Eden Hall is a day spa near Newark. It offers treatments, a pool, hot tubs, saunas, steam rooms and space to sit and relax. My brother bought my Mum a day there using the facilities and having one treatment for her birthday. She took me, naturally.
The Building
The building is beautiful. It looks old but I have a suspicion it is a cleverly made new building. There are plenty of rooms in the building so it's almost possible to get lost, but it's also fairly easy to navigate. It was really lovely using the grounds as today was SWELTERING (I am pretty burnt), but I think it might feel a little cramped on a cold day where you can't sit outside.
The Pool
The pool isn't huge. I did quite a few lengths, but it wasn't really the right shape for swimming back and fore. It is a nice temperature, and has a little outdoor part. I wouldn't go to Eden Hall just for the pool, it isn't that amazing, but it's fine. It has some crazy fountains that come on now and then and are very loud but did nothing for me.
The sauna/steam room/ etc
There are a number of saunas, steam rooms, saunariams (cross between sauna and steam room... apparently), herbal rooms, but they basically boiled down to variations of the same thing. They are nice though, and are pleasant to sit in, and there are enough of them to spend an hour wandering from room to room. There are a lot of crazy shower things that were a bit pointless and either freezing cold or far too hot, but there was a 'rainforest' rain shower that I totally appreciated after sitting in the sun and getting burnt.
The treatment
The girl I had to do the treatment was very professional and nice. She made me feel at ease and was the ideal balance between friendly and relaxing. I was lying while she did the treatment, rubbing oil in various places on my body and wrapping me in foil like a Christmas turkey. While I was lying there I was trying to think why people pay so much for these treatments. In some ways, it's like having a servant and feeling expensive. More than that, I think it's about having someone touching you as if they are in love with you. She was rubbing oil down my arms so gently, and stroking my hair, and it just seemed really strange to have someone touching me so lovingly who I'd hardly said two words to. I would never lie down with a stranger and have them stroke my hair or my skin, but I might with someone I love. It's kind of like hire-a-boyfriend who adores you for an hour. Except with a girl. At the end I felt bad walking out and not telling her I'd call her, or buying her some flowers!
The Food
We got a 3 course meal as part of the day, and the food was amazing. I had duck confit, thai yellow curry with roast chicken, and a chocolate torte. We were also offered salad and vegetables on the side that we could help ourselves to, and I could have got by just eating that! The menu had a good selection and I wouldn't have been annoyed if I'd had a lunch like that in a nice restaurant. I would definitely eat there if I went again.
No comments:
Post a Comment