How to Do a Spa Weekend Properly (Not Just a Massage)

After fourteen years running treatment rooms, I've watched a thousand people do spa weekends — and about half of them get the order wrong. Here's the version that actually works.

The mistake: treatment first

Most people book the massage for arrival afternoon. Don't. You arrive wound tight from the drive — your shoulders need twenty minutes in the steam room before a therapist can do anything useful with them. Steam first, treatment second, always.

The order that works

• Day one: arrive, steam room, light dinner, early night
• Day two: morning swim, treatment late morning, slow lunch, lounge till dinner
• Day three: sleep in, breakfast, one more swim, leave late

Couples version

The couples suite books out because it runs this whole sequence in one private room — massage side by side, steam together, lounge with sparkling. If it's an occasion, that's the one.