So I seem to have taken a very much unscheduled break from blogging these last 6 weeks or so! Which is very unlike me, I don’t think I’ve had such a long break since I started my little blog 3 and a half years ago actually. To be completely honest I feel like I’ve been getting really bogged down in all the ‘blogger admin’ aka answering emails and trying to keep up with all my social media engagement which is obviously important. However it’s seems to have taken me away from actually focusing on writing my blogs which I really love and find so therapeutic. Plus it’s the whole reason I started all of this in the first place! So I’m making a conscious effort to get back into it now and put it higher on my priority list. I have still been creating loads of great (in my opinion!) photo content a lot of which you will have seen on Instagram but I have plenty of blog posts that I want to get out for you!
Which is where I introduce today’s post. My Spa Series has been so popular even though I’ve only done a few posts so far! So today I wanted to share one of my recent spa days with you, at the Aqua Sana Spa at Center Parcs. My Mum had some vouchers to use up at a Center Parcs Spa so we decided to treat ourself to a Spa Day at our most local one in Longleat. I say local but it actually took us around 3 hours to drive each way! So if anyone from Center Parcs reads this pretty please consider building one nearer to us, perhaps in Kent?!
I’d never been to Center Parcs before or tried out any of there Spas so was really excited for my first experience there! We were greeted by one of the Spa hosts called Sally. She was so lovely and helpful giving us lots of information on Aqua Sana and all it’s facilities. She showed us around, allowed me to take a few pics and even took me to go and visit The Hideaway which is private room designed for parties of 6-10 people celebrating something like a birthday or a hen do. It’s a really nice area to relax and socialise away from other guests and is equipped with dining, mini treatment area, drinks station and wash room facilities. Each guest will get a complimentary 15 minute mini treatment such as scalp massage or facial, full use of the spa facilities plus a dedicated spa host on hand throughout the day. I’m seriously thinking of booking this for my 30th birthday next summer!
Sally also mentioned that Aqua Sana Longleat is undergoing renovations from now until October 2019. However the Spa will remain open and they will just be closing off and refurbishing one area at a time for minimal disruption to their guests. The area that was shut of whilst we were there was the Japanese Zen Garden outside. Which turned out not to matter as it was quite a drizzly day so we were happy enough using all the facilities inside.
We had booked the Brighten and Glow Spa Day which was £115 each and our package included:
• Access to the Spa from 9am - 6pm.
• Elemis Facial and Frangipani Hot Stones Massage (55 minutes). • Refreshments on arrival.
• Lunch at Vitalé Café Bar.
• Complimentary towel and robe hire.
• Free spa discovery sessions.
I thought £115 each was incredibly good value actually for what we got, the facilities on offer and the treatments included. Especially when you come price’s with other Spa’s! We went on a Tuesday and that was nice and quiet, we were able to use all the facilities without ever having to wait or feeling overcrowded. I’d say Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday would be the best choices if you want to avoid the crowds there, and that goes for any spa.
Food
By the time we had changed into our swimming things (and the lovely white robes we were given) and been shown around the spa it was close to midday and we were feeling pretty hungry! So we decided to save our ‘welcome drink’ and pastry for later on in the afternoon and just have lunch straight away. Lunch is served in the Vitale Café which is an area before you go into the treatment rooms and World of Spa. We both went for the Oven Baked Frittata with Spinach, Bacon & Feta it came with some bread & a choice of salad bowl, I went for the Caesar salad. I chose a Tropical Fruit Smoothie as my drink which had banana, honey, passion fruit, natural yogurt & pineapple in. It was so good I chose it as my ‘welcome drink’ when we came back after our treatments too! We were also kindly given a glass of bubbles complimentary, which was very kind considering that wasn’t part of our package. As you may know I don’t really drink as it tends to flare me up in the long run so I only had a small sip of mine but I appreciated the gesture!
I was really impressed with the food there actually. From breakfast to lunch, afternoon teas and dinner there was plenty of choice, lots of healthy options that would be filling without being too heavy - you definitely don’t want to eat heavy food at a spa! A lot of things were displayed in a cabinet so you could see what you were getting as well.
World of Spa
Once we had finished our lunch we had around 3 and a half hours to relax in the spa and check out all of the experience rooms, of which there are over 16, and facilities on offer. I was obviously keen to try out everything! If you click here then you can see a list of all experience rooms with pictures on the Center Parcs website but I’ll talk you through my favourite rooms and give you some details!
My favourite experience rooms were the Infra Red Sauna, The Aqua Meditation Room, The Balinese Steam Room and the Greek Herbal Bath - not to mention the Waterbed Area! Seriously, I could’ve slept on one of those for the whole afternoon. I definitely think they could do with more than the 6 water beds they have currently. It was quite to get one that was free, so hopefully they’ll add more after the renovation.
The Aqua Meditation Room | This Room is just a pure dream I need one in my own house! We spent a lot of time in here as it’s so relaxing and not really hot like the steam rooms and saunas. As soon as you go in you see the multi coloured tubes of bubbling water in the centre with reflect off the walls and ceiling. The room has padded chairs with foot stalls facing them in a semi circle and blankets dotted around to snuggle under. Watching the mesmerising glittering bubbles rising up through colour changing tubes of water dancing to the surface combined with gentle trickling sounds of the water it will quite easily send you off to sleep!
The Balinese Steam Room | This was my favourite out of all the steam rooms! The Indian Blossom one was quite nice but the Japanese Salt Steam Bath literally so hot I could barely cope with one step in through the door before I practically fainted from the heat! The Balinese one was a good temperature, still hot but I could manage to sit in there for around 5 minutes at a time. What I really loved about it though was the fragrance! You know me and fragrance, if something smells great then I’m immediately sold! This room has eucamenthol in for detoxifying and the beautiful scents of jasmine and ylang ylang - I think is what made it my favourite. Lights glimmer and exotic aromas create a wonderful ambience. As you inhale deeply, your circulation is stimulated and begins a purifying and detoxifying process.
The Greek Herbal Bath | Another room that smelt incredible, possibly the best out of all of them in my opinion, was the Greek Herbal Bath! Ohh my goodness this one was amazing!! You inhale a regularly changing trio of herbal essences which is supposed to induce feelings of wellbeing.
Chamomile: Cultivates a feeling of calm and promotes a good night's sleep, soothing mind, body and spirit.
Sage: Reviving and stress-relieving to counter muscle tiredness and fatigue.
Rosemary: Stimulates mind and body and promotes clarity of thought, sharp memory and focused thinking.
The Infrared Room | This room was perfect for my painful joints. I think the Infrared Room is a relatively new addition to the spa. It uses infrared heaters to emit infrared light which is experienced as radiant heat, absorbed by the surface of the skin and heats your muscles deeply for the inside out. There were 4 seats in there with the heaters directly behind your back, which felt amazing on my spine, and the heaters in the middle which you can rest your knees or hips against. I really loved this room and am going to be looking out for any spas locally now that have Infrared therapy!
Reflexology Foot Baths | We both enjoyed the reflexology foot baths very much, although my feet and lower legs did ache a lot for the following 24 hours. I’m assuming that’s probably a good sign and means it did something?!
They also have experience showers with different temperatures of water and effects like rainfall as well as fragrances. They have an outdoor heated spa pool with jets and bubbles, Meditation room with heated loungers (very nice!), Ice Fountain, Laconium and Tyrolean Sauna.
Treatments
At 3.30pm we had our treatments which were 55 minutes in total. It was worth £85 so a really great deal within our package. We waited in a really lovely sitting area to be called in for our treatments whilst filling out the standard forms that are usually required before any spa treatment. I’m a long time fan of Elemis skincare having used many of their products for around 6 years now. Their pro collagen marine cream is the best moisturiser ever in my opinion! However I’ve never actually had a facial or body treatment using their products before so I was really excited to try one. This particular treatment combination is exclusive to Aqua Sana, the Elemis face and body treatment combines a brightening facial with a warm Frangipani oil and hot stones massage. “Designed as an all-over body experience, this soothing experience is the perfect therapy to ease away daily stresses and induce a deep level of relaxation.” Overall it was SUCH a relaxing treatment! You really can’t beat a hot stone massage to soothe aching muscles. My chronic pain really responds well to heat so I always opt for a treatment like this if possible! Apparently they do a Hot Lava Shell Massage here which I might have to try next time. I really loved having some of my favourite products and some new ones used one me. The frangipani monoi body oil smelt incredible and I could still smell a hint of it the next morning actually!
After our treatments we were taken into a glass fronted relaxation room with loungers overlooking the beautiful forest which was ultimate relaxation!! We then went to sit out in the cafe area for a while and had our belated complimentary ‘welcome drink’ and pastry. I opted for the tropical smoothie again as I loved it and Mum and I both had an almond croissant which was lovely. I really wanted to try one of their luxury hot chocolates and as this wasn’t included as one of the complimentary drink options I paid extra for it. I got the cinnamon crunch one and they all come with a little cookie as well. It was so so good!
We then spent a little more time in some of our favourite experience rooms. The Aqua Meditation Room, Infra Red Room and chilling out on the waterbeds. Neither of us wanted to go in any of the pools or steam rooms as it would wash all the nice oils and products off that we’d had used on us. We were both feeling super sleepy after our treatments, I think Mum actually fell asleep in the Aqua Meditation Room for a while!
After around 6-7 hours in the spa (and whilst we were still awake enough to get ourselves changed and walk out!) we decided to call it a day and go home. I felt so relaxed and sleepy for a day or so afterwards actually. So perhaps it’s best to not have a busy day planned for the day after you’ve been on a Spa Day!
Overall Thoughts
I really do feel like, in terms of variety of spa facilities and experiences as well as value for money, I may have found the peak at Aqua Sana! I’ve had a look around and I can’t really find many spa’s that can compete in those areas. It was 100% worth the money and worth the drive! I’m particularly looking forward to going back after all the refurbishments are finished and seeing what they’ve done with it. And again if Center Parcs are reading please consider building one over East Sussex/Kent way! I had such a wonderful day there. The staff were lovely had the whole experience is definitely one I’d recommend if you’re looking for a Spa Day. Or if you’re actually staying at Center Parcs definitely look at booking one in whilst you’re up there!
If any of you have been on a Center Parcs Spa Day let me know how your experience was in the comments.
