Champneys - TringThis weekend I was lucky enough to be taken for a weekend away in Champneys with Rich's mum, sister and a family friend. I had been to Champneys in Forest Mere as a day guest before, but never for a full weekend of pampering - needless to say I was pretty excited!We arrived on Saturday morning (I think we paid extra for an early arrival) and immediately immersed ourselves in the activities; we started with an aqua fit class which was pretty hilarious! After this we made our first of many trips to the steam room and sauna, before heading to the restaurant for lunch. We had two treatments included - I picked a massage (back, neck and shoulder) and facial which were both gorgeous and so relaxing. I also went to a hula-hooping class, bollywood dance session, an aqua mitt class and used the weight machines in the gym. This was all around regular trips to the swimming pool spa - they had an amazing outdoor jacuzzi! So we really made the most of our time there; fitting in as many classes as we felt we wanted, but also spending time lounging round the pool (and outside in a brief spot of sunshine!) reading our books and having the odd nap. For me, there was only one thing which I felt was a bit imposed on us. Now, for me, going to a place like Champneys is for ultimate relaxation and getting away from 'real life', not to embark on a mega detox body cleansing programme. Although, from previous experience, I expected the healthy food and environment, I felt that they had taken it to a new level which in my opinion, is a little unnecessary. The breakfast and lunches were lovely; a brunch type affair where you could choose as little or as much food as you liked. Apart from the cauliflower cheese where the cauliflower was in fact raw, and strange pretend rice pudding, there were lots of lovely salads and dishes to fill you up. Dinner, on the other hand, was a little harder to figure out. When we looked at the menu, we soon discovered there wasn't a great deal of choice, and no carbohydrates at all. We were given a bread roll, but instead of butter there was a teeny dish of 'green vegetable, lemon and cauliflower' puree which we were supposed to use as a substitute. For the record, green vegetable mush is no substitute for butter! Once we had decided what we would go for, our meals arrived (3 courses) and were absolutely tiny portions. And I mean tiny! Rich's mom eats very small portions as it is (she eats her meals on a side plate rather than a regular dinner plate) and even she commented at how small the portions were - shocker! I had three small slices of smoked duck with some salad for my starter, and a steak (palm sized) for main with some cabbage and four roasted plum tomatoes. Pudding was a 'chocolate' and orange tarte which tasted of... nothing. Harumph. We did manage to get a bottle of wine however, so it wasn't all bad! Aside from the pudding, I must admit the food we were given was delicious - my medium rare steak was cooked to perfection and the smoked duck was deeelish, there simply wasn't much of it! Now, I completely understand that a lot of people go to Champneys for a bootcamp/weightloss/detox type experience, and if I were there for that reason I think the meals and food available was spot on. As I said, it really was delicious food - healthily prepared and served. I just think you should be able to tick the box when you book - whether you are there to lose weight etc, or are simply there to relax. I'm not asking for burgers or Kentucky fried chicken; I understand that they promote a healthy lifestyle which I am all for, I simply think there should be an element of choice about how 'extreme' you want to take it! Rich's mom and sister have been to Champneys for a weekend once a year, every year, for the past seven years, and said the portion size and extreme focus on healthy eating had never been this extreme. Who knows, maybe they are on to something!Food rant aside, I had a lovely time and feel very lucky for being taken by Rich's family. His sister is getting married this summer and because of this we were upgraded to superior rooms which came with little goody bags; a lovely surprise! Our rooms backed onto a huge field with our own chairs and sun loungers, which would be amazing in the sunshine, darn this crappy weather. I hope you all had an equally lovely weekend - normal blogging service to resume imminently!ps. sorry for the poor quality of the images; phones aren't really allowed in Champneys, let alone cameras, so these were taken pretty hastily on my less-than-decent HTC.
