This time last year I went on a wonderfully relaxing spa break with a friend of mine, who was heavily pregnant at the time. We both knew it would be at least another 2 years before we were likely to get away for another break like this!
We went to the spa at the Nare Hotel in Cornwall. It was a bit of a drive from where my friend lives, but the hotel is in an elevated position, right by the sea, with stunning views of the beach. Unfortunately, when we arrived they were having a power cut! Do any of you remember Fawlty Towers?
The staff were wonderful, but couldn't quite decide what to do with us. The heated pool wasn't heated...the therapist could still give us the treatments, but the rooms would be cold... They said they had tried to call me, but the reception wasn't great in the area (which is true). Neither of us were prepared for this and weren't sure what to do either. In true English style, they offered us some tea and we had a pot by the fire. In the end, we decided to go and have lunch somewhere else, then come back and try in the afternoon.
We went on a strange ride through the Cornish countryside, just seeing where we ended up. We found a lovely little pub and had a good chat, so while unexpected, it was still fun. When we went back, the heating was on! The weather was miserable, so we were excited to check out the spa.
The sauna, steam and pool were all very pleasant. Not particularly outstanding, but very nice.
However, the outdoor hot tub was something special! That view!
We then went and had our individual treatments. I opted for 30 minutes of reflexology and a 30 minute massage focusing on my back and shoulders. I had really wanted both, and thought that this would give me the best of both worlds, when actually I didn't really get the full benefit of either. I needed twice as long on my feet and my back and shoulders were so tense I probably needed a couple of hours there! After another hour or so in the spa, we had dinner in the restaurant which again was very nice, but not outstanding.
So, all in all, I'd give the Nare Hotel a solid three stars. The location is beautiful, the staff were very friendly and the hotel itself is nice. However the powercut and issues with phone reception meant that our day was quite disrupted. Generally I'm quite flexible, but this was the single day of 'me time' my friend was having away from two small children and before her third. I'd also travelled to be there. So doing it another day wasn't really an option. I feel like the staff could have been better prepared/given us a little extra as compensation. We did get a free tea while we were waiting, but a voucher for a treatment/meal would have been nice. Because we ended up staying later (and having dinner rather than lunch), due to the late start, we decided to have a coffee after dinner and sorting out payment for that seemed to be a problem - they weren't geared up to take cards. But, that hot tub...at one point there was actually someone riding a horse along the beach, like a scene out of a movie! It did feel very 'English', and a bit like a real life Fawlty Towers (without Fawlty), which might appeal to some of you. Or, if the chaos appeals to you, you could even try a Fawlty Towers dining experience! I haven't tried this yet, but it looks like a lot of fun!