North East - Spa Day: Longhirst Hall, Northumberland

Its been a pretty stressful summer in the Cooling house so this week Mama C and I decided to treat ourselves to a little R&R with a day at Longhirst Hall's recently opened Decoro Spa!

About thirty minutes drive from Newcastle city centre and set in the stunning Northumberland countryside, Longhirst Hall was built by famous local architect John Dobson in the early nineteenth-century. Housed in its own little building, the Decoro Spa is small but perfectly formed with facilities included a sauna, steam room, spa pool, aromatherapy room, monsoon shower, foot spas, treatment rooms, relaxation lounge and informal dining room. The spa offers a range of treatments and packages, Mama C and I went for the Decoro Chill Out Day, including full use of the spa facilities, a choice of two treatments each, plus refreshments and use of a robe, slippers and towel throughout the day.

The spa was lovely and clean and beautifully designed - elegant, understated and soothing! I especially loved the William Morris style touches! These are echoed in the lovely Natural Empathy products used in the spa treatments. Not only do these look, feel and smell divine, Natural Empathy is a local Northumberland-based skincare brand that uses lovely organic, locally-sourced ingredients in all their products.

Mama C and I put all of the facilities through their paces and loved everyone of them - favourites included the spa pool (above) and the eucalyptus-scented aromatherapy room. The treatments we had were fantastic too! I opted for a relaxing back, neck and shoulder massage, while Mama  C went for a facial and head massage, we both had a file and polish mini pedicure using Leighton Denny products.

 Mama C and I were feeling a little peckish after all our relaxation so ordered lunch. Our chicken and avocado Caesar salads and lovely desserts were brought over from the hotel restaurant, which prides its self on using locally-sourced produce. Everything we had was delicious, particularly my vanilla crème brulee and home-made shortbread! We rounded off what had been a fantastic day with afternoon tea in the relaxation lounge. Darjeeling and a good book - perfect!


The Chill Out Day package cost £65 per person through http://www.spabreaks.com/ For more information on the Decoro Spa at Longhirst Hall visit http://www.decorospas.com/ For information on Natural Empathy Skincare visit http://naturalempathy.com/

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