Ragdale Hall: A Stately Home With A Twist.

Okay, so I know what a lot of people think.

New Year = Drunk times with friends/family right?

But you know where I spent New Year ‘09 and ‘10?

That’s right, a health spa.

Ragdale Hall – Health, Hydro and Thermal Spa to be precise.

For this review I’m going to split it up into a few catagories.
(This is my attempt at being organised.)

 The Welcome:

• A warm welcome to say the least, porters collect yor bags for you and park your car whilst you are swiftly checked in by friendly receptionists. After being stood for 5 minutes at the most you’re then taken to sit in the Garden Café (don’t worry, it’s not actually outside) where you’re served complientary coffee or tea. A relaxed but organised atmosphere all in all.

The Accomodation:

• My room was very spacious, with a large bathroom (including his and her sinks). Plenty of hanging space for clothes, as well as space to put your suitcase while unpacking. Two comfortable sized armchairs, a footstool and table were placed by the large french window, which was of course complete with a balcony. A large flat-screen TV came complete with a wide choice of channels, and as it was attached to a movable bracked, it could easily be seen from whichever seat (or bed) you chose. The beds themselves had the thickest, comfiest matresses I have ever slept upon, and you had a choice of the ‘normal’ pillows on the bed, or duck feather, normal feather or v-shaped pillows if you so desired. Also, as I was part of a party of six, I discovered that each of our rooms was individually decorated, and each with a different, but equally as appealing feel about them.

The Facilites:

• A gym - Complete with all the exercise equiptment you could desire.
• Two exercise studios – With classes ranging from Pilates to ‘Seventies Boogie’.
• An extensive range of treatment rooms, including nail salon.
• Thermal spa – Including Sauna, multiple steam rooms, Thermarium, under-water cave pool and more.
• Large swimming pool – Equipped with comfortable loungers, whirl pool and yet again, a sauna and a steam room.
• Three shops – One dedicated to beauty products, one for various lovely gifts and one which sold clothes as well as any essentials you may have forgotten to bring.
• Two café areas – Each well-decorated and with a large choice of delicious drinks and snacks.
• Many rooms perfect for sitting and reading a good book.
• The Retreat – A perfectly silent room, complete with day beds, futons, comfortable armchairs, and even a swing.

The Food:

• Ragdale Hall has a ‘window’ system on it’s menu, which means that if you’re being careful you can choose a low-calorie dish (one window), however, if you want to splash out more you can choose up to three windows. However all of the food was extremely tasty and of restaurant standard. At lunch time you can order either soup or a cold starterto start, followed by a buffet consisting of a large range of hot and cold food. This is then followed by either a ‘comfort pudding’ or a much lower fat yoghurt and fruit option. Breakfast however, is served in your room, with a wide choice of food and drink which you order the day before. All of the food was sufficient for an appetite even as large as mine, as well as being very, very tasty.

The Treatments:

• My first treatment of my stay was a manicure, usind Leighton Denny products. This was relaxing and left my nales looking amazing and my hands feeling nourished. 4 days later and still not a single chip.
• My second treatment was a back, neck and scalp massage combined with a facial. All I can say is it was posibly the most relaxing experiences of my life.
• All the therapists were nice and chatty without being inrtusive. Basically, the treatment were definitely one of the highlights of the whole stay.

 Overall, I have to say that this was a very relaxing and enjoyable stay.
However, Ragdale Hall is expensive.
Mind you, as I wasn’t paying, this really didn’t bother me.