Spa day with a party vibe
Claire Spreadbury heads to Cheshire in search of R&R
The sun is beating down on my shoulders as I slide through the water to the swim-up bar and order a glass of Prosecco. Strangers are becoming friends as they chat in the pool, drinking cocktails as music blares out of the speakers . It feels like I’m on holiday.
But I’m not in some idyllic part of Europe, I’m in Alsager – a small town near Crewe which, I’m told by locals, has very little going on. That might, however, be about to change. The Manor House Hotel has been run by the same family for nearly a decade, but they’ve recently had a serious spa refurbishment. Completed in three phases, the new 15-metre indoor serenity pool houses a kaleidoscope of mermaid mosaic tiles, heated to perfection and surrounded by beds, loungers, a steam room and a sauna. Treatment rooms have been built in the hotel’s original 17th century farmhouse, alongside a relaxation room, with giant love seats to snuggle down and snooze in, posttreatment.
The new English Spa Garden was phase two of the overhaul, containing an array of wellness delights – both hot and cold – and the cherry on the cake is the Pool House, complete with what is billed as the UK’s first swim-up bar, as well as an indoor space to eat, drink, chill and recharge, serving afternoon tea and nibbling platters (both £25pp).
It’s a short walk from the railway station – meaning boozy spa days are a definite possibility (something many of the guests seem to be here for). As the weather warms up, this could easily be the go-to option of the spa world. Having claimed the Best New Spa runner-up gong in the Good Spa Awards 2022, the facilities here are already making their mark.
The wind may be whistling through our hair, but the 38° outdoor pool is keeping us all warm. Day beds swing from wooden pergolas as couples snuggle under fluffy blankets to keep the cold out, and big squashy sofas allow for sitting down, catching up and letting all your cares drift away.
After eyeing up the tin bath tub filled with freezing cold water, I decide it’s time to give it go, convincing myself of the wellbeing benefits. I hop in quickly, standing up to my knees in cold water and attempt to lower myself in, before the searing pain in my feet becomes
too much and I have to jump out and run into the steam room.
Then I take a dip in the hydrotherapy tub, surrounded by beds of lavender and rosemary, before relaxing in the panoramic views of The Pavilion and sucking in lungful after lungful of hot, damp air in the 50° salt steam chamber – said to do wonders for the respiratory system and skin. Feeling revived and rested, I find my husband James at the bar and we head to the double
treatment room inside. James has a Templespa full-body massage treatment (from £85), featuring soothing CBD and nourishing hemp oils, all smoothed into the skin using warmed Akwaterra pods, which look like the tops of old ceramic wine bottles, some with smooth undersides, others with rounded nobbles – perfect for kneading out tension and tightness. Then it’s my turn, as drizzles of oil are followed by a crunchy body scrub, which is worked blissfully into every sinew, melting my tight, stressed muscles – all part of my Tribe517 salt grain massage (from £85). I’ve had lots of exfoliation treatments before and not one has left me feeling on cloud nine. But when my therapist finishes, rather than needing to snooze away an hour in the relaxation room,
I’m ready to head to the pool for daiquiris and dancing.
Another new twist is the Salt Shed experience (£15pp) – a guided meditation in 40° heat, amid a Himalayan salt wall, lavender cauldron and ergonomic seating. I’m asleep within minutes, waking to the voiceover and crackles of the coals beside me once our time is up. Everything in the spa feels thoroughly thought-through by someone who’s not afraid to take risks. The Manor House team now need to take this phenomenal transformation and apply it to the rest of the hotel for a truly wonderful weekend escape.
But for now, you’ll have a job finding a better – and more affordable – spa day.
How to plan your trip
A range of spa days and spa stays are available at Manor House Hotel. Visit manorhousealsager.com.