A week or two passed before I telephoned to see if there really was a catch but of course the offer had been so well received that they were fully booked. Thankfully The House Spa had extended the offer, such was the response! I should have telephoned immediately of course but we were fortunate that the offer had been extended and now we only had 6 weeks to wait!
Sarah & I were met at the front door by the porter who welcomed us like we were special guests. He directed us through the magnificent entrance to the spa. A warm welcome and a tour of the spa followed before we excitedly got ourselves into our swim wear (gowns and slippers provided) ready to sample the delights the spa had to offer.
The drench showers were tempting enough to spend an hour under and we so easily could have, had it not been for the saunas on offer around us. The Juniper Finnish Sauna (a dry penetrating heat) was our first port of call. Beautifully designed with glass on two sides, slate on another and a juniper log feature wall……amazing! Looking out onto the infinity pool and spa terrace, we sat and relaxed whilst our muscles enjoyed some welcome relief after a busy week.
The cooling mist shower enticed us out of the sauna before we chose the salt infusion steam room for our next session. The gentle, moist heat and bursts of sea salt infusions were equally revitalising and any toxins that may have been hanging on in there had soon disappeared.
A tropical rain shower next (wonderfully drenching) followed by a dip in the beautifully lit ‘Infinity’ pool. Without doubt the most relaxing indoor pool we have ever experienced! One could be fooled into thinking the water is never ending with it merging into the landscape…..okay, the pool does not have views of the Cotswold lake that we imagined we were swimming in, however, with The House Spa experience as amazing as it is, one could be forgiven for daydreaming!
Comfortable loungers, a plentiful supply of water, mood lighting and a wonderful sound of water gently falling over the edge of the pool would usually be enough to keep us laid on the loungers but the Spa Terrace with ‘bubble bath’ hydro pool had been quietly calling us for almost an hour and we couldn’t resist it any longer. It was after 7.30pm on a lovely Cotswolds evening and the hydro pool was both welcoming and relaxing. We’d joined two other people & we soon struck up a conversation. “Do you work here?” we were asked. “Wouldn’t it be nice if you worked here and could use the facilities”, we responded.
Our companions were sampling the spa, just as we were having responded to the generous offer…. we were all equally impressed. We remarked how we would recommend The House Spa Experience to everyone we know as a result of a great idea! A light breeze welcomed us as we climbed out of the hydro pool & the large memory foam lounger was as equally relaxing.
Another dip in the pool, another 10 minutes in the sauna and the steam room followed by a waterfall drench shower before heading up to The Spa Lounge for a complimentary glass of bubbly – all equally as lovely as the first round of course!
We didn’t sample The Lavender Sauna but we were told by our hydro pool companions that it was lovely and relaxing. We had a quick look around the gym which had all of the equipment to work every part of the body. The various parlours, studios and suites were all equally impressive.
We enjoyed The Greenhouse Spa Lounge to ourselves along with a lovely, chatty host who served us a delicious glass of Prosecco. We sat on every seat and lounger and we chatted by the fire & imagined how lovely it would be to sit there on a cold evening with each other or with a group of friends.
We are often asked by our guests if we could recommend a spa locally and with Dormy House only a quick drive from our cottages, we can see many of our guests making the most of the opportunity whilst visiting The Cotswolds. We already recommend Dormy House as a great place to eat and so why not combine the two..?!
Thank you to everyone at Dormy House for your generosity, we had an amazing time and we hope to see you again soon!
Andy & Sarah