Adults only – sampling southern England COMPLETED - Page 41 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Loved the pictures of the gardens and down by the river! That's too bad, regarding the photo policy there! Sometimes things are not fair! So, I guess you weren't even allowed photos in the cafe as well for lunch? Kind of odd.
Looking forward to photos of the spa, if you we're allowed! Bath is certainly an amazing place, but as you said, "Been there, done that".
Bath was quite famous during the 1970's for the music festival that was held there on a few occasions. Bands like Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, The Byrds, Santana, Fairport Convention and Led Zeppelin played here in 1969 and 1970. Led Zeppelin, especially gained their popularity in the UK for this festival as they were already selling lots of albums and playing large venues in the US. It was the 1970 festival where they gained a large following in the UK just after this gig and a few months prior to their third album being released which was quite eponymous! Not such blues and hard rock like the first two albums but with a varied amount of acoustic material with Middle Eastern, Indian, Folk and Celtic influences.
Yes, I am a big fan of Led Zeppelin. They were just so diverse!
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I just would love sitting next to the river with a tall ice tea after a rough day. The spa sound heavenly. I wish we had something like that where I live, it would be an every other week thing for me!!
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Loved the pictures of the gardens and down by the river! That's too bad, regarding the photo policy there! Sometimes things are not fair! So, I guess you weren't even allowed photos in the cafe as well for lunch? Kind of odd.
Nope - no photos anywhere and it does make sense, as everyone is wandering around in their swimwear or dressing gowns and I don't think I'd be comfortable with people taking photos that I might be in wearing that, so I can understand it.
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Looking forward to photos of the spa, if you we're allowed! Bath is certainly an amazing place, but as you said, "Been there, done that".
Literally the only photos you'll get, apart from exterior shots, are the ones from their website.
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Bath was quite famous during the 1970's for the music festival that was held there on a few occasions. Bands like Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, The Byrds, Santana, Fairport Convention and Led Zeppelin played here in 1969 and 1970. Led Zeppelin, especially gained their popularity in the UK for this festival as they were already selling lots of albums and playing large venues in the US. It was the 1970 festival where they gained a large following in the UK just after this gig and a few months prior to their third album being released which was quite eponymous! Not such blues and hard rock like the first two albums but with a varied amount of acoustic material with Middle Eastern, Indian, Folk and Celtic influences.
Yes, I am a big fan of Led Zeppelin. They were just so diverse!
The spa looked heavenly! I especially liked the pictures of the rooftop pool at sunset.
I can imagine that must really be something, and if I was there that late, I think maybe I would try and get a couple of photos of the sunset, as I can't see anyone having an issue with that.
I just would love sitting next to the river with a tall ice tea after a rough day. The spa sound heavenly. I wish we had something like that where I live, it would be an every other week thing for me!!
I can assure you, if we lived near to Bath, it would be an every other week thing for me too - I'd soon be bankrupt!
When we headed into the spa treatment area, it was packed. We literally got the last seats, and we all sat there, filling out their medical questionnaires. We were on the Thermae Harmony, which entitles you to a four-hour spa session, complimentary use of towel, robe and slippers, two dishes from the café (more of that later) and a choice of treatments (more of that later too ).
I’d gone for the Watsu, and literally all I knew about it was the description on the website. If you look at their gallery, the photo on there is of a Watsu treatment, so you can get the idea of what it’s about. It’s a “soothing treatment, which involves bring cradled by a therapist in the warm, mineral-rich waters, whilst having your body gently stretched and guided through a series of flowing movements. Combining elements of massage and acupressure, the body is able to move freely, as you are lulled into a state of deep relaxation.”
Your legs are put into floats, and your head is supported at all times by your therapist or by the floating pillow she has. I did explain that I wear contact lenses and asked if that would be a problem, but she said as my face would always be out of the water. Essentially, a lot of the time your ears are in the water, but your eyes, nose and mouth always stay out. I was told I would be able to hear music that they play under the water, but I don’t think that was working, as I couldn’t hear anything during the whole treatment.
Hmm…. Now how on earth do I describe this? Well, basically it was what the website says, although I’d say at times I was manipulated, and sometimes into quite awkward positions. I was spun around in the water, which was quite pleasant, although a bit odd at first. The whole time I had to keep my eyes closed, although I did open them at one point, because in truth, I wasn’t sure if the treatment had finished or not. The therapist explained that she wouldn’t tell me when it was over, hence the confusion.
The other problem I had was completely relaxing. I know it sounds weird, but the therapist is supposed to move you around, and you’re meant to be floppy. I thought I was doing a good job of it, but there were occasions she wanted me to bend my legs, and I just didn’t realise, and she had to explain in the end.
All in all, it was interesting, and I’m glad I did it, but I’m not sure I’d do it again, as it was a bit far out for me. One thing I do know is that if you have this treatment, you’re the first to be finished, as there are windows looking out on the pool I was in, and they don’t want any observers, which I felt very relieved about. When Mark and I were first taken through, I told him that was “my pool” and he said he wanted to watch, but was told in no uncertain terms that he couldn’t.
When the treatment finished, I was quickly wrapped up in a towel, and a dressing gown, as my therapist said I’d feel cold through being so relaxed. I was quite hot when I emerged from the water, so I thought she was crazy, but sure enough, I soon started to feel cold, and was glad of the layers.
I opted for the hot stones Vichy hydro massage for Mark, as I know Mark enjoys the hot stones, which is a “top to toe treatment using the latest in hydro massage techniques. Following a full body exfoliation and cleanse with a nourishing aromatherapy bath oil and water ritual, enjoy a hot stone massage on your legs and back – a truly sensory experience.” Well, that’s what the website said anyway.
Mark told me he enjoyed it, but it was also a bit like water torture, as the water was constantly flowing during the entire treatment, and I can imagine that might’ve been a bit disturbing…
We both met up in the relaxation area that everyone’s taken to when they finish their treatments. You all have a lounger (not hot unfortunately ), which come with blankets, and I was glad to have that to wrap myself up in. You’re offered tea or coffee or herbal tea, but I stuck with water. Mark got a tea, and after a few minutes, I took the opportunity to go and get showered and wash my hair. By the time I was done, he was just coming out of the relaxation area – perfect timing!
We headed back to the changing rooms, and got changed, and I did my best to dry my hair. By now, it was probably 4:45pm, and in all honesty, we could’ve stayed there longer, had we not got plans for the evening.
Our bands wouldn’t let us swipe out, but the staff members just asked if we were on a package, and when we said she let us out. I guess there’s an issue with the packages and the bands then, but it did seem a bit lax to me, as we could’ve accrued all sorts of charges.
Talking of charges, I think the package we paid for was really good value. I added up everything we would’ve had to pay for separately, which was a four hour spa session (£37), towel, robe and slippers (£9), lunch (£17 each) and that all comes to £63 each. The package we booked was £89 (c. $147) each, so the treatments came in at something like £26 (c. $43)
We made our way back to the car, and paid our parking, which came in at £8 (c. $13) for five hours, which wasn’t bad.
We headed out of the car park, and fortunately it was only a very short drive to our B&B. I got some neat shots on the way…
When we got there, there was only one car parking space left, and of course getting into it was a nightmare. Fortunately, Mark managed it Ok and we headed inside.
A pretty neat view from here…
I felt very sorry for the woman who greeted us, Jools, as I had to say to her that we needed to leave again by 6:00pm, and by now it was 5:10pm, so she quickly showed us up to our room, which was lovely.
We headed out at 6:00pm, which should’ve been plenty of time to get to Chippenham, but sadly it wasn’t. Goodness, the traffic in Bath is just horrendous. I’d hate to live here and have to deal with this every day. We didn’t actually get out of Bath until just after 6:15pm, so I was messaging Alex to let him know we’d be later than planned.
We made it over to their place fine, and headed out soon afterwards to their local Chinese. When Alex and Andi lived in our area, they used to have a local Chinese, and it’s the same here. Let’s just say they enjoy this type of cuisine! The place said it was “eat as much as you like”, but when you looked closely at the menu, it said that each person could pick two appetisers, one option from the second course (more of that in a moment…) and two items from the entrée section. Not really eat as much as you like then…
Fortunately, because Alex and Andi are regulars there, they can order literally as much as they want, and we did! We went back for seconds on the appetisers, and I don’t think we moved off those for over an hour! In all, we each got soups. I got the mixed vegetable…
… while Mark got the chicken and mushroom…
The first set of appetisers included the vegetable spring rolls, sesame prawn toast and deep fried crab claws (left) and then the baked spare ribs with chilli and salt, and spare ribs with barbecued sauce.
The next set of choices brought the crispy seaweed, satay chicken on skewers…
… deep fried squid, with a sweet chili dipping sauce. The squid was absolutely beautiful cooked…
… and the smoked chicken, which Mark tells me wasn’t that great, as it was a bit burnt …
The second course was supposed to be a choice of either crispy aromatic duck or crispy aromatic lamb, and the table opted for lamb. In this shot, you can see vegetables on the left, and that was the vegetarian option they brought over for me.
Then it was on to the entrees. I went for the sweet and sour prawn with egg fried rice, Mark had the chicken with black bean sauce, while Alex and Andi both went for chicken with pineapple.
This was my least favourite part of the meal, as to me, mine just tasted artificial, which was a real shame. I had thought of asking for some more deep fried squid as my entrée, and I really wished I’d done that.
By the time we were done eating, it was 9:30pm and we’d been there about two and a half hours, which I guess just goes to show how much catching up we all had to do. In the end, we watched most of the staff go home and we ended up leaving just after 10:00pm. It had been a nice meal, but the really important thing was it gave us a great chance to catch with Alex and Andi again, and it was so good to see them after so long.
Memories of Beijing
Appetiser 8½ 8½
Entrée 7 8½
Service 8 8
Atmosphere 8½ 8½
Value for money 8 8½
Average score: 8.20
Alex and Andi took us back to theirs, as they’d driven, and from there, we headed back to Bath, getting back to the B&B just before 11:00pm. Wow, it’s been a long time since we’ve had that late a night!
The weather today was dry and sunny, but quite windy, with temperatures in the mid 50s. The best thing today was the Thermae Spa. The worst thing today was the traffic getting into Bath. Today we tried going to the Thermae Spa in Bath And the result was we both really enjoyed it, Mark much more than he thought he would! The most magical moment today was being in the rooftop pool.
What fun spa treatments you had! We have spas similar to that here it sounds like, I got a body scrub the first time I went and let me tell you it was not what I expected! They pop up on Amazon Local all the time so we actually are going again in the next month to another one nearby, but I think I might skip the extra treatment this time and just enjoy the mineral spas and saunas! Sorry dinner was a letdown food-wise, but good company can more than make up for it!
I am finally chiming in. I have to admit I have been reading this off and on for about a month. I just haven't had time to totally catch up till today.
I won't comment on everything as I can't even remember it all now, but it looks like such a nice trip and again you have some beautiful pictures of all the places you have been to.
I am thoroughly enjoying it and hope to stay caught up on this one now!
What fun spa treatments you had! We have spas similar to that here it sounds like, I got a body scrub the first time I went and let me tell you it was not what I expected! They pop up on Amazon Local all the time so we actually are going again in the next month to another one nearby, but I think I might skip the extra treatment this time and just enjoy the mineral spas and saunas! Sorry dinner was a letdown food-wise, but good company can more than make up for it!
Enjoy your return visit! I think I'd just enjoy the spas and saunas too.
I am finally chiming in. I have to admit I have been reading this off and on for about a month. I just haven't had time to totally catch up till today.
I won't comment on everything as I can't even remember it all now, but it looks like such a nice trip and again you have some beautiful pictures of all the places you have been to.
I am thoroughly enjoying it and hope to stay caught up on this one now!
I think you are right, I would probably go bankrupt too after such a lovely spa treatment. All the Chinese food choices looked delicious. I mush rather seafood when dining Chinese. But my husband really likes the chicken choices. You day was very full!!!
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Sometimes things are not fair! So, I guess you weren't even allowed photos in the cafe as well for lunch? 
Kind of odd. 
Bath is certainly an amazing place, but as you said, "Been there, done that". 
. The spa sound heavenly. I wish we had something like that where I live, it would be an every other week thing for me!!
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We literally got the last seats, and we all sat there, filling out their medical questionnaires. We were on the Thermae Harmony, which entitles you to a four-hour spa session, complimentary use of towel, robe and slippers, two dishes from the café (more of that later) and a choice of treatments (more of that later too 
as my face would always be out of the water. Essentially, a lot of the time your ears are in the water, but your eyes, nose and mouth always stay out. I was told I would be able to hear music that they play under the water, but I don’t think that was working, as I couldn’t hear anything during the whole treatment. 
Fortunately, Mark managed it Ok 
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