A mother and daughter spa day
Every year, around this sort of time, my Mum and and I have a spa day.Last year we went to Eden Hall, which is one that we've been to a few times and a firm favorite. However, this year we were keen to try somewhere new, so after a bit of searching we decided to try Hoar Cross Hall Hotel & Spa in Staffordshire, which is about a 40 minutes drive from us.
It looked lovely on the website, but the reviews on Tripadvisor were a bit divided, so I wasn't really sure what to expect.
I really shouldn't have worried as it was lovely and we were impressed right from our arrival at the entrance to the drive way.
Hoar Cross Hall is in the middle of the countryside and is a huge grand hall. The day spa is on the lower ground level, so we walked down some steps and through the entrance, which was lovely.
We were shown to a gorgeous lounge area where we were asked to fill in some forms and wait for our host to arrive. We were also given the opportunity to have a shot of fruit juice, which was nice.
When our host arrived they went through our schedules for the day and gave us an overview of the facilities and what was where.
Once our host had finished and I'd booked in for a facial, we went to the changing rooms, which were large, modern and well equipped, and changed into our swim wear and robes and went to explore the facilities.
We were really impressed with the size of the spa and the amount of different rooms there were to try out. There are two pool areas, the Salt Vitality Pool and the Hydrotherapy Pool, so it never seemed overly crowded, despite there being lots of people there.
Hoar Cross have recently added a Nordic Suite, which I really liked. It was very modern and I loved the Salt Steam room.
After a little explore we decided to treat ourselves to coffee and cake in the cafe, which was delicious. Before heading back to the pool to relax, we decided to attend a Clarins Eye Workshop, which was being held in the shop. Now I'm in my early thirties, using an eye cream is something I'm really trying to get in the habit of, so it was great having chance to try some of the products and have someone talk through the best way to use them. I've never used Clarins before, but I was really impressed.
After our workshop we headed to the pool where we relaxed on the warm beds. I love reading but don't get much chance to read these days, so it was so lovely to have some uninterrupted time with a good book.
We were booked in for an early lunch as we had treatments booked at 2pm, so I decided to spend 30 minutes doing some swimming before lunch. I'm trying to do more swimming as part of my marathon training, but it's not always easy to find the time, so again it was great to have the opportunity. The pool was a great temperature and only had one or two people in it the whole time I was swimming.
We were booked in for lunch at the 7th Heaven Restaurant, which was quite modern. The service was brilliant and the food was just amazing. We both had the carrot soup to start, along with salad from the buffet. I had the chicken for main, which was amazing and my Mum had the pork, which I sampled and again it was yum!
We were feeling quite full by this point, but I can always make some room for Creme Brulee! Again it was delicious!
Following lunch we decided to head to the Snooze Lounge to try out the lovely warm water beds, which were very relaxing and I did find myself drifting off for half an hour. I'd hardly slept the night before due to the children all having coughs, so it was great to be able to catch up on some much needed sleep!
Before we knew it, it was time for our treatments. I'd booked my Mum a super duper Elemis Lifting one for her birthday, so she was very excited. I was having a Winter Glow facial, which was lovely. My skin felt amazing afterwards and it was nice to be pampered. I really need to ensure I look after my skin better as it feels so amazing when you look after your skin properly.
After my facial I headed back to the pool to wait for my mum, who appeared all glowing and happy. Her skin looked amazing.
We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and using all the different areas. We also took a trip upstairs to see the hotel areas. Again we were really impressed. I think they are currently going through a refurbishment, so the public areas are all lovely and modern. We had a drink in the Long Bar, which was lovely.
Before we headed back we made sure we had a bit of time to browse all the lovely products in the shop. I bought my Mum some of the Elemis products that had been used in her facial, which I'm planning to give her from Christmas and she bought me some of the Clarins eye cream, again she's going to give it me for Christmas. My Mum also treated herself to some of the concealer that we'd used during the Clarins Eye Workshop.
After our shopping we headed back to the changing rooms where we enjoyed the lovely showers before getting ready to check out.
Overall we had an amazing day. It was great that we didn't have to check out until 8pm so we never felt like we had to rush. There's a great selection of facilities, many of which are nice and modern and the food is amazing.
We will definitely be returning!
I tried to take as many pics as I could, but as you'd expect the use of mobiles is frowned upon!
J xx
0 comments :