For my birthday this year Oliver and I decided to get away and do something a little bit more exciting. I love visiting spas and usually go once or twice a year with my best friend or my mum, but this was Oliver’s first spa experience and I certainly think it was a great introduction to spa breaks! I knew I wanted to go somewhere in Scotland so when I began searching at the end of last year I just searched for the top 10 spas in Scotland. Stobo Castle was on of the top and the list and as I have a huge fascination with castles *history geek* there was no question about where I wanted to go. I had personally never heard of it before but as soon as I mentioned to people that I would be spending my birthday at Stobo Castle I was met with ‘oooh’ or ‘its amazing’ and one friend said it was the best spa she had ever visited – so obviously I was incredibly excited!
A neither me or Oliver drive it was quite a journey to make using public transport! We caught the train from Glasgow to Edinburgh (£7.50 single each with a railcard, around 1 hour journey time) and then took the X62 bus from Edinburgh bus station to Peebles Post Office (£5.20 single, just over an hour journey time). It was incredibly beautiful journey through lots of lovely little countryside areas and we were lucky enough to have beautiful weather. We then got a taxi from the taxi rank just a step away from where to bus dropped us off to Stobo Castle (£15.00, 20 minute journey time).
We arrived at around 1:30pm, knowing that our room would not be ready until around 3:00pm, so we checked in and left our luggage at the desk for the porters to take to our room when it was ready. The staff on the front desk were lovely and showed us around the spa areas so we knew where everything was and said we would be able to go to our room in about 45 minutes. As the weather was so beautiful we decided to take a little walk around the castle grounds and explore the Japanese Water Gardens which are a complete must if the weather is nice! We spent almost an hour wandering around the gardens and the front of the castle grounds exploring.
We headed back to the front desk and the room was ready, we were directed where to go and made our way to the room. We were staying in Castle Lodge which is a short walk from the castle, and just across the car park. It isn’t part of the castle which was a little shame, and not as pretty from the outside, but the room itself was lovely. A lovely comfy, large bed and a nice bathroom with complimentary toiletries (Molton Brown), tea and coffee making facilities, biscuits and 2 bottles of water. The cost of our stay was £129.00pp (‘Revitalising Break’) and included dinner the evening of our stay, breakfast and lunch the following day and the use of all spa facilities from 3pm on the day of arrival until 12pm on the day of departure.
In the wardrobe hung 2 lovely white robes with the ‘Stobo Castle’ logo and 2 pairs of spa slippers. We couldn’t wait to get into the pool so got changed straight away and wandered over to the spa area. My only criticism here is that you have to walk straight across the car park to the spa area, there is no separate path for people coming and going in their robes. Everyone is doing the same thing walking to and from the spa in their robes and slippers, but not everyone would be comfortable with this and it would be nice to have a little separate pathway that doesn’t go straight through the car park. Also we were very lucky as the weather was beautiful but if it was cold and rainy I doubt people would be wanting to walk from Castle Lodge to the spa in their robes (note: you can always go in clothes and get changed at the spa).
This is in the ladies toilets… as is the image below…
The spa itself is beautiful. There is a gorgeous 25m pool with the most amazing views looking out over the front loan in the middle of the Scottish countryside. Next to the pool there is a large Swedish sauna and a small crystal steam room. There is also a Hydrospa where I much enjoyed spending quite a bit of time. It was like being in a huge bubble bath that also gave you a massage. I could have stayed in there all day and Oliver also loved it. The spa also has a relaxation suite which is wonderful, Oliver and I went in there to simply relax in silence after out long journey and both of us ended up having a 20 minute nap on the comfy loungers and feeling rejuvenated for the rest of our visit. It has lovely peaceful music playing, dimmed lights and it just such a beautiful serene setting. Finally the last of the shared facilities is the large outdoor hot tubs of which there are three. It was so lovely to sit outside admiring the countryside and views while experiencing a beautiful warm and bubbly bath with added massage. It was simply wonderful and one of my favourite facilities at the spa.
Onto the ladies only facilities. As a couple it was a shame that Oliver and I couldn’t experience these together, but I do understand why there are female only facilities and when I have visited other spas in the past with my best friend or mum I’ve wished there were some facilities for women only. The Ladies Health Suite is were the ladies changing area is also located, with showers, mass amounts of towels and lockers to store your belongings. The women only facilities included; experience showers, aromatic steam room with essential oils, crystal steam room, laconium and ice fountain. Something I really loved about the ladies are was the mirrors and the products that were available to use. The showers had a lovely shampoo, conditioner and body wash all which left my hair and skin feeling lovely – so many places just provide cheap products but this was not the case. There was also an abundance of cotton wool pads to use with the cleanser, toner and moisturisers that were also available to keep your skin in tip top condition. I really liked all the products I used and have even emailed Stobo to find out what they were!
I’m also aware there is an exercise studio and gym and many classes available but neither Oliver or I took part in any of these so I cannot pass comment. There is also a wonderful area where you can get food and drink in the main spa reception area. There is a lot of room to sit down in the comfy chairs and the menu was really good! On our first day Oliver ordered a milkshake (I hate milkshake but this was amazing!) and a carrot cake and I just had water from the machines that are located throughout and a plain scone with cream and jam… I must admit, it was divine!
Although we didn’t opt for any treatments at the spa (I wish we had), we did pay for the Searail Mud experience. We were showed into our little chamber by one of the lovely therapists and she explained how everything worked, we were both handed disposable underwear to put on and enter the steam chamber. She provided us with ice cold water to keep us hydrated and showed us a variety of face masks to use while we covered ourselves in mud! It was a really dark, brown mud but there was no smell (I have done something similar at another spa but that used much more clay like mud). We covered ourselves from head to toe and sat in the little tiled seats and waited for the steam. After around 15 minutes the steam starts to die down and you shower off all the mud in the little chamber. We left feeling silky soft and my skin felt beautiful. I would certainly recommend.
Food! The food was lovely – and I thoroughly enjoyed every meal I had – so much so that I totally forgot to take any pictures of any of them. There was always a nice choice and Oliver is vegetarian and there was always more than one thing for him to choose too which was great. The meals took place in three lovely dining rooms all beautifully decorated and cosy and the service was top-notch! For the dinner on the night we arrived I had tomato and red pepper soup (divine!) to start, roast chicken and veg for my main and chocolate, marshmallow and coconut terrine for dessert (something I enjoyed so much I also had the following day). Breakfast the following day consisted of both a hot and cold buffet, I had toast, orange juice, tea, sausages, potato cakes and beans. There was a great choice and it was all super yummy. We had lunch after checking out on the day we left and I had orange juice to start, cold buffet for my main (mass amount of choice of meat, fish, salad, veg etc.) and the chocolate terrine again for dessert!
Oliver and I both had a magical time and I will be sure to visit again as I’d really like to take my mum as I am sure she would love it. I could not recommend it enough and it is certainly up there with one of the best spas I have ever visited… Until next time, thank you so much Stobo Castle – it was perfect!
Have you been to Stobo Castle? What did you think? Do you have any other really great spa experiences that would be worth a visit? Let me know as I would love to try something new!
zldblog: lifestyle | beauty 