Spa day at The Marriott Hotel

In anticipation of going back to university soon and actually having to do some hard work, I thought it was important that I take some preemptive measures to maintain feeling calm and relaxed, and what better way to do that than to go to a spa?

Back in May, for my boyfriends birthday, his family gave him and I vouchers for a day trip to the Marriott Hotel spa. Don’t you just love it when someone else’s present also becomes your present at the same time? Despite being a mere five minute drive from my house, time got on top of us and it took four months to finally find a day that we could both go (better late than never as I always say), so we headed down this sunny Saturday in search of achieving our Zen.

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The Marriott spa is a lovely little facility that has a pool, a jacuzzi, a steam room and a sauna, all surrounded by tables and sunbeds, facing out into the hotel gardens. The voucher gave us full access to all of the facilities for pretty much the entire day so we were free to roam around as we pleased which was lovely.

The spa also has an adjoining salon which I have visited separately many times before. They provide lots of different treatments here including facials and massages to makeup, nails and hair! My boyfriend began the day with a shoulder, neck and back massage whilst I opted for a facial.

If you read my previous post about the microdermabrasion facial, then you will know how much I love having this treatment! I decided to have it again this time around because I think it’s such a good facial to have.

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Essentially, a microdermabrasion involves a little machine that works like a vacuum on your face. It fires minuscule crystals at your skin whilst sucking air through at the same time. This allows it to deeply exfoliate your skin, whilst removing all of the debris and dead skin cells, exposing an entirely new layer underneath!

The facilities at the Beauty Within You salon are lovely and calming and make a great environment for a facial. I always find myself pretty much falling asleep during the treatments because they are so relaxing! The therapist I had was called Emma and she has always been very friendly and attentive every time I’ve been. I have had this facial done by her for the last three times and I am always so impressed with how thorough and high quality her treatments are!

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I left the salon feeling rejuvenated. My skin felt glowy, soft and smooth as it always does after this treatment. A deep exfoliation works wonders for the skin, and although I can expect to break out over the next few days, after that period, I usually end up having clear skin for weeks following the microdermabrasion!

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After our treatments, it was time to enjoy some afternoon tea. This was also included in our voucher which was a lovely touch! We enjoyed coffee, hot chocolate, cookies and warm Danish pastries, but there were also a lot of other things to choose from on the menu.

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Once we had finished our afternoon tea, we went off to really make the most of the facilities. I must admit, I’m not personally a big fan of saunas and steam rooms, because they make me feel somewhat claustrophobic, but it’s all part and parcel of the spa experience, so of course we had a little sit down in those. They had a cold and a hot shower just outside of them so I enjoyed doing the ‘cold shower to hot steam room’ cycle and felt like it was doing wonders for my skin.

However, my favourite bit of the spa was definitely the pool and jacuzzi!

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We spent the rest of the morning relaxing in the bubbles, having a swim, and just being all round pampered really. It was so nice to just lay there for a few hours and let our skin breathe. Overall I had a really lovely time at the spa and salon! The staff were very friendly and attentive, and the facilities were lovely. As one of the smaller spas in the area, I was unsure as to whether it would be too busy for my liking, but it definitely didn’t feel that way once we arrived and the experience was really relaxing. I’m starting to wish I could go to a spa every weekend…

Have you ever been to a spa? Could you recommend me a treatment? I’d love to know in the comments below!

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  1. With love, Caroline

    Wow it sounds so relaxing!! I’ve been to a spa only a few times, and I love how thoughtless it makes you feel 😊 You make me so curious about microdermabrasion, I’d love to try it soon!

    1. Alice Hope

      It’s such a nice facial to have! I think it’s really good to properly exfoliate your skin! X