What is Chrissy’s Collection?
With her lengthy travel background, Chrissy has years of experience assessing accommodation with quality and customer satisfaction firmly in mind. She was also a hands-on Director of an upmarket Kensington apartment-hotel for five years.
Grayshott in glorious sunshine was a real summer treat!
It’s perhaps not your first thought, a health spa in the middle of one of the hottest summers on record, but what better time to head back to Grayshott to take advantage of the glorious weather and their outdoor facilities. With its fabulous 47 acres of grounds in the South Downs, an area of outstanding natural beauty, outdoor swimming pool with loungers and ground floor rooms with patio sunbeds, it could easily give many established Mediterranean spas a run for their money in this sublime weather.
I last visited Grayshott in February 2016 to sample their excellent nutrition and health improvement 7 day Health Regime course and although this programme still remains a focal point for the Spa, with its well-deserved reputation as one of the best in the business, this visit was simply for some much needed R & R just for me.
Immediately on arrival the outdoor pool beckoned. After a few hours sunbathing I headed over to the Spa for the Grayshott Signature Massage – 55 minutes of pure bliss, very relaxing and restorative. At dinner that evening, sitting outside overlooking the beautiful grounds it was a wonderfully bucolic scene: rabbits, deer, birdsong, a distant brightly coloured hot air balloon drifting over the Downs and, apart from a very occasional aircraft, complete silence. Dinner, by the way, was also excellent. With table service and three courses offering three choices there’s something to suit everyone that is also deliciously healthy, as the Grayshott chefs excel in creating beautifully presented, imaginative, dishes. There’s also wine for those who want to imbime, so no deprivation in the dining room. My Gazpacho starter, followed by roast fillet of cod with lime, coriander, spinach, lentils and papaya rounding off with avocado ice cream for pud was excellent. Breakfast and lunch offer a wide choice of delicious and healthy all-you-can-eat buffets, with no calorie counting!
I stayed for two days but could happily have spent much longer, drifting between the outdoor pool and indoor spa treatments – after a Personalized Profacial before leaving I was ready to take on the world. Of course it wasn’t all lounging and pampering – I did manage to fit in some energetic early morning and pre-dinner walking on the adjacent Ludshott Common, one of the largest remaining heathlands on the Hampshire/Surrey border, which makes for great ambles and stunning views, as well as serious power walks. I also used one of the spa’s bikes and cycled into nearby Grayshott village (about 15 minutes each way) and had a mooch around, so I wasn’t completely recumbent the entire time. There were other outdoor activities I could have taken advantage of – tennis, golf, croquet – but the pull towards sunbathing and the pool was stronger in such sublime weather.
All stays at Grayshott include full board (from dinner on arrival to lunch on departure) and unlimited use of the spa facilities with separate male & female spas, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis court, gym and weights rooms. There is a wide range of activities and exercise classes, the majority of which are free and as well as the 7 day Health Regime programme they also offer enrichment courses for small groups that include personal discovery and creative activities. With only 59 bedrooms and 36 treatment rooms Grayshott provides a really personal stay without queuing for facilities or feeling you are on a treatment conveyor belt, as can sometimes be the case at other spas!
The staff were all delightful, service attentive and treatments excellent. Whether you are interested in learning about nutrition, re-couperating from an operation or illness, or just want to treat yourself with some good old fashioned R & R Grayshott has a lot going for it, particularly for Silver Travellers. As I discovered on my last visit they have a loyal following and many guests have been going for years. Chatting to a couple of ladies of similar age who, like me, were lounging in their dressing gowns and who have been visting Grayshott for 25 years, they said they keep returning because they haven’t found anywhere else that offers such a truly relaxing and unpretentious stay – a-home-from-home spa.
For more information about the packages offered, please call 01428 602020 or visit www.grayshottspa.com
Read Chrissy’s review about her visit in 2016.
Other properties from Chrissy’s Collection:
- Chrissy’s Collection: Amangalla, Galle Fort, Sri Lanka By Chrissy Nason
- Chrissy’s Collection: Bailiffscourt Hotel & Spa, West Sussex, England By Chrissy Nason
- Chrissy’s Collection: Conrad Centennial, Singapore By Chrissy Nason
- Chrissy’s Collection: Heure Bleue Palais, Essaouira, Morocco By Chrissy Nason
- Chrissy’s Collection: Hotel Icon, Kowloon, Hong Kong By Chrissy Nason
- Chrissy’s Collection: House of Jasmines, Salta, Argentina By Chrissy Nason
- Chrissy’s Collection: Kasbah du Toubkal, Imlil, Morocco By Chrissy Nason
- Chrissy’s Collection: Le Temple des Arts, Ouarzazate, Morocco By Chrissy Nason
- Chrissy’s Collection: Legado Mitico, Buenos Aires, Argentina By Chrissy Nason
- Chrissy’s Collection: Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa, Bath, England By Chrissy Nason
- Chrissy’s Collection: Raffles, Singapore By Chrissy Nason
- Chrissy’s Collection: Rookery Hall Hotel & Spa, Nantwich, England By Chrissy Nason
- Chrissy’s Collection: Sofitel Metropole, Hanoi, Vietnam By Chrissy Nason
- Chrissy’s Collection: Sofitel Mogador Golf & Spa, Essaouira, Morocco By Chrissy Nason
- Chrissy’s Collection: The Torridon Hotel, Wester Ross, Scotland By Chrissy Nason
- Chrissy’s Collection: Hazel Manor, North Yorkshire By Chrissy Nason
