Who doesn’t love the words “Spa weekend”? I confess I am a fully fledged spa junkie, as a busy freelancer noting gives me greater pleasure than the opportunity to effectively pretend I’m on holiday for a couple of days. So when the chance to review the relatively new (built in 2017) Ye Olde Spa came my way, I jumped at the chance.
Nestled at the foot of 3 counties, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, it was a little bit of a trek for me to get there, but oh my goodness…oh so worth it. From the get go, I knew the trip was going to be a success when we were warmly greeted by both Spa and hotel spa and taken to the restaurant to eat our lunch. I do understand why some of the more corporate spas tend to only offer salad bar/ultra healthy options at mealtimes as part of the whole wellness package. However, as a vegetarian, I personally love to see lots of yummy, wholesome, veggie options on a menu and there were plenty of these on offer at Ye Olde Bell Spa. I opted for the pesto and pea gnocchi and my companion chose the equally delicious salmon.
After our delightful lunch we were given a tour of the spa before being taken for our treatments. There are multiple treatments on offer here but we went for a facial and a massage. In my humble opinion, the mark of a good spa is if it can deliver a decent massage and a damn good facial & I am pleased to report Ye Olde Bell passed with flying colours on both counts. My Turkish Ritual massage was just what the Dr ordered, I carry a lot of tension in my back and shoulders and I am often left disappointed with a massage if the pressure isn’t sufficient to dispel those knots, but this massage was pitch perfect. Added to this , the use of silk and heat alongside the heavenly smelling oil (picked according to my Chinese horoscope – rabbit, if you’re asking) I left feeling suitably floaty.
My companion was equally thrilled with her facial, as someone with oily skin and a tendency to break out, the Facialist listened to her concerns and tailored the facial accordingly.
But back to the spa, with saunas, steam rooms, snow showers, salt rooms and stone baths it was difficult to know where to start but as our lovely Spa Butler pointed out, this was handily done for us as the spa is configured in the way in which you should visit each individual room. I did try all of these, including the snow shower, which did EXACTLY what it said on the tin, but, in all honesty, I spent most of my time in the heated outdoor pool staring at the twinkly fairy lights with a mocktail in hand. It was utter bliss.
A quick trip back to our “lodge” a lovely self contained kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom (complete with roll top bath) for a change of clothes for dinner and off to the hotel we went. The hotel has been in situ significantly longer than the spa, it is well known locally and whilst we were there was hosting both a Christmas party and a wedding. It has a very different vibe to the spa, the staff are just as friendly but it has a more rustic, less contemporary feel to it and this was reflected in the dinner choices which were more traditional in their offerings.
However, after a tough day at the spa 😉 a margarita pizza and Bakewell tart were wolfed down with a lovely (large) glass of Malbec. Back to the “lodge” for some shut eye before an early start for breakfast and a last morning in the spa before heading home. Again the breakfast was more traditional with a classic fry up & some cereals and pastries on offer but a smoothie and some more veggie options would have been a lovely touch. However, It was with a heavy heart we said goodbye to the spa, if I lived locally I would visit this little gem on a regular basis, and indeed met a couple at the spa who did just that. It is totally unpretentious, there is nothing corporate or formulaic about it. It is quite simply a really lovely place to go to be treated like royalty, eat delicious food and be pampered to within an inch of your life. Go and see for yourself…