Lotus Spa at the Swan Hotel
Lotus Spa at the Swan Hotel, Bedford
ME, me, me, me, me.
After a stupidly busy year, a stressful lead-up to Christmas and a full-on family gathering that lasted for what seemed like the whole of December I have claimed back a couple of hours in lieu as ‘me time’. And do you know what? I don’t even feel guilty. I feel good.
I actually feel very good because I have just spent a few hours relaxing as hard as I could. I have discovered one of Bedford’s best-kept secrets and I’m going to let you in on it.
The Bedford Swan Hotel is as good as it gets. The 18th century building is magnificent, the facilities are good and the location is perfect. And now, there is an added attraction for guests and visitors alike.
Step into the Lotus Spa treatment rooms and you’ll instantly leave the madness and mayhem of everyday life behind. Softly illuminated by candlelight, the air subtly scented with essential oils, the atmosphere is one of focused tranquillity.
You could go all the way to India for an Ayurvedic massage treatment but with highly-trained therapists like Angela Wilson-Lowell and Samantha Daniel working their magic right here, there really is no need.
Angela and Sam both started their working lives following very different careers; Angela as an HR manager and Sam in accountancy. But they each wanted to explore a more spiritual path and in doing so create a viable business that would be more satisfying to develop.
In moving into a suite of rooms in the Swan Hotel, they have found the perfect premises from which to operate. Apart from the stylish surroundings of the hotel’s public areas, there is a fabulous Romanesque pool and Jacuzzi that you can swim in and relax by either before, during or after your spa treatments. It may feel strange, strolling through the hotel foyer in a big, white, fluffy dressing gown and little flippy, flappy slippers that you get to take home at the end of the day but boy is it liberating.
And, though you might want to slip into something a little less informal for it, a light two course lunch with a soft drink – or even better, a nice glass of wine – is available in the restaurant as part of the Spa Day Package offer.
So who’d have thought that a handful of hot stones could make you feel so blissfully relaxed? The deep tissue stress relief Ayurvedic massage incorporating those smooth hot basalt stones was deeply relaxing. The theory that it also eliminates toxins, boosts energy levels, focuses the mind and creates a feeling of well-being is an added bonus. My whole being certainly felt very well afterwards. And by the time Sam had given me a Thai herbal facial treatment I was about as chilled as a rejuvenating cucumber eye patch.
Once I had carried out the serious business of total relaxation I took on the arduous task of sitting quite still while Rachel Powell gave me a SpaRitual manicure. In their day-to-day lives, most women don’t have the luxury of maintaining their hands as they would like so the occasional manicure really does put the ‘treat’ into treatment.
A few hours after I had arrived, with uncommonly pretty hands, years taken off my face and every muscle in my body re-energised, I left Lotus Spa, if not exactly a new woman, a much–refreshed and more relaxed version of the old one.
JUDY RILEY
Lotus Spa at Bedford Swan Hotel, The Embankment, BEDFORD MK40
01234 369910
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