An Evening At Center Parcs Aqua Sana Spa

Good morning guys!!

Last Friday I was lucky enough to go out for a Spa Evening with my 2 sisters and my mum. This evening was something that was well over due. My brother & his girlfriend actually bought us vouchers not last Christmas but the one before and until now we've just never got round to organising it due to either our geographical location or jobs conflicting times. One of my sisters lives in Newcastle and the other works a funny shift pattern so it has been difficult to agree on a date we could all commit too. So finally, after many back and forth conversations we managed to arrange our Spa Evening together and we had a wonderful time.

Until now I'd never actually been to a Spa before and I really didn't know what to expect. In my head I had this vision of sitting in a hot tub all evening accompanied by a glass of Proscecco and great company. However the Spa completely exceeded my expectations - aside from when we first arrived at the Spa and there appeared to be a problem with our booking which for some reason took half an hour to sort. We were however offered complimentary drinks as an apology for the delay.

Once we finally got into the Spa we were offered complimentary towels, robes and slippers which was lovely. We all removed our make up and threw our hair into a messy bun sort of fashion then made our way through to the Spa. I was overwhelmed with how many different things there were to do. It was so much better than I first anticipated. We went into the Sauna, the Indian and Jasmin infused rooms that vapourized lovely essential oils which made you sweat but made you feel cleansed and revitlized. The infused vapours really calmed me down and seemed to clear my air ways. We also went into relaxtion rooms where you just have a nap on a hammock with theraputic music in the background. There was also a room with hot stones and water beds where you could just chill out on. The Spa did have a hot tub and Pool but it was open air and far too cold for me! Possibly my favourite part about the Evening was the little gestures such as having little stalls where you could help yourself to elemis exfoliators and throwing a flannel in an ice bucket to freshen up your face and cool you down. I also loved the fact they had shower experiences - some that smelled floral and were super powerful to remind you of the rainforests and another shower setting that spritzed out water infused with Mint that makes you feel wide awake and alive.

Mid way through our evening we popped into the restaurant and grabbed ourselves a glass of Prosecco and some Red Velvet Cake & Carrot Cake to share. It was very surreal to be sat in a restaurant where everybody was wearing nothing but a bikini, robe and slippers! I wish this was acceptable in everyday situations!

Quite possible the thing I loved most about our evening was 'switching off' in every sense of the term. Switching off from the outside world, locking my phone away with no access to social media and just enjoying my time with my family. Far too often we're all so consumed by using our phones rather than living in the now. Sometimes you're so bothered about capturing the moment you end up seeing it through a lense rather than enjoying the now. I used to be very guilty of this but nowa days I only whip my phone out at certain times and make a point to keep it out of the way in social occasions. I mean sure, I'm not going to get rid of it completely because I enjoy photography and having photo's to look back on but I definitely make a conscious effort to keep it out of site for the most part of my evenings etc.

Have you ever been on a Spa Evening? What was your favourite part?