You may remember that I recently hosted a competition giving away a Red Letter Days Spa day. Well hopefully my winner has got a lovely relaxing day booked in, I recently tried out a Red Letter Days Spa Day for myself.

What I loved about our Red Letter Day voucher was the flexibility. It was valid for a year, which means you can buy one for anyone as a gift and know they will actually be able to use it and not have to worry about checking diaries. I went with a friend and between our work patterns meaning we could only go on a Sunday and then our husband’s sporting endeavours severely limiting the Sundays we could go, let alone all the family drama I have been dealing with following the passing of my Grandad and my Uncle, finding a date was tough. Having the Red Letter Day voucher meant that didn’t matter!

Then there was the choice of locations, not only were we not limited to one Spa brand, Bannatyne, Virgin Active, Mercure, Marriott and Village spa were amongst the choices, there were lots of locations to choose from. Here in Norfolk we were limited to the one location, a Bannatyne Spa, but there are many more throughout the country and the handy map on the Red Letter Day website means you can check the locations easily before you buy.

Our ‘Blissful Spa Day Choice for Two‘ voucher was £59 and included a full day’s use of the Spa’s facilities, which obviously differ depending on where you go, plus a 25 minute treatment each. So I’m happy it was good value for money.

Booking with the voucher was easy, a quick phone call and we were all booked in.

As for the Spa day itself, well we had a lovely time. The Bannatyne Spa we went to in Norwich had lovely facilities. It’s also a gym, so there are lots of people using the facilities but it didn’t stop us having a nice time.

The changing rooms were large and well equipped and there was no need to worry about change for the lockers which is always handy. The pool was lovely and had a small indoor seating area with loungers as well as a little courtyard outside with a few loungers. Not much but a nice touch. There was also a jet pool, steam room and sauna. I’ve certainly used better pool facilities and personally wouldn’t class these as Spa facilities, but that being said I have also used a lot worse. This was clean, a nice size and the pool was lovely and warm.

We had a lovely break in the cafe which is a great size and has an adults only seating area as well as a family friendly area, I liked this as we were specifically trying to get away from our kids! It’s good to know we could go back with them though and that they would be welcome and not disturb anyone.

The Spa treatment area was lovely, with a little nail bar and a few treatment rooms. There was also a relaxation room with heated stone beds, these were delightful, but there were only 6 and very popular so we didn’t get to use them as much as we would have liked.

Our treatments were amazing, we both had a 25 minute back neck and shoulder massage. They didn’t rush us and used the full 25 minute son the treatment. We both felt like different people leaving.

For me the only downsides to our day was the lack of drinking water available, I really would have expected to see a fountain in the pool area especially as there is a sauna and more than a large decanter of tap water in the spa areas, it’s only a minor niggle though. We also had to pay for the use of robes and towels for the day. £6 each plus a £10 refundable deposit each. Now it mentions on the Red Letter Days website that some locations may charge for this but it wasn’t made clear to us when booking that we were subject to that charge, this is on Bannatyne’s though, not Red Letter Days. It’s certainly worth remembering though.

I loved the value for money provided by the voucher and the ease of use, it certainly makes a lovely gift. I just feel they were let down slightly by the Spa itself, which was certainly more gym than Spa.

Disclosure – I was gifted my Red Letter Days Spa voucher. All thoughts, opinions and images are my own.