Inside the huge English spa hotel with Mediterranean gardens, 31C pools and free Bentley shuttles
AS the therapist’s hands glide over my skin and unwind the knots in my shoulders, I begin to relax.
Just an hour after arriving at Berkshire’s Nirvana Spa I am already feeling calm.
During my 35-minute Royal Jelly De-stress Facial (£61), my skin is cleansed, massaged and even gets the cold-stone treatment to remove inflammation and improve circulation.
Afterwards, I sip herbal berry tea on my heated sunbed in the crystal relaxation room, before moving on to the spa’s restaurant.
For lunch, I munch on a tasty selection from the enormous salad bar, followed by a souvlaki flatbread (£19) served with halloumi and more veg.
Then I hit the facilities – and this spa is huge.
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A Mediterranean garden pool is surrounded by sunken Jacuzzis, and there are many indoor pools with Roman architecture, palm trees and sunlight lamps above the loungers.
There is also a suite of saunas, a salt-infused steam room, Rasul mud baths and a hydro-therapy pool with more than 50 stations to give you a full body massage as you make your way round.
For an extra £15, you can also visit a semi-private pool for a Celestial Floatation Treatment.
Despite the water’s high salt content, I struggled to get to grips with buoyancy.
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Maybe the sizeable halloumi kebab weighed me down.
Then we were driven back to West Court Retreat – the Nirvana Spa’s sister hotel, which has had a multi-million-pound makeover.
It’s not quite a ten-minute drive, but enough time to relish the trip in a Bentley – one of the cars the hotel uses to shuttle guests.
A Grade II-listed 17th-century manor house, West Court mixes history and modern luxury.
Nirvana Spa access costs extra for hotel guests – but if you don’t fancy it, West Court has its own heated outdoor pool, a soon-to-open gym, sauna, steam room and tennis courts.
There’s also a sports bar, named after The Devil’s Highway – an historic Roman road which runs directly beneath the property.
Once there, we enjoy afternoon tea in the drawing room, leading out to a suntrap terrace.
The hotel screams understated luxury.
Dogs and kids are welcome, and service is attentive without being stuffy.
Dinner is classic upmarket British fare, with a largely organic, locally sourced menu.
Starters included king scallops and ham-hock terrine, with mains of ribeye steak and fresh fish followed by classic puds.
After eating, I melt into my enormous, comfy bed.
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I overhear another guest referring to it as a “marsh-mallow”, and that does really sum it up.
It’s hard to prise myself out of it the next day but I do, thanks to the promise of the included a-la-carte breakfast, from eggs Florentine, to a full English and veggie options too.
GO: WOKINGHAM
STAYING THERE: The West Court Retreat hotel, in Wokingham, has rooms from £150, with stay-and- spa packages from £250pp.
Nirvana spa days start at £70.
