To celebrate finally finishing my masters, WOOOO GO MEEE, my mum decided to book a spa to allow a little wind down and try to relax at the Champney's Eastwell Manor Spa in Kent and it seemed only fair to share my experience on the blog.
You see, I've only had a few spa experiences before and centre parcs has set the bar pretty high.
I was pretty darn impressed on arrival though with the location of the spa being based in an old manor house. The gardens were out of the world and made you feel like you've stepped into a world of Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett. I've always been a fan of stately homes and old manor houses. They have a certain atmosphere which allows your imagination to run wild. Even when I was younger, I used to pretend the gorgeous manors were my home. I used to wander through the gardens, twirling along paths and thinking up adventures I would go on if I lived there. It's safe to say this also happened on our trip.
The rooms of the spa and manor house were a little outdated and could definitely do with a large face lift but they were a really good size and had everything we needed and after quickly dumping our bags we went to the actual spa centre.
The weather was glorious and so after grabbing a delicious lunch we did what anyone would do, throw on a robe and relax on the huge loungers that were dotted out front of the restaurant.
The spa itself is beautiful, the pool was huge and there are bed loungers all around the edge to hop straight onto after a dip. On another level there was an additional pool, jacuzzi, sauna and steam room providing you with all you could need.
Although the spa was lovely, for me there were some down sides. Apart from the gym and the pool area, there really wasn't much else to the spa at all. Outside there was an additional pool but when we visited there were a fair few children in and so instead of some relaxing time away from reality, it felt more like I was at a family resort in Tenerife. There is obviously nothing wrong with this but it's not what you expect to find when you're heading to for a spa weekend.
The treatment area of the spa however was really calming, with an additional relaxation room to chill out in after your treatments, in which I had a massage and a facial. The facial at the spa has to be one of the best facial I have had in a long time. I know this is completely down to your beautician but hats off for hiring someone fantastic (who I sadly cant remember the name of).
Additionally all of the food we had was exceptional. from salads to 3 course meals. Although there were some language barriers with some staff which you don't normally expect in the UK overall the whole experience was fantastic.
After a lovely few days away I really did feel A LOT more relaxed which was exactly what was needed.
Would I go back? If I'm honest, no. Although the break was lovely, I didn't really feel that it was that different from a normal health club. I think this was a combination of the rooms being fairly mediocre and so that element of luxury wasn't there. One of my favourite things about spas is having lots of nice zones to wander through in the spa, different relaxation rooms to try and the ability to disappear from noise and the real world. Yes the grounds provided this and I spent a lot of time sat on a chair looking up at the house, but in reality, I could have just booked into the hotel and done the same.
For a Champney's Spa where you are constantly given the high impression of luxury and pampering, I think maybe they need to relook at what their really offering their guests in this way. The Eastwell Manor is the newest edition to the Champney's Spa family and maybe they are yet to invest completely in the site but to me that's not really an excuse.
On the plus side though, they do produce their own in house bottled water, with bottles made from recycled glass, so at least their was some consideration for sustainability, even if it was very small and they still have ALOT of work to do in that department.
Have you ever been to a Champney's Spa? Whats your best spa experience?
Love
Erin
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