Bannatyne's 2 For 1 Pamper Day!

I'm on the right - ha!

Yesterday, my sister and I visted the Bannatyne Spa in Manchester (Quay Street) for a pamper day organised through Buyagift.co.uk*, for a 2 for 1 pamper day - something we were both very much in need of. I will apologise right now for the lack of photographs, and the quality of the ones I did take as I only had my phone and tab with me, and it just wasn't possible to go and take photographs everywhere that I'd have liked to.

The day started off with a bit of form filling, with general questions about health and contact details (I hope we don't get spammed by them after leaving our details), followed by a quick tour of the venue and confirming our treatment time slots. The venue we went to in Manchester was a bit of a tardis, lots of stairs, and doors leading into different rooms and areas here and there,so it took a bit of getting used to, to get around without feeling a bit lost. I think it would be nice if things were a bit easier to navigate, but it's not a deal breaker by any means.

Once settled, we headed straight for the pool area, which was fairly nice - a big pool (so thankfully no pool rage), a nice sauna and steam room, and 2 lovely jacuzzis that were lovely and hot - bliss.

The only issues I had were that there were only a total of 6 loungers for people to use/put their stuff on which would really ruin my experience if I arrived and found them all taken already. Luckily we got there early so managed to bag the 2 beds that were by themselves, near the jacuzzis. Also, the jaccuzzi bubbles only worked in short bursts - so like a minute on and then a minute off, done automatically. Personally, I think that this would work better if you could press a button to get the bubbles going when needed and would probably save energy in the long run too.

Bubbles (with sister beauty scoop) - now you see them!

Now you don't.

We swam, lounged and used the jacuzzis until 10 minutes before our appointments, before heading to the spa area to be called in. The pamper day allows you to choose one of 2 treatments from either a Swedish back, shoulder and neck massage or a Bannatyne's Energising Facial (using Bannatyne branded products) - with both treatments lasting around 45 minutes.

You can pay an extra £5 to have an Elemis facial of you would prefer, and you are also able to add on an extra treatment (so you can have both the facial and the massage) for an extra £15 - or £20 if you wanted the Elemis facial as the extra, which is what I went for (subject to appointment availability).

My treatment started off with my back, shoulder and neck massage which was very relaxing, whilst still managing to work out a few knots in the process. The fragrance of the massage oil was divine, and the therapist wasn't overly chatty - which is a GOOD thing when you're relaxing. I do need to own the oil though, and will have to ring up to see if they sell it as it also left my skin lovely and soft to boot.

I then turned straight over for my 25 minute facial, which was bliss - I love having my products applied by a therapist as I can never manipulate my hands/fingers to do the same to my own face, which usually just ends up in me slathering product on willy nilly, which isn't half as enjoyable and probably a little less effective, to some degree.

Image from Buyagift website.

After our treatments, we headed to the pool area where we indulged in a little sauna time, before swimming back to our loungers to relax. I must say, I really didn't want to use the pool much after having these lovely products applied to my skin, so I would recommend booking in treatments for when you're finished with swimming and such like to get the most benefit to your skin.

We didn't visit the gym area (or do any classes), as we were there purely for the relaxation and pampering, but the gym looked great for those of you who would be interested in using those facilities (which you can, in this package).

No food is served/available in the venue, however there's a couple of small supermarkets close by that you can go out to get some food from, and eat within the venue. Drinks can be bought via vending machines (tea, coffee, isotonic drinks and water from what i I could tell) that can be taken into the relaxation room - which is a lovely room with beds for chilling out - I loved this, so simple but so effective.

All in all, it was a lovely day, I'm not sure I'd pay the full, normal price that Bannatyne's Spa charge, but would happily pay the price that is currently being offered from Buyagift.co.uk with options of £75 for a visit anytime, or £65 for a midweek visit.

I'm tempted to buy one for my mum and I to go together for Mother's day as I think this would be the perfect experience for her - although there are other options available here: Gifts for Mother's Day!


*The visit was provided free of charge from Buyagift, but my views are, and always will be unchanged by this.

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Titanic Spa & Our Girl's Night In!

 Reception & waiting area.

Reception desk.

Shop, leading through to hairdressers.

I recently visited the Titanic Eco Spa on a press trip with a fabulous group of girls, including Harriet (from the PR agency), Yinka (Vex in the City), Priya (BeautyWowza), Natasha (The Trusted Beauty Guide) and Hannah (The Times) and what an amazing trip it was.

When we arrived at the spa we were greeted with a drink whilst we checked in - at this point you’re also given your itineraries for any treatments included in your package or that you have booked in as extras, and if you’re staying over you will also have your bags taken up to your room for you.

 Bistro and Kitchen.

Buffet area at breakfast.

We were then shown to the bistro where they provided a small buffet lunch, when I say small, I mean in terms of selection, but there was plenty of each selection available. The buffet had about 4 salad-y dishes (coleslaw, chickpea and pepper salad, normal salad and a cucumber salad if I remember correctly), bread rolls, jacket potato halves, a hot potato, leek and feta cheese dish (suitable for vegetarians, which is what I ate and really enjoyed) and a chicken curry with rice, which I obviously didn’t eat but everybody else seemed to enjoy! I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t ONLY salad available as I had been wondering what kind of food they’d be serving.

Treatment waiting area.

Treatment room.

After lunch I had a treatment booked in, the Pinks Boutique Organic Massage where I was taken to one of the many treatment rooms and asked to choose which organic oil I’d like from a choice of 3. I chose the peppermint as that was meant to be good for my muscles – perfect for after travelling with a heavy bag (since I don’t really do travelling light, even for a one night stay), but there was also lemongrass or lavender oil to choose from too (lavender was relaxing and lemongrass was uplifting).

This treatment was a light, but lovely full body massage that was so very relaxing, luckily not so relaxing that I fell asleep – I’m always a bit wary of falling asleep during a massage and ending up dribbling or snoring, things I wouldn’t do normally, but I’m certain I would, should I ever fall asleep during a treatment like this. After the treatment I was left to my own devices to take advantage of the spa’s numerous facilities.

Firstly I went into the relaxation room which couldn’t have been more aptly named as it was full of beanbags, beds and other kinds of lounging furniture for you to chill out, or sleep on. It even had a sunken area full of beanbags that looked so cosy, but was always occupied when I went in there. It was so lovely to just be able to sit and relax in there – perfect for clearing the mind.

Heat & Ice Experience

Heat & Ice - Crystal Steam Room

Heat & Ice - Ice!

Heat & Ice - Plunge Pool.

The Bucket!!

I then went to the Heat and Ice Experience room, where ‘the experiences on offer originate from cultures dating back thousands of years and are renowned for cleansing and beautifying the body’ and where the ‘sensory journey has the ultimate aim of inducing deep relaxation’. I have to say, it was great, I felt utterly refreshed after being in there and my skin felt fab for it too (although that could be partly due the oils used on my body during the massage). Unfortunately I didn’t get the chance to try out the cold water bucket – I honestly meant to, we were all going to do it whilst together but then time ran away with us and we didn’t manage it.

Pool and Jacuzzi area (gym in the distance behind the window - I didn't go in there though)

After my Heat & Ice Experience I visited the pool where I lounged on the loungers (they recline so that you’re lay much further back... so much so that I scared myself when I first went to tip it backwards as I didn’t think it was going to stop, luckily it did) and relaxed even more. After a while, I decided it was time to be brave and take my robe off for a swim – I honestly don’t know what I was so worried about though as nobody gave two hoots about this kind of thing. I swam for a while and even had a bit of a chill out in the Jacuzzi section, bliss.

Before I knew it, it was time for me to go to the apartment to start getting ready for dinner, and I was totally blown away by how spacious it was. It was also furnished to a high standard and the country views from the HUGE windows were spectacular – I was honestly expecting nothing more than an average hotel-type room. Just look at the photographs to see for yourself!

Dinner in the bistro was a relaxed affair (although there were no robes to be seen) with a chilled atmosphere and a 2 course meal included if you’re staying over. For your 2 courses, you could choose to have a starter and main, or a main and dessert. We ALL (rather predictably?) went for the latter, with most of us having the chocolate orange fudge cake – which was SO worth all the calories it must have contained. For my main, I had a curry that contained sweet potato and pepper (I think) which was nice, but for me could have done with more vegetables in it.

Our dinner was so much fun, I could not have been with a better bunch as we laughed and chatted our way through most of it. We then continued the fun and laughter up in the apartment where we had a couple of bottles of fizzy stuff, some chocolate, popcorn and DVDs to accompany it. It was the perfect end to a great day – I totally recommend you having a girl’s night in there!

 Girl's Night In Goodies!

 Girls night in photographs (two courtesy of Priya @ BeautyWowza)

  Breakfast Hamper!

This little fella shared a croissant with me at 7:30am!

The treatment room where I had my Elemis facial.

The next morning I had booked in for an Elemis Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing Facial, a treatment that claims to resurface and smooth the skin and one that I really enjoyed having, both in terms of the relaxation but also the massage that came with it – heaven! My skin was glowing when I left – I highly recommend this treatment. Book early though to make sure you are able to have your treatment, in fact book them when you book your trip if you can as demand can be high, but also because you’re likely to get a 10% discount on the treatment cost if you do so too!

I can’t recommend this spa enough, the staff there are SO friendly and always willing to help and the spa and facilities are divine, you could literally fall asleep ANYWHERE in there, it is SO relaxing and such a lovely experience. Not forgetting that this is an ECO Spa so all your lovely relaxation time and treatments are practically guilt free on that score – you can read more on their eco credentials here: http://www.titanicspa.com/

Thanks again to all the gorgeous girls who I was with for making it SO much fun. x


My stay was provided free of charge, I paid for the Elemis facial myself.

Sponsored Post: Spa Breaks.

Wouldn’t you just love to spend a day (or night/ weekend) being pampered in a spa with beautiful surroundings? Me too! Although I always assumed that spa visits were very expensive and that I’d never be able to justify spending excessive amounts of money on one, not whilst saving for a wedding anyway – especially if the experience was tainted by guilty spending feelings.

Luckily I’ve just found that there are spa experiences that won’t break my bank after browsing lusting over the Spa Breaks website, their spa weekend special offers page to be precise and I’ve found some offers that I actually wouldn’t feel guilty buying – I’ve listed a few below.

Overnight stay:

Bannatyne Charlton House

 
From £269 you could go on a romantic break for 2 people (price is per couple, not per person and I know it says from, but a lot of dates are showing at that price, even through to summer) at the Bannatyne Charlton House. The price includes 1 night’s bed, breakfast, a three course candlelit dinner, a 55 minute treatment each, half a bottle of champagne to share and an indulgent afternoon tea... plus the use of their thermal facilities. To me this represents quite good value as firstly it looks amazing (don’t you think?) and secondly the amount of things you get included with this offer seem well worth the price per person.

Spa days:

Macdonald’s Marine Hotel

For £165 per couple until the end of March, Macdonald’s Marine Hotel in Scotland is offering a spa day for 2 which includes a healthy lunch in the sea view bar lounge, hot volcanic stones massage including a warming foot relief treatment and Decleor Time Precious Facial with unlimited use of all their leisure facilities... plus use of a robe, slippers and towels to boot. The Decleor facial sounds gorgeous (I do love their products) and the hot stones massage devine... I’d certainly pay £82.50 for this if it was closer to me.


Various Bannatyne Spa Venues

Bannatyne Spa in many areas also do a special offer for a 2 person spa day costing just £65 (for 2 people, not each) where you get the choice of a Swedish back, neck & shoulder massage or Elemis 30 minute facial plus full use of the health club facilities. It also mentions something about a scalp massage but I can’t quite work out if that’s another option to choose from or if it’s an additional treatment... but for £32.50 each, even just the one treatment plus use of the facilities is good value. I’ve linked to the Milton Keynes page, however if you search the special offers page then you’ll find all participating locations.


Of course you could go all out and go somewhere for a week, or to much more expensive venues which will indeed cost a lot more (of which there are some available on the Spa Breaks website, which includes Spa Days) but I know that times can be hard for a lot of people so I wanted to show that you can treat yourself to a little bit of luxury and pampering without the guilt (or risk of bankruptcy).

So what do you think about spa breaks, would you go on one? Have you been on one? I definitely think I’m in need of one very soon!

Sponsored post.