The Spa at Bovey Castle

The Spa at Bovey Castle is like adding the icing to an incredibly delicious cake, which makes it even better.

Bovey Castle, an exquisite 65-room and suite hotel located on 368 square miles on Dartmoor National Park, was built in 1906 as a private residence. After a major renovation, Bovey Castle opened as a luxury property in 2004, and is like a playground for those wanting to escape to the quiet country manor life from the hecticness of the city. Of course, there are different levels of living the country manor life, which Bovey Castle clearly exemplifies.

At Bovey Castle, you can stroll the grounds in “tweeds” and “wellies” or dress to the nines in the evening. For those readers that enjoy a bit, or a lot, of pampering, The Spa at Bovey Castle is the perfect retreat. Their large treatment menu is larger than some restaurant menus that I have seen! They offer luxurious Clarins and Elemis products and a wide variety of treatments. Jacques Courtin-Clarins developed his specialized Clarins massage form in 1954 in Paris, where trained therapists use a specially designed program to stimulate the lymphatic system and blood circulation to maintain the health of the skin and to restore the body’s natural balance and energy. The Clarins treatments include facials, body scrubs and body wraps with delectable sounding names as Safflower Fruit Salt Body Scrub and Lavender Fruit Salt Body Scrub, and Contouring Detox Body Wrap, as well as tanning and make-up application; and for men, they offer Reconditioning Back and Scalp Massages, Personal Blend Facials, and Muscle-ease Body Massages. From the Elemis line, they offer aromatherapy treatments, Elemis Skin Therapy, Elemis Body Therapy, and Elemis Exotics with names like Exotic Lime and Ginger Salt Glow, Exotic Coconut Rub and Milk Ritual Bath, and Exotic Frangipani Body Nourish Wrap, that I didn’t know if I wanted to be treated with these, or enjoy them as a dessert! They offer Aroma Stone Therapy and Elemis Bathing Ceremonies with soothing names like Warming Ocean Bath and Stress-A-Way. They also offer Farmaesthetics, which is a system based on herbalism, and offer such treatments as Sweet Milk and Oranges Facial and Sweet Milk and Lavender Bud Facial, Body Treatments that sound like they could also be on a restaurant menu with names such as Hot Toddy for the Body, Black Cohosh and Pink Petal Roses, and Yellow Clary Sage with Cornmeal Body Buff, as well as special treatments for men.

Like everything else that Luxury Experience Magazine writes about, we also experienced The Spa at Bovey Castle, a gorgeous facility with comfortable surroundings and state-of-the-art treatment rooms. After traveling for 1-month around Europe, Edward F. Nesta were ready for a pleasant respite to relax our minds and bodies as well as energize our spirits, and indulged in a few Spa treatments during our stay at Bovey Castle in November 2004.

I had decided that I wanted to have a facial, but with an almost endless list of choices on the spa treatment menu, I left the decision of selecting the perfect facial in the capable hands of my therapist, Lynne, who as it turned out, although a highly trained professional, was actually starting her first day of work at The Spa at Bovey Castle. Together we decided on the Elemis Skin Specific facial to soothe my travel-weary skin. After my 1-hour facial treatment of Lynne applying a variety of techniques and creams to my face, I left the spa with healthy, glowing, refreshed and nourished skin. Edward wanted to have a massage, and selected the Clarins Reconditioning Back and Scalp Massage. His therapist, Holly, worked on his scalp and body like a baker kneading dough, or in other words, a massage that left him still feeling the effects of the massage many hours after he had left the spa; our friend, George would have loved it, as did Edward! Our batteries recharged, we were ready to venture out to enjoy the rest of our stay at Bovey Castle.

Read the other articles on Bovey Castle, Hotels & Resorts, Destinations,  Chefs' Recipes, and The Wine Cellar.

© May 2005. Luxury Experience. www.luxuryexperience.com All rights reserved.