Booking a weekend away for my fiance’s 30th birthday next month, she wants a spa break thingy.

It’s a right minefield trying to pick one that’ll be good & Tripadvisor can get bent too – makes the choice even more difficult!

The one I want to go to near Newquay works out somethign like £1k all in 😯 Might have to have a rethink…

A grand? You could fly to Karlovy Vary and stay in a spa for that much!

How about a weekend in Budapest (steambaths with all the treatments etc) or some spa in Southern Germany?

(I’m assuming you’re not Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, in which case you should just ask your PR consultant to organise a backhander spa break).

I’ve just read that as “booking a spaghetti break thing”

The Five Lakes in essex. Fantastic place, and one of the Masseurs is, well was 19yo Laura…. 🙂

I can recommend Hurst House (S. Wales) and their prices are relatively reasonable – and there are deals on their site. My wife loved it and she’s picky as hell with that sort of thing.

http://www.hurst-house.co.uk

she wants a spa break thingy

Time to find a bag of sand then.

quick trip to b&Q for a bucket down the canal for some mud candles round the bath.. brush your teeth change your pants.. job done..happy birthday!

£1k for a weekend? Ouch.

Bath Spa Hotel is beautiful and whilst not cheap it is not £1k either.

If you want to go further south the Fistral Spa in Newquay is very nice and you could maybe save a few pennies by staying somewhere else, I particually like the Tolcarne Beach Appartments.

Bath Spa Hotel is beautiful and whilst not cheap it is not £1k either.

Hmmm, not overly impressed with Bath Spa (certainly not for a Spa break – the Spa facilities were a bit thin on the ground IMO) although the staff were really nice.

The two best Spa hotels I have stayed at are
http://www.careysmanor.com/ (New Forest)

and the spookily-similarly named
http://www.cowleymanor.com/ (Cheltenham)

If you go to Cowley Manor in Cheltenham do NOT book a room in the stables unless you like your views to be brick walls.

Ouch! We’re off to Doxford Hall (near Alnwick, Northumberland) this weekend for our 5th Anniversary. 3 spa treatments, dinner, breakfast and deluxe room was about £300.

I second Carey’s Manor in the New Forest. Nice hotel and Thai spa with all the bits, my wife really likes it there and they offer package breaks with treatments.

You have the oprtion of a garden or a manor room IIRC Garden rooms are large and modern the others quaint and twee but still luxurious.

Well Fistral Spa is one option, we enjoyed out week in Newquay in July. I’d get extra points for going to Fifteen for food too.

Glad to hear Careys Manor gets thumbsup as that’s probably where i’ll book, not OTT pricing for an inclusive package. We like the area too – often stay at Hollands Wood/Holmsley, etc, camping.
Advantage is that we can take the bikes to pootle around Moors Valley on the way home on Sunday if weather’s ok.

I don’t want to be tied to eating there both nights, are there any nice restaurants/pubs nearby (Brockenhurst) that we could go for food?

No idea about Brockenhurst but I recall a lovely pub in Lyndhurst – drive into the centre and as you go down the hill, just before the road bears 90 degrees left (and the road in front is cobbled/pedestrianised) there was a lovely pub on the right just at the beginning of the pedestrianised bit (I know, a crap description)

The Chequers in Lymington is always busy and does decent food. It’s about 15 minutes away.

http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/comments.shtml/3713/

Also there is a country Market every Saturday in Lymington High Street which is worth a wander if you’re not having a Spa.

Ahh here you go – http://www.lymington.org/pubprofiles/1kingshead.html The King’s Head.