Escape for a while with a day of indulgence at the Mercure Norton Grange Hotel & Spa in Manchester. From soothing saunas and hydrotherapy pools to a decadent bento lunch and a rejuvenating mud rasul treatment, this Valentine’s Day experience offers seven hours of relaxation, luxury, and shared moments of calm.
Author: Adele Clarke
The ice room felt like stepping inside a crystal, walls breathing frost, air sharp enough to taste, and before we had even acclimatised I was scooping up a handful of crushed ice from the silver bowl and pressing it, with mock ceremony, to my partner’s chest. He gasped, eyes wide, and retaliated instantly, tipping a glittering cascade over my head. It slipped beneath the strap of my costume and travelled, traitorously slow, down my spine. I shrieked, the sound ricocheting off the frozen tiles, half shock, half delight, while he creased over with laughter.
After a few minutes in the rock sauna this was exactly what we needed and once we had cooled the sweat off our bodies with the ice and cold shower we headed straight for the hydrotherapy pool to warm up again. This pool flows from indoors to being partially outdoors with the side open to a view of the trees outside the hotel and we spent much of the afternoon leaning on the edge spotting squirrels and listening to birds, our bodies submerged in heat, our faces taking in the cool and fresh February air. My partner's arm was wrapped around my waist and I breathed in deeply, closed my eyes and allowed my body to relax fully. Despite the other couples around us we felt like we were in a euphoric bubble and with no photos allowed and our phones locked away in the lockers the time we had to bond and truly enjoy one another's company was rare and invaluable.
We had arrived at 12pm and the check in process was so smooth and the reception staff were friendly and informative. We filled out a medical form and a form where we could choose our lunch option and time, and lunch was included in the cost of the spa day. Once we had completed the forms a member of staff handed us a bundle each with a towel, dressing gown and slippers which made the whole experience feel that little bit more luxurious. The male and female changing rooms had lockers with no payment or key needed, you set your own code and away you go. The female changing rooms also had hairdryers and there were sockets for other electrical accessories such as straighteners. Both the changing room showers then opened up into the main swimming pool area with loungers around it and to the left there was another door which opened up to sauna area which included the hydrotherapy pool, a bio sauna, rock sauna, aromatherapy room, ice room and steam room with two showers for cooling off between areas.
We had chosen to have lunch at 2pm and were worried we would need to get changed to go up to the lunch room but we spotted another couple walking up in dressing gowns so followed suit and plodded upstairs in our gown and slippers where thankfully everyone else was sat at their tables in the same attire. We found a seat and after a couple of minutes the staff wheeled a trolley into the cafe with charming bento boxes on and took our names then handed them out. Inside each bento box was our chosen wraps (mine cheese and pickle, his chicken and sweetcorn), a lovely rocket, onion and pepper salad, coleslaw, grapes and our chosen dessert (mine chocolate orange cake, his biscoff cheesecake). The bento box style lunch was a lovely touch and made it feel more curated and personal than a typical lunch you might receive elsewhere. Leading off from the cafe was a corridor with the treatment rooms and a relaxation room with loungers and a bubble tank which emitted a blue light which was the only light in the dark room.
What struck us most about this spa was the luxury of time. Our one hour mud rasul treatment (also included in the cost of the day) was not until 6pm and unlike other spas there was no limit on the amount of time you can use the spa facilities so we had the whole afternoon after lunch to enjoy all it had to offer. We moved luxuriously between the pools, saunas and loungers, without urgency or any sense of time. We experimented with different combinations, from steam room to aromatherapy then ice room or bio sauna to main pool then hydrotherapy pool and we lay silently side by side in the cocooning relaxation room to hit pause when the other areas got more crowded later in the day.
At 6pm we were called for our mud rasul treatment and inside the room was a sink area with the tray with a plate of minerals for exfoliation, one plate of mud for the face and the other for the body. There was the steam room and showers to wash the mud off afterwards. There was something inherently playful about the whole ritual: painting warm mineral mud onto each other, sitting together as the room filled with heat and gentle steam, then rinsing it all away to reveal impossibly soft skin. It was intimate, slightly ridiculous, deeply relaxing — and perfectly suited to Valentine’s Day.
When we stepped outside into darkness at around 7:30pm, the evening air was cold but our bodies were so relaxed and filled with the warmth of the day that we barely noticed as we strolled back to the car hand in hand, sharing secret languid smiles, our bodies like jelly and our hearts full.
Our Valentine's Spa Day cost £89pp which included access to the spa facilities for the whole day, 1 mud rasul treatment and the bento box lunch. The hotel and spa offer a wide range of packages and treatments and you can book here