Reward yourself (or someone you love) with a day spa experience

Caroline Bingham and guest visited Eden Hall, for a day of sociable spa-ing and to experience two of 2018’s signature treatments.
The award-winning day spa, located just off the A46 a few minutes south of Newark, has won plenty of fans and accolades – from Good Spa Guide Best Spa for The Day 2016 to the Professional Beauty Awards Best Day Spa of The Year 2017.
Christmas is quite a big celebration in our house which we all enjoy but by the time it is all over the quip that you would like to lie down in a darkened room for a while becomes a burning ambition. It’s the thought of the harshest months of the year ahead too. Time to find an antidote; so let me guide you through our day at Eden Hall.

The impressive Gothic mansion which is home to the spa was an easy drive away for us and the many guests who travel from across the country to enjoy their facilities. The building is surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens and lawns, while inside, guests step into a modern, stylish and warmly welcoming reception hall. A glass of hot chocolate was served as we completed the necessary health questionnaires and received our locker keys.

Time to relax
Our spa treatments were booked for midday with lunch to follow, so we changed and headed straight for the conservatory to chat and have breakfast. It gave us chance to catch our breath after an early and hectic start to the day. We snuggled under throws while our order was prepared. You have probably gathered that we are not ones to rush off to the gym or exert ourselves in too many of the exercise classes, but Eden Hall is a large spa which means there are plenty of facilities to enjoy, indoor and outdoor, which will inspire you during your stay. For us it is the attraction of the calm and cosseting feel throughout the resort and the service from the smiley, helpful staff.

Sociable Spa-ing
We had changed in the spacious changing rooms which have plenty of individual lockers, private changing areas, showers, towels and vanity area with complimentary shampoo, conditioner and body wash. After our leisurely breakfast we headed to the Thermal Spa Suite to experience the different zones of hot or cold, tropical and cool mist showers, body jets and foot baths. My favourites are the series of heat experience rooms, especially the salt inhalation room and the rose-infused steam room but there is also a herbal caldarium, sauna and saunarium. Move from one to the other, enjoying a refreshing shower as you go. I have headed this ‘sociable spa-ing’ because that is certainly what we were enjoying from the day and so were many other groups and couples. Yes, it does sound indulgent but we all deserve time to reconnect and share life-enhancing experiences. It certainly does wonders for my wellbeing. We had about half an hour to spare to take a leisurely swim in the 25-metre salt water pool before our treatment times and would have to leave the bubble jet pools and outdoor hot tubs for later in the day.

Elemis Illuminating Facial
My companion was pampered with the 55-minute Elemis Illuminating Facial which is perfect for brightening the drying and sluggish effects of winter weather on the delicate skin of the face and décolletage. She was warmly greeted and taken to one of Eden Hall’s thirty therapy rooms by her therapist Jade. The rooms are all finished with calming colour schemes, twinkling ceiling lights and soft, ambient background music. Jade detailed the course of the treatment, helping to relax and prepare my friend for the therapy.

Jade began by applying a White Brightening Foaming Cleanser to purify and reduce the appearance of excess oil. The result was a super cleansed and mattified complexion. Next, toner from the same range was used to help promote an even skin tone. This was followed by exfoliation with an Elemis Dynamic Resurfacing Gel Mask which gave an invigorating tingling sensation on application. Removed with warm face flannels, her skin was left smooth and refined.

An Exotic Cream Moisturising Mask was then applied and left to give an intense hydration boost. The mask contains a blend of exotic botanicals, ideal for dull and dry skin. While the mask took effect, Jade gave a scalp massage using relaxing scented oil to enrich the skin and hair. This is the point where it is easy to fall asleep during a treatment but my friend preferred to use the phrase ‘zone out’. It certainly sounded very relaxing.

The final stages of the treatment were the application of White Brightening Serum with encapsulated vitamin C to promote even skin tones and perfect the appearance with a thin layer of Hydra-Boost Day Cream to comfort the skin. Afterwards she lay on one of the ergodynamic loungers in the post-treatment lounge wrapped in a snug throw, to drink some water and re-orientate herself before lunch.

Go Green Spa Day
Designed by Eden Hall’s own therapy manager Sara, the Go Green Spa Day, which is available to book throughout January and February 2018, aims to detox the mind and body using products from Natural Spa Factory.

Grace, my therapist, was chatty and welcoming and put me perfectly at ease, leaving me initially to make myself comfortable on the bed. I was quite happy to have the treatment across my whole body, but the choice is yours and I was soon cocooned in warm towels and blankets.

Grace began with a full body exfoliation using Green Tea and Coconut Oil Scrub. Fine sugar grains blended with the oil and tea left my body feeling invigorated, smooth and hydrated. The process of encouraging my body to drain itself of toxins had been kickstarted by this, so now followed a massage to my back and back of my legs to break down cellulite and speed up the activity of my lymph system using a massage oil with rosehip, mint, lavender, raspberry, ginger and marjoram. The scents from all these products were delicious.

My whole body was now bathed in a Macha Green Tea, Red Tea, White Tea and Mint Leaves Body Wrap, the effect of which was accelerated by wrapping me in a fine layer of polythene. The Body Wrap has both anti-oxidising and anti-allergic properties, helping to fight skin aging and theanine which encourages toxins to drain from tissue.

While the wrap worked on my body, Collette gave me a relaxing scalp massage which touched on pressure points around the head and neck.

Grace explained that my skin had been very dry and had absorbed a great deal of the Tea Wrap. The residue was removed with warm flannel mitts followed by a final application of Boutique Body Cream with green tea, chamomile and jojoba.

I had asked Grace to concentrate her massage on my tense shoulder and neck muscles and the whole treatment had certainly eased these stiff areas as well as leaving my skin silky smooth.

The timing of our day had felt unhurried and very relaxed and the clock now prompted us to head to the restaurant to make our choices from a delicious, seasonally themed menu for a three-course lunch. The final part of my Go Green package included a refreshing pot of green tea and slices of watermelon which I enjoyed later in the conservatory to help complete the detox and rehydration process. The advice is to keep drinking plenty of fresh water to help the detoxification process over the next few days and prolong the benefits.

Indulge and pamper in 2018
Eden Hall certainly invites you to put on hold the stresses and demands of every day. We loved the chance to really chat and share the experience and leave the world outside to wait a while longer.

I am hoping that Santa will be thinking I could do with another indulgent day when all the festivities are over and I know more sociable spa-ing opportunities would help me prepare for the year ahead.

Go Green Spa Day Experience
Available during January and February.

www.edenspa.co.uk
Tel: 01636 525555

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