A Spa-rkling prize

A few months ago, I was lucky enough to win a one night "Lust for Life" break at the Lifehouse spa in Essex. Definitely geared at putting the spark back into a relationship, the prize included options such as a ginseng massage, a love potion flower remedies session and a romantic dancing lesson. Definitely one to take my husband on!

However just a few days before we were due to go, something came up at work and my husband was unable to take the days off after all. I'd been feeling pretty stressed after the weeks of dealing with my Mum's illness,  and really needed a break, so we agreed that I should go alone.

It seemed rather odd, checking in alone for what was obviously intended  to be a break to boost your love life! But not an eyebrow was raised, and I was given the chance to swap the treatments booked for my husband for extra ones for myself.

As the spa is in Essex, I have to admit I was expecting the place to be full of WAGs with spray tans and streaked hair, so I was very pleasantly surprised to fine both staff and clients were  nice ordinary people in a wide range of ages, shapes and sizes.

My room was enormous - after all, it was intended for two - although I was rather puzzled by the bed, which was made up for THREE! The bathroom included a lovely walk in shower, with a feature perfect for a short sighted person like me, who can never see the in-shower controls without my glasses - an electronic control pad on the outside of the shower meant I could set everything to be just as I wanted it before even taking my specs off.

The room opened out into beautiful gardens and there were plenty places to sit and enjoy them. The wildlife in the gardens was VERY tame - at one point I was relaxing by the open doors when a squirrel came in and looked up at me, hoping for food.

And talking of food, the food was excellent and beautifully presented. Everywhere was comfortable and very well maintained and even without the treatments it would have been a pleasure just to relax there, with the relaxation room equipped with massage chairs, the swimming pool and hydrotherapy pool, sauna and steam rooms.

But best of all were the treatments. I had a lovely facial and a hot stone body massage (not a ginseng one after all, they didn't want me chasing around after all the male guests!) and in place of my husband's treatments, a manicure and pedicure. All of them were wonderful, and by the time I came home I felt the stresses of the previous few weeks had completely melted away and I was once again ready to face the challenges ahead.