The Guide to Spa Breaks and Escapes from Pearl Escapes 2016

The Guide to Spa Breaks and Escapes from Pearl Escapes 2016

By Pearl Howie

Copyright © Pearl Howie 2016

All rights reserved

ISBN 978-1-326-56822-1

The moral right of the author has been asserted

New In This Edition

The escapes in this book are listed in chronological order which might seem strange, but that means that the most recent descriptions and reviews are easy to find.  One of the things that was very important to me when I started writing about escapes was, not only that I wrote exclusively about the ones I had actually tried, but that there should be an as at date, as I used when I worked in the financial industry, so that you know how current my review is.

The other reason I wanted to lay these out in chronological order is that, as I experienced more and more, my perspective on the escapes has changed, I compare the newer places to the older ones, which really makes the best sense when you read them in order, not to mention that I, as the reviewer, changed along the way.

Although there are no photos of the escapes in this book please do check out my Instagram @pearlescapes for lots of photos, although I do respect the no photo policy of most spas, so for photos of spas themselves it's often best to go straight to their website.

Introduction

This year is a special year as it marks five years since I began Pearl Escapes after a flash of inspiration on an escape to Barcelona with my sister.  Looking back I realise how much of the time I was working in the dark, not quite sure whether I was doing the right thing, if I was on the right path.  Like many journeys there were massive highs and desperate lows, strange requests and unplanned business and hope from unexpected places.  Shortly after I handed in my resignation to my day job and planned an ambitious tour of China I found out that an ex-boyfriend had died.  His memorial service in Wales was the day after my last day at work coincidentally (although I really don't believe in coincidences anymore).  Afterwards I found myself in Wales with, for the first time, no place to be, so I took a few days to explore the waterfalls and the stunning Rhossili Beach, stopping off in Bath on the way back to try to find some kind of equilibrium.  It was on the Park and Ride bus into Bath that I picked up a Metro and bizarrely read letters from people replying to my letter about kidney donation from the previous week; people asking about my experience.  When I got home I had more emails in my inbox asking for advice and support.  So the first thing I did in my new role as Explorer-in-Chief of Pearl Escapes was to sit down and finish writing a guide to donating a kidney.  It's one of the things I'm proudest of, not only because of the emails I've had from people who say that it has helped them in their lowest moments, but also because I know what it took for me to write and publish that book, how I struggled and the strength that went into getting it done.

It's not always easy to know when people are struggling, we all have our walls and our challenges.  And sometimes it's not easy to even recognise when we are struggling ourselves if we are so used to pushing through, digging deep and blocking out our pain. 

I've been very influenced this year by the work of Brené Brown whose work on vulnerability, (and letting go of perfectionism, daring greatly and rising strong after failure) helped me through one of the greatest periods of struggle of my life this summer.  At the same moment as I was reading in her book The Gifts of Imperfection about the importance of play and of dance in our lives I was arriving at Zumba Convention in Orlando for the third year (I thought it would be easier after two years of practice!)  I was having a jolly old time until one of the cool down songs in the Zumba class I was in suddenly grabbed hold of me and wouldn't let me go, and I felt overwhelmed by feelings I had been keeping bottled up.

The next few days, reading her book and experiencing Convention from a completely different perspective, I understood for, what felt like the first time, what it is I do.  Escapes, whether they are Zumba classes, or hanging out at a spa or visiting a pearl farm for a day are all about playing, creating space in our lives and allowing us to breathe, feel alive and experience all of our emotions.

It was funny, I picked up the latest of Brené's books in Miami Airport on my way home and it was wonderful reading all about other people having similar experiences (it made me feel quite normal!) until I got to the end… and the notes about Trauma and Complicated Grief, which basically said If you are suffering from these you need professional help – don't try this at home. Or at least that's the story I told myself.  But then I wonder how many of us ever suffer from simple grief?

We want to be healthy, to be happy, to be joyous about our lives, but when we experience difficulties it is natural to want to turn away from them.

In Brené's book she talks about the current state of the USA, she estimates that around 90% of people in the USA are suffering from some kind of addiction, some kind of numbing behaviour, whether it's workaholism, alcohol addiction, perfectionism, food addiction or even spending.  Personally I think it's natural to have some kind of crutch, some kind of coping behaviour when we're really struggling.  People who have been to my house may find this difficult to believe but I have been through periods of obsessive cleaning and housework, when focussing on keeping everything perfect stopped me from falling apart.  I'm sure we've all felt those times when we're scared to let someone give us a hug in case it starts us crying again and we just can't stop.  But slowly we have to let life back in, let space back in, let our feelings out, let people back in or the coping behaviour becomes our whole life and suddenly we've lost the people and the things we used to love.

This is a guide to my favourite escapes of the last five years, the incredible places I've seen and experiences I've had.  Each one has opened up my life a little bit more, helped me to let go, to heal and to grow.

It is not always easy to open your heart and feel your feelings.  It is often called the path of the spiritual warrior.  It takes a strength hundred times stronger than writing a book about it.

The courage to actually play, to dance and to feel is what it is all about. 

We also need the courage to stick up for ourselves and spend the money on five star massages or trips to China and convince ourselves we deserve the time to practise our Zumba or yoga or meditation and to let go of the guilt when we sometimes have to leave behind those we love to escape, and, of course, to look silly when we make mistakes, when we fall on our faces or when we get it all right and people laugh at us anyway.

We have to have the courage to open our hearts and fall in love when we meet a stranger on a beach underneath a full moon, because it was meant to be, and we have to have the courage to let go when we realise that perhaps it wasn't meant to be forever.

But if we have the courage to walk through the fire, to face our pain, our regret, our anger or whatever is waiting for us when we allow quiet and space into our lives, then we find our true selves, the parts of ourselves we thought we had lost forever and we can feel whole and healed again.

Then we truly have everything to dance for.

For more escapes do check out my website as not everything is included here and if you find any of the treatments confusing please read my companion book; The Guide to Massage, Spa Treatments and Healing from Pearl Escapes 2016. 

Escape – Buddhapadipa Temple – Wimbledon, London, England

If you’ve ever felt like temple hopping in Thailand but the airfare, time or vaccinations have held you back, you’ll be delighted to know that there’s an authentic Buddhist temple right in London (across the road from Wimbledon Common) that you can visit.

But it’s important to remember that this isn’t just a temple, or a monument like the Peace Pagoda in Battersea Park where you might be disturbed by personal trainers running their clients around it (! why would you do that?), no, if you plan on visiting this temple please remember that it is in fact part of a Buddhist monastery, with the orange robed monks to show for it.

The energy of the place is incredible, but for me it’s not the gold and ornate temple (which you will have to take your shoes off to enter) but the small garden, with stream and bridges behind it that I find is the best place to meditate.

Many people who meditate believe that the energy or vibrations of other people meditating nearby help in the search for peace, which may be why I have been able to find the answer to my more difficult problems, or let go of strong emotions when meditating here.  It is also why, from time to time, the temple is closed to the public, to allow the monks to retreat and not have those energies sapped by people like me, I guess!

The temple website has some wonderful resources, and you can also find information on when to visit, as well as courses, many of which are free, on meditation and Buddhism - so a really wonderful resource, even if you can only visit online.

Free to visit and many courses are also free (or have nominal fees) to attend. 

www.buddhapadipa.org

14 Calonne Road, Wimbledon, London SW19 5HJ

The opening time is from 9.00 am to 6.00 pm: weekdays for the temple grounds and weekend for the main temple.

Spa – Rituels d'Orient – Barcelona, Spain

It had been a rough couple of years and one of the few things that had really helped me through was my first visit to a traditional Moroccan hammam in Agadir.  It was my first experience of the traditional gommage technique where a Moroccan lady in T-shirt and shorts had washed me all over (and I do mean all over) in a little hot room with black soap, scrubbed me to within an inch of my life, smothered me in rasul mud and left me to bake, before washing it all off and sending me upstairs for the most relaxing and blissful massage of my life.

So, when I was planning a little sunshine break in March 2010 I was intrigued by the spa offering a similar treatment in Barcelona:

Rituels d’Orient is a beautiful, simple spa, with lots of Arabian touches.  I particularly liked all the water sources in the hammam or Turkish bath; rain showers, a tiny plunge pool and Moroccan water bowls, so I could cool down.  There was also a super hot steam room if the main room wasn’t enough!

As soon as I arrived with my sister they introduced us to the changing rooms and fluffy bathrobes and slippers.  The hammam was huge, and we had it to ourselves for a good half hour, which was nice, as we hadn't brought our swimsuits, but luckily it was a ladies only time of day.  We sweated in there for about 45 minutes (I was quite happy to be naked, but a group of Spanish girls came in in their swimmies.) 

I had to actually pop out for a minute to ask them for another bottle of mineral water, as I’d already got through one, and they were more than happy to oblige.

Just as it was getting too hot for me our therapists came in, and took us to an anteroom and asked us to lie down on stone beds.  First they washed us with gorgeous, strong eucalyptus soap and then scrubbed us down (our gommage) using traditional scrubbing mitts (unfortunately not as effective as the Moroccan gloves).  They didn’t speak English but it’s pretty clear when someone wants you to turn over, which is all we had to do.

There’s a little cloakroom outside the hammam where we slipped back into dressing gowns for our massages.

Again, our masseurs didn’t speak a word of English, but it really didn’t matter; all I had to do was pop on some paper knickers, slip under a towel, choose my massage oil and turn over halfway through.  I don’t know if it was the quality of the massage, the treatment beforehand, or the fact that I was on holiday, but it was one of the most relaxing massages I’ve ever had.

Unlike massages I’ve had in the UK I completely lost track of time, I could have been in there an hour or 3 hours, and I didn’t feel rushed or that I wanted another half hour, it was just right.

What I especially loved, even though it was so simple, was the way the masseuse massaged my hands.  I thought it was just so relaxing because I spent so much of my time working on a keyboard, but my sister said the same thing.  I almost asked the masseur to carry on with my hands, but I’m glad I didn’t because the rest of the massage was fantastic as well!

Chilling out in the Arabian lounge afterwards there was no rush for us to leave - even though they were probably closed by then, so we just lay back on the pillows and enjoyed our mint tea.

The walk from Rituels d’Orient to our hotel was about 10-20 minutes and it’s all downhill.  When we got back we popped into the shop across the road to pick up snacks, ordered some pasta and herbal tea from room service, put on some chilled out music and were sleeping like babies by 9pm!

But just before I fell asleep I had a moment of inspiration; to share experiences like this, one way or another, to help people find their own healing escapes.

€59 each for 2 and a half hours of spa treatments, entry into hammam, gommage and massage: Mid week March 2010

Spa-Hammam Rituels d´Orient www.rituelsdorient.com

C/Loreto, 50, 08029 Barcelona, Spain Tel 93 419 14 72

Escape – La Pedrera – Barcelona, Spain

In Barcelona you hear a lot about Gaudi.  Much of his work is colourful and, well gaudy, including beautiful mosaics and details.

La Pedrera stands apart for me.

It’s an apartment block, a living work of art, and if you are as lucky as us and see it on a day with few crowds, you can almost imagine how wonderful it would have been to live here.

€10 entry, €8 with the Barcelona Card

As at March 2010

Hotel – Vincci d’Arena – Barcelona, Spain

Arriving soaking wet in the middle of the first snowstorm the city has seen in 50 years is probably a good test of a hotel.

The hotel staff made us feel very welcome, even though we were dripping on the floor (and had to drape all our soaked luggage round our room).  Then they sent up fluffy white dressing gowns so we could visit the sauna and steam room, which was absolutely necessary to warm us up!

As we headed out for dinner we asked the concierge if he knew a particular restaurant.  I was a bit perturbed when he didn't answer, then we realised he was looking it up on the internet to check the reviews, and he even called them to check they were still open (considering the snow!)

The highlight for me though was the artisanal cakes for breakfast.  Normally I wouldn’t order room service breakfast when there are so many cafés around, but my sister suggested it and it was a winner!  Huge jugs of great coffee, with sumptuous creamy cheesecake, apple cake and some honey cake that we just couldn’t finish.  We did try the eggs and bacon the next morning but it didn’t really cut it for me, so we went back to the cakes for the last day!  (Just writing about it makes me crave some great cheesecake... mmm...)

It was also really quiet, apparently they’ve done something cool with the walls, the mini-bar prices were reasonable, the staff friendly and the cost of the hotel was pretty much unbeatable, possibly because it’s in the business district.  Transport is excellent it's maybe 5 minutes on the metro to the centre.  Not only that, it was about 10 minutes walk to the main train station (Sants Estacio) and 20 minutes to our fabulous spa.

Very, very hard to beat!

The only thing I would say is that, like a lot of hotels these days, the room has its own climate control.  Unfortunately for us we didn’t figure this out before we went to bed, so we spent a lot of the first night jumping up and down trying to switch it on because it was minus 2 degrees outside.  We ended up sleeping with our fluffy bathrobes over us!!  Of course we made sure to get it right the next night, but please, check your climate control before you tuck yourself in!

Also, although the hotel raves about its toiletries, these don’t include conditioner, so I had pretty dry, unmanageable hair all weekend.  I would bring my own next time.

£51 per room per night, 3 nights in the hotel: Mid week break March 2010

£286 each for the spa break including flight, 3 nights in the hotel and 2 and a half hours of spa treatments: Mid week break March 2010

Escape – Cannizaro Park – Wimbledon, London, England

A sunken Italian garden, a hidden Roman folly, a trickling water garden, a heavenly rose garden, a cottage herb garden, a rolling lawn in sight of a classic country house, and, of course, a duck pond, are some of the many features of Cannizaro Park.

And, even though Cannizaro House is a very posh hotel, bar and restaurant, the gardens are public, which means they are free to enjoy year round.

There are even some public loos (dismal but generally useable) tucked well away, although you can always choose to stump up for a pot of tea and use the hotel’s sumptuous facilities or pop down to Wimbledon Village to one of the delis, coffee shops (or even Tesco Express) or bring your own picnic. 

Spa – Acquapura Thalasso and Spa Centre – Zadar, Croatia

The Acquapura Thalasso and Spa Centre is part of the Falkensteiner Borik resort at Punta Skala - just a short taxi ride from Zadar town centre, and next door to Hotel Adriana.  I was told it is only for guests of Hotel Adriana and Club Funimation, but you could always try and book a treatment; they’re so helpful that they might make an exception!

The spa is mixed, with most people opting to keep their swimwear on, except for in the sauna and steam room which is an unclothed area, and so you do have to get naked in front of the opposite sex.  Which, in this environment, feels perfectly natural.

Even without treatments (we were too late to book) there is a lot to explore in this huge spa.  We waded through the cold water canal and relaxed in the outside Jacuzzi, before enjoying the steam room.  Then I moved on to the shower area, with about six different kinds of showers and plenty of ice crystals. I think some showers even had sea water (thalassotherapy).  My favourite was one with six showerheads for a fantastic back massage.

There are also some Kneipp dipping pools, two vast relaxation areas, waterbeds and a wonderful, gently heated indoor/outdoor pool that, although popular with very small children in the day, is empty at 7pm.

The spa is dotted with smaller muslin screened lounges, where you can relax and enjoy your herbal tea, and it'd be quite easy to stay here all day, which you're most welcome to do.

Entry into the spa is free for guests of the hotels.  Treatments are extra - you can download a price list here:

http://www.falkensteiner.com/static/cms/hotels/borik/files/Spa-PLBorik32sen-hr.pdf

Escape – Ferry from Biograd to T'kon – Zadar, Croatia

This ferry was part of a round trip that we took, from Zadar to Biograd (by taxi), then we took a ferry over to T'kon on Pasman island, and then caught a bus to Preko on Ugljian island (which is connected to Pasman by bridge), where we caught a ferry back to Zadar. 

Even if you were just to take a ferry from Zadar to Preko, and then return, the view would be impressive, but I have to say that I think it would be worth getting the bus to Biograd to do this short ferry ride that only costs a few pounds.

We ran up to the very top of the ferry, and the views as we crossed the water were out of this world.  We passed the small near islands, and looked out towards misty karst islands in the distance, with white sailboats floating past us, their wakes softly rolling for miles afterward as the waters were so calm.

The crew were so lovely - the captain, Peter, even came out to bring us some cherries, and then invited us into the bridge to watch him driving the boat into dock and take photos!

And then we were in T'kon, a tiny little town with four or five bars and restaurants, and... that was about it.  We stopped for a quick drink and then tried to find out when the bus would be leaving.  

And that's when we found out that at 11.30, we were going to have to wait for the bus at 2.45pm!  Although the ferries run frequently during the day, be very careful that you know the bus schedule in advance as these can stop for 2-3 hours in the middle of the day.

If you do find yourselves stranded in T’kon you can always try our little castaway beach.  Just go left as you arrive in from the ferry - and hopefully it will still be deserted!

£2-3 each, one way from Biograd to T’kon.

As at June 2010

Restaurant – Fosa (and Some More Food and Drink Tips) – Zadar, Croatia

The Spectacular - Seafood Restaurant Fosa: We were recommended this restaurant by one of the bars in Zadar.  It’s situated on the Fosa inlet and it’s a stunning location.  They were also hosting a wedding so there was a fantastic ambience.  When I asked what the local fish was our waiter replied It is all local, it lives in our sea?  As it’s not cheap we chose to have two main courses and share them - not only did they also bring us some spontaneous appetisers to try, they split the portions in the kitchen, so we ended up having: our spontaneous appetisers, a small portion of black truffle and shrimp risotto each, then a small portion of fried local fish each, then tiramisu (the best I have ever had and I apologise to my Italian friends and beg forgiveness of my Sicilian family) and coffee.

It was a wonderfully relaxed lunch, and we wandered out on to the terrace after the wedding party had gone - the view was spectacular.

Our lunch cost us £35-40 each for 1 main course, glass of wine, dessert and coffee (plus spontaneous appetisers.)

Everyday - pizza and pastries: One of the odd things about the many, many bars in Zadar is that they don’t serve food - only sweets.  Some of them also do pizza, and it is pretty good, however if you are looking for breakfast or just exceptional pizza I suggest you try the bakery that is situated halfway down Elizabete Kotromanic.  There are no seats, so you can either stand up at the tables or take your delicacies and sit on the quayside. The coffee is very strong, their apple strudel is absolutely out of this world and I highly recommend you try the burek (little spinach and/or cheese pastries.)  These are apparently a national dish, but this was the only place I saw them.  It’s so cheap I’ve forgotten how much it was, but you can definitely feast for a fiver.

Drink: There are lots of local liqueurs, and some local wines, but I didn’t like the ones we tried, except the clear maraschino liqueur with ice.  The coffee is very good here (it’s very near to Italy!) and you can also enjoy lovely Italian wines and prosecco (the Italian champagne.)  If you can get the waiters at Hotel Adriana to make you an ice coffee you’ll be very happy - the cream they use is gorgeous.

As at June 2010

Hotel – Falkensteiner Hotel Adriana – Zadar, Croatia

It’s never good to arrive at a hotel and be told that you have no booking.  However as I had booked the hotel online that morning, and it was a Sunday, it was understandable.  Our receptionist was very helpful and organised us a room in no time, and one with the most amazing view; pine trees, the pool and the sea beyond it. 

Our Junior Suite was lovely, including a bathroom with a separate shower and bath, and a window through to the bedroom and the incredible view.  There’s a walk in cupboard, fluffy dressing gowns (you will pay €1.90 for both of these to be laundered at the end), a mini bar, a bag with beach towels and flip flops for us both (you're supposed to leave the bag and flip flops at the end of your stay but our receptionist told us to take them if we felt attached), a lounge, a small bedroom with chocolates on the pillow and a balcony that runs the whole length of the suite, with floor to ceiling sliding windows... outside living at its best.

The hotel’s pool and loungers are just sumptuous, although once in the pool you can’t see some of the walls of the pool, meaning you can literally swim into them.  There are also Jacuzzis and showers in the pool, but they’re only switched on during the day.

Hotel Adriana is next door to the Club Funimation Borik, a family hotel, with a busy pool and flume ride.  Don't worry you can’t hear any noise. 

One of the best things about the location is the incredible sunset.  We walked outside the hotel to sit on the end of the quay and watch the sunset and I’m so glad we did.  Then we walked back in for dinner... excellent service... excellent food... 

The only annoying thing at night was that I could hear next door’s TV as I was trying to sleep, but that’s what earplugs are for!

And the breakfast... the best breakfast I’ve ever had without a doubt.  As I walked along the enormous buffet table I kept waiting for the array of treats to end, but it just kept going... and going... 9 types of juice, 10 types of cheese (at least), cooked breakfast, pancakes, 6 types of honey, 10 types of jam, 5 types of bread, apple strudel, fig cake, nuts, berries, fresh fruit... 

I would absolutely recommend this hotel, but I would recommend that you read the guest information properly.  We made the faux pas of going topless by the pool, as we saw others doing it, before realising swimwear is always worn in the pool area.

Also their toiletries are wall mounted and not luxurious (but not bad) so I would recommend you bring your own.

And finally, if you book this hotel I recommend you check which view you have, we had the double bonus of sea and garden, but some have garden views, some have sea and some have no view at all.  Check you're not in one of these.

We arrived and left by taxi as we had our luggage with us and didn’t venture out to Zadar again once we were there, but we did meet some of the hotel staff at the local bus stop on the main road, which is just 5 minutes (and 9 krona - about £1 each) to the other side of the Zadar footbridge, which brings you right into the town.  The danger of course, is that once here, you won’t venture out at all, but that would be a shame as Zadar itself is just lovely.

£163 for one night at the hotel for two people including 1 night in a Junior Suite, incredible dinner (excluding wine), the biggest breakfast buffet I've ever seen, and spa entry.

£140 (no, that's not a typo!) each for the spa break including flight, 1 night in a Junior Suite, including half board, and entry into the spa (although I would recommend spending more than one night!): Weekend break June 2010

Escape – Mayfield Lavender Farm – Surrey, England

If you've ever seen the photos of the lavender fields in Provence, you'll be very pleased to know that it's an escape you can enjoy in England, and for free.

Mayfield Lavender is situated in Banstead, once the heart of the international lavender industry and is open from 25 April every Friday 11am – 3pm, and then seven days a week from 30 May to 27 July from 10am to 7pm (although the lavender can flower early or late so you may find seasons slightly altered.)

It has fantastic views and is a great place for a walk, a little rest stop and a browse of all things lavender.

Overall, smaller than you would expect from their excellent website http://www.mayfieldlavender.com/contact-us/directions/ the shop is more of a stand (and the nearest toilets are in the neighbouring park), but it is still a wonderful place to be.

There's a small picnic area underneath a tree, so you could even bring your own lunch.

I took my niece there in July 2010 and we enjoyed some lovely lavender shortbread and a nice cup of tea.  Apparently lavender essential oil is very good for treating insect bites, so one of the very helpful ladies there dotted some on my niece's bug bites - I am still waiting for the verdict!

http://www.mayfieldlavender.com/

Spa – Spa London – Bethnal Green, London, England

Lie back on the spacious cream and turquoise surfaces of the main hammam and you’ll understand why so many people are in here.  The gentle warming from beneath is so inviting that I very nearly fell asleep (and this was not the only room where it would be easy to doze off).

There are the three marble Turkish Baths, each of a slightly increasing heat, which are lovely places to lie back and succumb to the relaxing music playing gently in the background.

Two dimly lit intense aromatic steam rooms beckon, (although I didn’t notice any particular fragrances) where you can soak up the heat, until the ice plunge pool, ice crystals and even the refreshing bucket of cold water on a rope or Kouble Douche (which you pull over your head!) seem like a very good idea.

Step into the monsoon shower if you can’t make up your mind, and press either hot or cold to suit your mood... and you can always dry off, if you like, in the searing heat of the sauna.

When you need to relax from all the relaxing, step into the lounge area, where you can lie back on a cushioned lounger in your towelling robe and sip a glass of lemon or apple scented water, and get ready to take the plunge again.

With towels, plastic flip-flops, towelling robe, water and occasional light refreshments on hand, all you need is your swimwear (compulsory for all).

On a women only day (when I went) the atmosphere is giggly and very friendly.  Every little group of women wanted to adopt me and make sure I was okay.  People here are so down to earth, perhaps because it’s in the East End?  If you really want quiet you can either move to a different room (there’s a lot of choice) or go to a mixed session; apparently the guys are a lot quieter.

With uniformed attendants on hand and very well kept decor, this really is a luxurious spa break for a bargain price.

Although you can’t use products in the spa, which is a shame, you can use them in the changing room showers afterwards, so I went for The Sanctuary Warming Charcoal Body Mask, followed by my own extra virgin olive oil all over to get the full spa experience.

Unfortunately once you leave the spa the surrounding area isn’t so great, so it was straight back on the tube afterwards, and I did just about manage to stay awake all the way home.

Booking is recommended.  The reception is very helpful and, although they normally charge if you cancel less than 24 hours in advance, they reorganised my visit for free because the Northern Line was down one weekend.

Don’t worry if you mix up your dressing gown and towel, everyone does it.  Although, as it was their 3rd birthday party when I visited, and there were special birthday refreshments, I soon solved the problem; my dressing gown was the one with chocolate cake on the sleeve!

As at Summer 2010: see end of review for pricing

August 2012 Update

Visiting the spa on a weekday morning is a little quieter.  Once again my friend and I left it too late to book massages, but one treatment we could indulge in was dry flotation as this doesn't require an attendant, apart from tucking you in.  The dry flotation room is opposite the steam rooms with a hospital style curtain to protect your privacy.  You lie on a flat bed and are tucked in with a heated blanket, plugged into headphones with relaxing music and left to float.  The best bit is when the water surges in, lifting you up and giving that great weightless feeling.  My friend who had lower back problems had half an hour and didn't feel it was enough.  I had booked an hour and, although it felt good, I wasn't enjoying it as much as I had enjoyed lying in the hammam, so after 50 minutes I squeezed the release button, unlocked my treatment room and headed back out into the spa.  On this occasion the ice pool wasn't very cold (which some people complained about) but it was just about the perfect temperature for me to enjoy a quick float in.

March 2013 Update

I organised a spa day for a group of ladies here on a Tuesday (one of the ladies only days) and finally got to try out their massage treatments (which are nearly always booked up in advance). 

The good news is that all of the massages were exceptional and I couldn't believe how much more relaxed I was after just a 15 minute back massage - truly world class!  The wrap treatments had a slightly less positive response from the ladies but it was wonderful to see everyone leaving with a new air of relaxation - and these ladies deserve every second of pampering as they all do so much for everyone else!

The bad news is that the spa has stopped serving food and you're lucky to even be able to order a coffee or tea (herbal tea is always on hand for free).  When fruit is put out it is snapped up immediately and we were relieved we had smuggled in snack bars.  (Sitting eating them in our dressing gowns we felt like naughty ladies at an old school health farm.)  Some other guests were blatantly eating crisps in the hammam, which is not really the vibe we were looking for.

The other negative is that although the reception team are efficient at dealing with email requests and were fab with our bookings, it proved impossible to contact them by phone, which would be a major problem for most of my ladies as many of them do not use email.  On the upside some of the ladies have already been back to the spa, opting to use the heat treatment rooms, but they would have loved to have been able to book treatments in advance too.

Also there were some discrepancies between the online menu and the printed massage menu and they also had additional treatments that I found out about via email - which makes it hard for anyone not online to make the most of this spa.

2010 Professional Beauty Awards Day Spa of the Year

3 hour entry £24 (this is plenty of time and you may be allowed to stay for longer if it’s not busy) includes robe, towel and flip-flops, or £23.50 for an annual card £3.50 and cardholder's entry £20.  As at March 2013.

Dry flotation is £20 for half an hour and £35 for an hour.

Discounts are available with membership only, which is £3.50 standard, £1.80 concessionary and rates go swiftly down to as little as £8.00 - but only until 4.30pm Monday to Thursday and 2.30pm Friday/Saturday

For more details visit http://www.spa-london.org/subpage.asp?id=208&mainid=63

Escape – Welsh Waterfalls, South Wales

I am a sucker for waterfalls, perhaps because they are few and far between in England, but Wales has no shortage of stunning cascades.  What there seems to be in Wales is a shortage of good information about where to find them, and you may find yourself having to study an actual printed map or follow signs through a deserted old mining town to a car park and then trek for a bit to find these magical spots.

In short I think the waterfalls in Wales are criminally overlooked but you know, as I said, I do love a waterfall. 

A few of my favourites are;

Sgwd Henrhyd, the highest waterfall in South Wales with a very steep walk down and a small space behind the waterfall where you're not really supposed to go (apparently this also doubled as the entrance to the Batcave in a recent Batman film).

Melincourt is also a beautiful fall to visit and a much easier walk.

All wonderfully free

Visited on or before 2010

Escape – Rhossili Beach – Rhossili, South Wales

Very often I run scared from things that are reputed to be… Britain's most beautiful beach or Wales' most beautiful park because I am more often than not disappointed. I also happen to think that it's hard for any beach not to be beautiful, so I remember as I was driving around exploring the Gower area of Wales sitting at the junction… shall I go back and get some dinner and an early night or head down to take a look at this so called stunningly beautiful beach… yawn.  Oh, alright.

It may be that this is Britain's most beautiful beach (it is certainly part of the first area of the UK to be designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) but on the evening that I visited I was blessed with also one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen,