The one thing you must do if you get the chance to visit Bath is to wallow in the city's natural spring baths, like the Romans once did.

That is the advice from the concierge of the Bath Spa Hotel, the grand Georgian mansion that once belonged to an English general but has since been transformed into a five-star hotel.

The butler in his tail coat waiting at the entrance sets the scene for unapologetic luxury on an epicurean scale.

Your car is whisked away, your luggage unpacked and a bottle of champagne lies waiting in a silver bucket in the Imperial suite, with a view of the seven acres of gardens.

Before settling in, we took off to the city centre to seek out just how and where those Romans washed.

The view from the swimming pool on the roof of Bath's Thermae Spa is part Constable painting - the cathedral spire glinting in the sunshine, the honey-coloured stone of the building golden against a backdrop of rolling English countryside - and part Ingres, with groups of near-naked women in every manner of bathing costume lolling about in the thermal waters.

While this is a very British scene, albeit one dating back to our early Brit-Roman times, with steam rooms and natural waters designed for good health and aquatic relaxation, for this month only it has a Far Eastern twist.

Probably the greatest spa experts in the world have flown 6,000 miles from the Malaysian island resort of Pangkor Laut to share their secrets.

Keira Knightley, Rupert Friend and Sting and Trudie all go there.

It is a place no paparazzo can get to; it has a serenity and charm that elude the more obviously fashionable places for guaranteed sunshine and has beaches so glorious that they were considered for the last James Bond film.

The Malaysian twist of luxury in Bath this month is the perfect surprise for Londoners wanting relaxation with a taste of East meets West.

Malaysians just do calm and karma effortlessly; it is in their DNA. Spa expert Chik Pai Ling flew in from Kuala Lumpur to supervise Bath's makeover. She has a global mission to roll out spa villages of the highest quality in the best places in the world. Bath fits their thinking.

What is wonderful about a weekend in Bath - a two-hour drive from London - is that it is a city built upon beauty and architectural ideals. The Bath Spa Hotel was packed on Saturday night.

It prides itself on its organic menu, with open-air reared cattle providing the beef. Dinner of fresh asparagus, cream of onion soup, warm bread and rare, hand-reared beef was sophisticated but not pretentious and utterly delicious.

A very English menu mastered by a chef who is clearly going places. Breakfast by contrast was ordinary, the scrambled egg strangely tasteless and lumpy.

But service in this hotel is smiley and enchanting and the place is brimming with historical presence.

Built for a general, it has been a school, a stately residence and caused a social stir when Princess Diana opened it as a spa. It is only a three-minute taxi ride or a 15-minute walk from the centre of Bath but feels like a calm oasis.

This is British luxury at its best; butler, wi-fi and a concierge who can direct you where to find a Dickens first edition or the best dim sum.

The city's famous Royal Crescent with its hemisphere of regency architecture is enough to make Prince Charles swoon at its classical perfection.

The hotel symbolises the best of the new and the old, luxurious rather than spartan, the spa full of fluffy towels and staff good-looking enough for an Australian soap, broad perfect smiles and fit physiques.

Bath brings out the best in invaders, visitors and those who choose to make it home.

WAY TO GO

The Macdonald Bath Spa Hotel (0844 879 9106, www.MacdonaldHotels.co.uk/BathSpa) has doubles from £136 B&B, Imperial Suites from £199 B&B with champagne and canapés on arrival and butler service during the stay.

The Malaysian Spa Festival runs until 17 May, www.spafestival.co.uk, www.thermaebathspa.com