs spread-eagled, the spraying begins and after about 15 minutes it's all over. Although it's not a particularly relaxing treatment, it does the job and I was left looking sun-kissed for a good 5 days afterwards.

The spa is located in the hotel right next to the gym and from what I could gather the changing rooms were shared with people using those facilities. This meant that as I was making my way back to the changing rooms in my paper pants (and dressing gown) I was dodging muscle men and gym goers which made me feel a little paranoid.

For some reason the lighting also stood out as being a little too dim and I can't recall seeing any signs pointing towards the spa on entering the hotel.