The annual January surge in memberships of gyms is underway. Fired up by new year's resolutions to get fit and shed weight, many people are dragging their "deconditioned" bodies to centres where their inches will be measured, their heart rates monitored and their bicep strengths assessed.

The emphasis is now often on relaxation as well as fitness - particularly at the top end of the market which has flourished with the booming economy.

But the high costs involved in getting fit may leave your pocket as challenged as your body.

The cost of membership and enrolment is broadly determined by the facilities on offer. But most gyms have progressed greatly from the sweaty male-only exercise worlds of the past.

Prospective members should examine facilities carefully and decide what services they want. They should establish what is included in the basic membership package and what are categorised as extras.

In many fitness centres, aromatherapy and massage as well as beauty services and creche facilities now come as standard - albeit with a more expensive membership fee.

The Rochestown Park Leisure Centre in Cork offers the ultimate indulgence with seaweed wraps and baths in the State's only Thalassotherapy Clinic. (Thalasso means from the sea.)

It also has an award-winning 20-metre swimming pool with a whirlpool spa and two hydrotherapy massage pools, a children's pool and a refreshments lounge. The annual fee is £486 for a single member, with an entrance fee of £100.

The centre's manager, Mr Leonard Ryan, says that about a third of recent inquiries from prospective members have been from people with minor weight problems.

"People want to get fit and to do something after work. It's also a great way of relieving stress," he says.

Also at the top end of the market, the new Shelbourne Club Health Fitness and Relaxation Centre in Dublin will add aromatherapy, reflexology and a hair and beauty treatment to its list of services within a month.

The £2.5 million development, adjacent to the Shelbourne Hotel on St Stephen's Green, is based in the hotel's former Garden Suite.

Those whose wallets stretch to the entrance fee of £400 and a £900 annual charge will find themselves working-out in elegant settings as the suite's two large crystal chandeliers and ornate plaster work and marble fireplaces have been retained.

The club also has an 18-metre ozone-treated swimming pool overlooked by the mezzanine level gym area which is stocked with the latest in American cardio-vascular and strength-training equipment.

The club's manager, Ms Caroline Naughton, says it will be a quiet gym, eschewing incessant piped dance music.

"It's a five-star service we are providing, so it will be quiet and relaxing," she says. "It's not just a gym, it's a centre of relaxation."

One of Dublin's more established fitness centres, the River View Racquet and Fitness Club in Clonskeagh, also offers relaxation as well as fitness facilities.

Fees are high - up to £855 annually per member, on top of entrance fees which range from £200 to £1,575 for a family of two adults and two children aged under l0 years.

But, says sales and marketing manager, Ms Gwen Hourigan, its facilities are extensive and the club places great emphasis on personal attention.

The large complex, set on more than six acres, includes a bar and restaurant in addition to a 20-metre pool, 12 indoor and 16 outdoor tennis courts, six squash courts and a sports shop as well as a gym and an aerobics studio.

`It's like a club atmosphere here. People come for dinner and a lot of corporate people entertain clients here, rather than just coming in for a work-out and leaving," says Ms Hourigan.

The leisure club in the grounds of the Galway Ryan Hotel emphasises social activities for members as well as fitness facilities. Its social programme includes events such as line dancing, bring-a-friend beauty nights and table quizzes.

"It's a leisure club, but we also work very hard at maintaining a social aspect for the members and the staff to make it as enjoyable as possible for people," says Ms Margaret Ryan, Ryan Hotel's sales manager.

The club has a 2,500-sq-ft Roman bath-style swimming pool with a 63ftlong area for serious swimmers, a toddler's pool, a therapeutic geyser pool and a lounger pool. There is also a sports hall and two all-weather outdoor tennis courts. Annual fees are £550 for a single member, with an entrance fee of £100.

The Peak Physique Health and Fitness Club Galway Leisure World, is a more conventional gym which has recently been refurbished. Its annual membership fee is £300 with an entrance fee of £80.

The club's manager, Ms Mandy Maher, says membership has tripled in the past three years as people have become more health conscious.

The Fitzpatrick Fitness Centre in Cork, formerly the Silver Springs Hotel, has a nine-hole golf course as well as a 25-metre swimming pool, three tennis courts, two squash courts, an aromatherapy clinic, a beautician, a bar and restaurant.

The annual fee for a single member is £415 for full-peak membership with an entrance fee of £50. The centre's general manager, Ms Debbie Jacobs, says corporate membership is growing. "The trend is also towards using the gym to do workouts rather than aerobics. The days of jumping around the place until you are sweating are gone." Which is good news for all those deconditioned bodies out there.