To the amusement of my more educated male colleagues, I informed them that my fiancée Faye and I were going on a Spa break the day after my birthday. “Getting a facial!” was the best of the banter, but I have to admit I was slightly apprehensive. But let me start from the beginning.

I’m a passionate golfer, albeit not the best, but whenever the opportunity arises to visit a hotel with a golf course, I’ll endeavour to take my clubs with me. But after constant pestering from some of my colleagues working in the BookaSpa.com department, I finally succumbed to heading to a spa venue, Fawsley Hall Hotel near Northampton. The logic was that being as this was my birthday weekend, it would be a good opportunity to relax, leave the clubs at home and earn some brownie points by spending a little time with my future wife using the reputed spa facilities at the venue. More...

Afternoon Spa Lovers from beautiful, sunny Windsor.

Following on from my last blog where I discussed my fears about facials, I have since come back from a visit to the fab Vale Resort & Spa in Wales where I experienced my very first facial.

So how was it, I hear you ask. It was lovely. Not quite what I expected, but really nice. The therapist applied a number of different cleansers and toners (in this case Clarins) and then a face mask. While the face mask did its work I was treated to a hand and forearm massage, which was surprisingly relaxing. The face mask was removed, moisturiser was applied and then I had to drink a glass of water to help get rid of toxins. All in all it was a 60 min treatment. Afterwards my skin was glowing, although for some reason it was boiling hot too – I think all the blood must have been brought to the surface!

2 days later and my fears that I would experience a breakout are fading. My skin still looks nice and healthy, but I think I would need a course to really see the benefits. More...

Hi spa lovers, Gill from BookaSpa marketing here. I thought I’d just write a quick note about my first time. First time for having a facial spa treatment that is!

I have never experienced a facial before, mainly because I have slightly spot prone skin, and always thought that facials involved lots of squeezing and was completely paranoid that they would cause a major breakout. Luckily in my line of work I get the chance to talk to lots of lovely and expert therapists, who assure me that this is not the case. Some facials are like that, but generally in the UK a facial typically involves using excellent products to cleanse your skin, specifically tailored to your skin type. At the start of every facial you should receive a consultation with your spa therapist to ensure he or she understands your skin, so that you get the best possible outcome from the treatment. More...

I visited the fabulous 4* St Mellion International Resort at the weekend. I’m not going to lie, originally the thought of driving 225 miles on a Friday evening from our Windsor Offices all the way to Cornwall was not particularly appealing, but the journey was not that bad at all. I envisaged driving down tiny country roads in order to reach our destination but the route was pretty straightforward and we didn’t even get lost. The resort is about a 20 minute drive from Plymouth but is perfectly nestled in the countryside away from the hustle and bustle of city life…the best of both worlds.
 
As soon as we arrived at the resort we dropped off our bags in our contemporary bedroom and had about 10 minutes to freshen up before pre-dinner drinks in the Nicklaus boardroom. The bedroom was spacious and tastefully decorated; ousing a modern and sophisticated style. Stunning views across the 18th hole of the Nicklaus golf course and beyond were enjoyed from our balcony, but before we knew it we were tucking into a scrumptious assortment of BBQ food whilst mingling with the very friendly staff from St Mellion. They could not have made us feel more welcome! More...

What could be better, 1 beautiful sunny weekend in July, 2 hours of singing our way along the M40 and 3 of your best friends finally all getting a free weekend together to go on a relaxing spa break… At least we had planned on it being relaxing – the hangover the next day said otherwise!

There are so many Spa’s these days to choose from, so the idea of planning such a weekend is a daunting one.  My advice to anyone planning a spa weekend would be don’t be too picky on where you want to go… just work out what it is that you want to get out of it.  I am personally not a “treatment” fan. I am too ticklish for massages, laugh too easily for facials, have rubbish nails that are beyond help of ever looking remotely feminine and I hate people touching my feet! So why on earth go on a spa break I hear you say? Well, that isn’t what I chose this spa for.  I like the idea of walking around in a dressing gown all day, having a dip in a heated outside pool, lounging around in the sun, sitting in a hot tub drinking champagne and talking about anything and everything and of course, eating yummy food! Once this was established, it was much easier to pick a spa. More...

With Father’s Day just around the corner (19th of June – don’t panic, you’ve still got time to buy a card!) I thought it would be good to concentrate on the male of the species for a change.

UK men have lagged behind their European cousins in catching onto the benefits of visiting spas. Visit a spa in Europe, you often see as many men as women enjoying the facilities (too much of the men sometimes, in my experience!). However, that’s all changing as more and more men in the UK are discovering the benefits of spa treatments and a little bit of pampering, and more and more spas are catering to them.

So here are my 5 recommendations of spas which are great for the chaps. More...

Just a quick post to mention the wonderful day I spent at Grayshott Spa in Surrey yesterday.

One of the original day spas in the UK, I went expecting it to feel a bit pretentious and that as a ‘normal’ woman and not a WAG I would be out of place. I can safely say that it was one of the most relaxed and welcoming spas I’ve been to, and I could have easily spent a few days in the tranquil surroundings. It's a lovely, friendly 4 star hotel. Highlights for me included the heated outdoor pool in their beautiful gardens, the fact you can wander around in your robe all day, including for daytime meals, and not feel the slightest bit awkward and the very friendly and attentive staff. All spa visitors receive a health consultation with one of their resident nurses before their visit starts. Being a spa that specialises in health, well-being and weight-loss you can imagine that food is an important part of what they do, and I enjoyed a healthy and, more importantly for a foodie like me, a completely delicious lunch. More...