The Wahanda Blog

Despite being the picture of health, beauty and happiness, we still know how to party hard at Wahanda, which is why we were so eager to start the New Year with a detox package that filled us with delight rather than dread. Luckily for us, Whittlebury Hall has just the ticket – an indulgent detox day at their infamous spa including a toxin-busting body wrap and full use of their fantastic spa facilities.

Decked out with off-white /yellow tiled floors and walls, the decor at Whittlebury Hall Spa is undoubtedly Greek-inspired, with burnt orange accessories, olive bushes and coliseum poolside pillars all adding to the overall feel. However with various corridors leading off to treatment rooms and relaxation areas, we thought it best to join one of the guided tours around the spa so we weren’t left looking like stranded sightseers. Dropping us off at the changing rooms, we then found our itinerary for the day in our lockers, neatly placed on top of our complimentary robes and slippers. The treatment was to come first – an Elemis Aroma Spa Ocean Wrap, followed by a light lunch and then the afternoon was ours to enjoy the facilities on offer.

Not surprised by the choice of treatment included, body wraps help to soften skin, draw out toxins and rid the body of excess fluid, making them the perfect and most natural choice for a detox programme, but that’s not to say we knew exactly what to expect. We were led to the treatment room and asked to change into some paper pants while our therapist (who was Greek so fitted in with the theme of the spa seamlessly) then left the room so we could get undressed and position ourselves on the bed, which was covered in silver foil and towels. When the therapist returned she explained what the treatment entailed before asking whether we had any problem areas we’d like her to focus on, as prior to the seaweed spread, she’d be administering a muscle-relaxant come cellulite-busting gel.

A quick body brush and gel application later and the warm algae formula was being spread onto our torso, arms, legs and back before we became ensconced in the foil. And to take our mind off feeling like a Christmas turkey, we were treated to a relaxing scalp massage. Before we knew it, it was time to up sticks and head for the shower, then once the seaweed was stripped from our skin, we were told to dry off and position ourselves back on the bed which had been re-covered with some fresh foil. We were then re-wrapped, with no products on our skin and left to sweat out any remaining toxins while the therapist got to work with a relaxing facial massage. Shower number two ensued, and then it was back on the bed one last time so an all-over moisturiser could be applied. As always, we were told to try and avoid the pool for a while so all the beneficial properties from the products could penetrate our skin, so it was just as well lunch was on the cards.

After we’d stocked up on fresh fruit and salad, we decided to make our way to the heat and ice experience – talk about small children in a sweet shop. With a hydrotherapy pool, heated benches, foot spas, crystal steam room, salt steam room, caldarium, sauna, sanarium, experience showers and an ice cave, this is where time stands still. In fact, we managed to while away the entire afternoon here, (minus a short break away at the main pool to swim a few lengths) before we caved and retreated back to the bubbling abyss – proving that a detox can be indulgent!

The perfect place to put your New Year’s detox resolutions into practise, find out more about Whittlebury Hall, or to win a detox spa day and overnight stay for two, make sure you enter this month’s competition.