well not only did this mark see us move into our first little flat together (properly), it also marked our *gulp* two year anniversary. now, neither of us are the soppy romantic type, and with all the packing and moving and stressing out over getting everything done, it sort of slipped our minds... which is why when the kind people over at experience days came along and asked me if i'd like to review one of their pamper packages for two at the london county hall marriott, well... it was fate really!
nick was extremely helpful and attentive when it came to booking us in - because of the move and limited days off from work, we really only had a small window of opportunity to get our package booked, and he did it like a pro. possibly because that's his job, or maybe just because he's a really nice guy. who's to say? i'd like to think he's just a super human, so let's run with that.
we'd been booked in for 3pm as we'd had the internet man coming early that day, which gave us just about enough time to get to the supermarket and (slowly; so much agony in all of the joints and muscles) pick up some 'basic necessities' (loo roll, milk, pastries) - which much to boyfriend's sheer and utter confusion turned into three heavy bags for him to lug home again, before heading out for the day. i tell you what though, we were both so looking forward to a bit of a pamper after the day/night we'd just had! 'exhaustion' just seems like a bit of an understatement.
we arrived at about quarter to, just enough time to snap some piccies, then made our way up to the fifth floor to 'the spa'. we were escorted to the relaxation area to fill in our customer declaration form thingies, and then shortly after lead off into separate rooms for our individual sessions. it was then that we were informed by the spa staff that because we 'were late' the sessions would be cut down to accommodate their other bookings. i didn't want to argue - it was hardly the time or place, but i didn't think that was very fair; we were on time for our appointment which was 3pm. we weren't told to come in ten minutes early to fill in paperwork - we had all the paperwork i thought we needed.
i was left to undress and (in my opinion waste more time. who takes 5 minutes to get undressed?) prepare myself on the massage beds before the attendants came back to begin. the massasge itself was bloody marvellous. one gazillion times better than the massage i received a few weeks back. i literally could not fault the massage at all. the attendant was very thorough and attentive, and it was lovely and relaxing as well as being quite firm. i really lost track of time, and when the time was up, i was a bit disappointed - it didn't feel long enough, despite it being cut short due to our tardiness. after i'd dressed and made my way back out into the relaxation room, i'd checked the time, and it wasn't even 3:30. so not only was time wasted in filling in a silly form that had nothing to do with the massage, wasted leaving me to undress and redress, but i also didn't even fill a whole half an hour time slot! i would have thought if you were offering back-to-back appointments that you'd book them 15 mins apart so that the client receives at the very least what has been paid for?
hmm. it should also be noted that boyfriend was booked in for a rejuivenating facial (the package we were given allows for two different sessions; i'd taken the back massage, and he'd taken the facial), but when the attendant came to him, they'd offered him the back massage too. he was very pleased with that, and even said to me after that "no woman has ever touched me like that before", to which i made this emoji face at him o_O
after the sessions, the staff asked us if we'd be using the rest of the facilities. the pamper package includes not only the two pamper sessions, but also two passes to the marriott gym, pool, sauna, steam room and jacuzzi. the amount of bloody exercise our bodies had gone through the day before, there was no way we were going to face the gym there, and neither of us even own swimming costumes, so we passed on using the rest of the facilities. i did ask if we could still go through so i could get some pictures, but i was very kindly told no. which, is fair enough. what am i though, some kind of perve?
so all in all, we were only there for just over half an hour. i was due to meet bex later on for the most wanted swap shop party, but we had some time to kill until then. slightly hungry, we headed off down southbank to try and pick up something delicious and dodge the grey clouds overhead. because of half-term, the streets were busier than usual, so we actually ended up dodging kids and buggies and tourists more than the clouds. we eventually stopped at the wahacca street van and absolutely devoured some pulled pork tacos, before heading off across the river to charing cross where we still had to sort out new travel cards to the new address.
that's a whole 'nother blog post right there. time consuming.
all in all, we had a really good experience with experience days, and a pretty good experience with the london county hall marriott. the spa package is worth £89 for two people, and had we used the rest of the facilities would have totally been worth it, despite the short sessions. it's our own fault that we weren't able to utilise the whole shebang, but i still feel a bit sour about the sessions being cut short - can you tell? experience days have some amazing deals for days out - adventure days, pamper days as well as gift ideas. it's a really great website to use when stuck for ideas of what to buy that person who has everything... or who is just reheeeaaaally hard to buy for.
so thank you to nick at experience days, for sorting out a wonderful anniversary gift for boyfriend and i. must remember to send you an invite to the silver anniversary.
