The Husband and I were invited to spend a weekend at Ragdale Hall, a health hydro and thermal spa, in Leicestershire. Neither of us had ever been to a health spa before and I have to admit to preconceptions of celery sticks and carrot juice for every meal. I didn’t pack emergency chocolate bars because I’m not that organised but if I was … I would have done.
When we arrived we parked the car and walked towards the entrance, taking in the stunning views and the garden. The Husband suddenly exclaimed “There are people in the garden … in dressing gowns!”.
Once at the front desk our bags were taken by a porter, to our room, whilst we were given a complimentary drink and asked to register.
We put on our robes and wandered down to the pool area where we discovered the thermal spa. There was a central area and off it several different rooms with different things going on in each. The volcanic salt bath was our favourite; a steam room with 100% humidity and a euco-menthol spritz with 20% salt infusion. The candle pool (where you had to be silent), was really very relaxing but I found it difficult to be quiet for too long.
We had an embarrassing moment in The Scented Room. We were in there with another couple, who were sat opposite us. The room was infused with floral scented steam. Suddenly the lights went out and a central light lit the floral area in the middle. When the lights came back on The Husband said “All change” and nodded towards the other couple. Whereas I realised he meant we could have moved places, the couple obviously thought he was some sort of swinger. I spent the rest of our stay avoiding our possible swinging partners.
There’s nothing intimidating about Ragdale Hall, the whole place has an easy-going informal feel about it. Wherever you went there were places to sit, loll, lie, snooze, read books and just escape the daily grind. I became acclimatised to the robe wearing pretty quickly. Phones aren’t allowed in the main hotel/spa and the signal is patchy. This is a welcome relief and means that not only do you switch off from the outside world somewhat, you also don’t have to listen to other people conducting their business over the phone.
Expecting lunch to be a minimal affair I was wrong, I didn’t need the virtual chocolate bars. Lunch was a vast buffet; Very healthy but lots of flavour. The evening menu was well thought out with each dish given a rating (1 window through to 3 windows) depending on calorific value. Breakfast in bed was a real treat. Ordered the night before there was plenty of choice. I had a bowl of cereal, an apple pastry, a fruit salad, a glass of juice and a hot drink. It was just the right amount of food to get me through to lunch.
I had a full body massage which was fantastic. My therapist immediately put me at ease and used just the right amount of pressure. When I floated out of the treatment room and met The Husband, who had just finished his treatment, he commented on the lovely red ring around my face from the massage table. I had relaxed so far into the massage table that the, rather attractive, ring didn’t fade for over an hour and a half.
If you need a self indulgent weekend where you are permitted to relax, and ONLY relax, then Ragdale Hall is the place for you. I left feeling pampered and content with a healthy glow. There was so much more to experience at Ragdale Hall that I only wish we’d stayed longer and booked more treatments. This just means that we’ll have to return. We’ve been told that Ragdale Hall in the Winter is a whole new experience with it’s roaring fires. I’ll let you know!
A two night midweek breaks start at £266 per person including all meals, inclusive treatments and use of facilities, Two night weekend breaks from £328 and day packages from £69. I n 2010, Ragdale won six awards including the prestigious Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Spa Awards 2010 Favourite UK Spa Retreat and the Sunday Times Travel Magazine Reader Awards Favourite UK Spa
One Comment on "Ragdale Hall – We didn’t need virtual chocolate bars"
I love the husband’s comment. I thought you were going to say that there was an embarrassing “bubble bath” incident in the candle pool due to a fiber rich diet.