Affordable spa treat at Wokefield Park

Indulge your need for relaxation and pampering without breaking the bank. And there's golf for him ... By Bernadette Fallon

A spa hotel on a golf course - and everyone in the relationship is happy. She's teeing off from the fifth, while he's bundled up in robe and slippers enjoying some quiet ‘him time'. Chortle.

 

Whichever way you look at it, nobody feels they're getting the raw deal at the Mansion House, Wokefield Park. Just 15 minutes from Reading station, it's an easy drive from London or - as I discovered - an even easier train journey, less than 30 minutes from Paddington.

 

Old meets new

 

Set in its own very extensive grounds, where the ultra modern Executive Centre sits alongside the charming period Mansion House, the older part of the hotel is currently going through some updates. Parts of the building are currently being refurbished, which makes for an echo-y walk through the imposing hallways to reach the habitable parts - first the bar, then the lovely lounge, kitted out like a grand drawing room.

 

The spa

 

The spa is a new addition to the Mansion House, just open this summer. As well as treatment rooms, the spa has a small area with Jacuzzi, steam room and sauna, and there's also a gym.

 

There is a nice range of signature treatments for women and him golfing, including a special offer on ‘treatment of the month' - get a second treatment for half price when you book. This month it's a ‘Green Tea Abdomen Treatment', a non-invasive treatment combining an abdomen mask and a colon massage.

 

Chocolate therapy

 

I've been booked in for a Chocolate Body Therapy involving a body scrub and massage, but there's been a mix-up and the spa has me registered for a different treatment. As the chocolate takes half an hour to melt before it can go on my body, it's not possible to fit it in this afternoon.

‘You actually melt chocolate for this?' I gasp in disbelief.

‘Yes,' says the therapist, ‘it's a 100% cocoa treatment.'

I'm not sure whether to be disappointed or not. On the one hand it must be amazing to be enveloped in pure chocolate - on the other, how could I resist chewing my own arm off?

But I get the best of both worlds when I'm treated to a chocolate facial instead. The pleasure of pure cocoa butter on my skin - and my tongue is not actually long enough to spoil the experience by attempting to lick it off. Everybody probably has their own idea of heaven. Well mine is being rubbed in chocolate, so the next hour is pure and utter bliss.

 

Wokefield Executive Centre

 

Over in the larger building next door, the Executive Centre has a swimming pool, fitness centre and golf shop - in case he forgets to pack his lovely pink golfing shirt. The foyer here is a cross between an airport terminal lounge, a business centre and a car showroom. The first two are hardly surprising, given its suitability as a convention centre for company team-building weekends and conferences, but the third?

 

It turns out BMW use the building as a training centre for its staff during the week, hence the presence of a few of its gleaming models, both cars and motorbikes. There are tea and coffee docks all over the place - with cappuccino and espresso machines, a good selection of teas, mini packets of biscuits and - a nice touch- bowls of fruit. It's a bit like I imagine the Google offices to be.

 

The Mansion House

 

The Mansion House has a discreet coffee dock in the glass conservatory that houses the reception area. On the downside, the bar doesn't serve cappuccino, which means you have to take your cardboard cup of coffee into the drawing room. On the upside, hey - it's free!

 

Great value

 

In these credit-crunched times, the Mansion House is a good destination for a treat-yourself break without breaking the bank, its current low season rate is £95 per room per night, bed and breakfast. Mansion House rooms are ‘premium standard' - nice size, stylish bathroom, flat screen TV, ‘hospitality tray' (ie tea, coffee and a kettle!), free internet access and a very comfy huge bed. Little extras tucked in the cupboard like an iron and ironing board, shoe horn and clothes brush are a nice touch too. And with all that free tea, coffee, biscuits and fruit on offer, you won't spend a fortune in the lounge!

 

More information

 

The Mansion House, Wokefield Park is located on Goodboys Lane, Mortimer, Reading, Berkshire, RG7 3AH. To read more about the hotel, check availability and make a booking visit the website here or phone 0844 980 2322.

 

Wokefield Park is a De Vere venues hotel, for more information or to find other locations, visit the website at www.deverevenues.co.uk.


Getting there

 

I traveled with First Great Western from London Paddington to Reading, for train times visit the website on www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk or call 08457 000 125

 

Read last month's spa review 

 

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