ONE of the perks of the job is the offer of press trips – and often they’re not as glamorous as you’d think.
They’re also reasonably rare these days, but it’s the chance to try out a new hotel, even jet off for a couple of itinerary-packed days to a new holiday destination or just have a family day out and then report on it.
So the offer of a night stay for myself and wife Ruth at Ragdale Hall in Leicestershire stood out. A night in a hotel. No kids. Peace and quiet. Away from it all. Perfect.
Ruth told a friend we were going away to a hotel for a night.
“Where,’’ asked her mate, Julie.
“I think it’s called Ragdale Hall,’’ replied Ruth.
“That’s not just a hotel,’’ said Julie who had been on girly trips there a couple of times. “It’s a spa hotel.’’
What’s the difference? We found out within a couple of minutes of arriving.
We were due to go at the start of a Strictly Come Dancercise Break – a special package where guests could try a range of dances from 80s fame to ballet and zumba, ballroom to, er, belly-dancing.
We were expected to try some of them out.
Ragdale Hall is set in flat countryside close to Melton Mowbray – known for its pork pies but you’ll not find them at Ragdale Hall.
“It’s a very relaxed atmosphere here,’’ said marketing manager Vicki Taylor who welcomed us into her world.
I’ll say. Most people walking past wore white robes. Does it get more relaxed than that? Oh yes it does. Some were so chilled out they were fast asleep in quiet corners.
First dance lesson came quickly, although it was more exercise than dance. Pilates.
A few simple stretching exercise with a group of middle-aged women. What could possibly go wrong?
First up, it soon became obvious I was the only bloke there. Only one in 10 guests at Ragdale is male – and none had signed up for dancercise.
Well just me and Arthur – the arthritis nestling in my hips.
It went OK at first – and then we did The Plank. You had to lay on your front and lift your stomach off the ground using the power of stomach muscles and it also tested the old back out. I think I’d rather walk the plank then do that one again.
“Just do it until you fell a slight pull, not until it’s painful,’’ were the instructor’s calm and reassuring words. I only just managed to hear her through the grinding of gritted teeth.
Still, I felt better when it was all over and headed straight off for some hot spa inaction.
The hall has a hugely impressive swimming pool and a calming thermal spa with several to try out from hot and dry Swedish to steaming Turkish, herbal Greek and an underground water-filled cavern out to recreate every woman’s dream evening – laying in the bath surrounded by candles and looking up at the stars.
Then there’s a super-warm outdoor pool with powerful jets to blast your back. Now that’s more like it.
Breakfast is delivered to your room between 7.30am and 8.15am. We’ll have no shirkers here – and you can forget your full English. It’s the healthy stuff all the way and the centrepiece was the strangely-named Atholl Brose. Sounds like a good name for a cat, but this was toasted oats, yoghurt, raspberries and honey – basically cold porridge with fruit and honey – plus an orange, pomegranate and pineapple smoothie that looked at first glimpse like chocolate angel delight. You’ve got to feel healthy after that.
It was Chair Dance time at 9am. Surely it’s got to be a group of the same middle-aged women sat down doing the Hookey Cokey. What could possibly go wrong?
Enter Hannah and Lucy – our supple teachers for the morning.
The alarm bells rang when Hannah set the tone immediately: “We’re going to be a little bit sexy, a little bit sassy and a little bit raunchy. All right?’’
No, not all right for me, dressed in my T-shirt and tracksuit bottoms.
Think burlesque combined with the latest girl hip hop moves and a chair. Hip-grinding, pouting and a spot of thrusting to the sound of Christina Aguilera in sultry mode. And then we learned the peekaboo. Believe me, you don’t want to know.
Talk about a fish out of water, You’ve more chance of getting a whale into a goldfish bowl than me mastering this one. It was the only time in my life I’d ever wished I could move like Louie Spence.
Still, if the ladies remembered all this one their husbands were in for a treat when they got home.
To finish our 24-hour stay Ruth ended up wrapped in mud – a whole body freshen up – while I was treated to a ‘fresh legs’ treatment.
“Oh your legs are quite tense, aren’t they,’’ said the young masseuse. “Do you want invigorating or relaxing?’’
I went for invigorating and within an hour of finishing I was fast asleep by the pool.
For the record the food was good – always with an eye on the healthy options – and customer service exceptional throughout.
And with 60 treatment rooms and 12 treatment staff out of a total of over 400 staff you know you’ll get pampered.
Even though we’d only been there 24 hours we left feeling relaxed and refreshed and even took the long delays back home on the M1 in our stride.
So going to a spa hotel must work wonders.