The Malvern Spa Hotel - travel review

After a long week at work I was looking forward to a relaxing weekend. We had it all planned … a leisurely drive to Malvern then sit back and unwind for a blissful 48 hours in The Malvern Spa Hotel.

It didn't quite go to plan. Family commitments cropped up on the Saturday morning, which had to be dealt with and when we finally got on our way, motorway roadworks added over an hour to our journey, and a extra few layers to the building haze of stress.

We finally arrived, minutes late for our treatment booking, rushing in with apologies and explanations. But we were welcomed with an understanding smile and shown to some comfy seats to wait for our treatments, and were assured it was all fine, there was no need to worry.

Immediately the cloud lifted and the relaxation began. And it didn't stop until we left the following afternoon.

The Malvern Spa Hotel is based in an unlikely location of an industrial estate on the outskirts of town, although the hills and countryside aren't too far away.

But there's a good reason for that – it is built next to the site of a borehole used to extract the famous Malvern Water.

A modern building, built in 2008, it is light, spacious and airy with that faint scent of expensive beauty products that give it the unmistakeable ambience of a luxury spa.

The menu of treatments on offer is extensive and includes all the standard treatments as well as many more unusual and luxurious ones.

The first-ever water cure establishment was set up in Great Malvern in 1842, and the hotel has continued this tradition of using the local water for its health benefits.

In keeping with this tradition, I tried one of the speciality treatments on offer, the Malvern Signature Body Treatment.

The treatment started with body brushing, followed by an ice scrub and a warm water massage afterwards.

Although I was slightly dubious about the relaxation benefits where ice was involved, I couldn't have been more wrong. It was amazingly relaxing.

My sister-in-law Helen tried the Espa Total Body Care Treatment, and afterwards when we were shown to a relaxation room to rest for a while before going to our room, it was obvious she had found that equally as relaxing.

Our twin room was spacious and well-equipped with comfortable beds, water and tea and coffee-making facilities. But we didn't spend long in it.

The spa's pool was too much of a draw. Donning the fluffy gowns provided, we wandered down and gave it a try.

This without a doubt had to be the highlight of our stay. Around the edge of the indoor section of the pool, there were plenty of comfortable beds, a sauna and steam room, and an ice bucket for those who feel need to cool down.

The pool, filled with Malvern spring water, is heated to 35c and like slipping into a warm bath.

There is also a jacuzzi, but the real treat is when you swim through the divider to the outdoor section.

Here, there are different massage and bubble sections where you can sit and relax, enjoying gentle or vigorous water massage, whatever is your preference. And because the water is so warm, you can do this no matter what the weather.

Back inside, now well and truly unwound, we treated ourselves to a glass of bubbly from the bar.

It felt like we had been there for a lot longer than a few hours.

Later that evening we ventured down to the hotel's restaurant, which offers top notch dining at reasonable prices.

The food and the service was first class. For starters we went for the pan fried scallops and the beetroot soup, both of which were excellent.

For the main courses we went for the roast Gressingham duck breast, served with red cabbage, blackberry reduction, parsnip purée, pommes Anna and confit duck, and pan fried chicken, with broccoli purée, roasted onions, mushrooms, watercress and chicken jus.

They were both delicious, the duck in particular was tender and cooked perfectly.

It was well worth the price tag of around £5 to £9 for the starters and £13 to £16 for the mains.

Afterwards it was back to the room for a well-earned rest. All this relaxing is hard work.

The following morning, the breakfast once again was excellent, offering lighter bites as well as the full English and a buffet.

Then it was back for a soak in the pool again before heading home.

Whether you believe the Malvern water has unique health benefits or not, or whether you think that was a fancy of a bygone age, The Malvern Spa Hotel's therapeutic qualities are undeniable.

I will be prescribing myself another visit in the near future.

By Sally-Anne Youll