Forevermissvanity - A UK Lifestyle Blogger : September 2015

RMUK Leeds Official Launch

When it comes to beauty and hair salons, I admit I can be really choosy. The salons I go to have to be trendy, relaxing and have a certain ambience about them. There's nothing I loathe more than a dull salon that looks stuck in the 80s and where the hairdressers seem more interested in themselves than the clients. I've been around the block a few times when it comes to hairdressers and beauty salons and I'm not afraid to try new places. After all the average cut and colour these days can set you back anywhere up to £150, if we're paying those type of prices, we definitely deserve the best.

Recently I was invited down to RMUK in Leeds for processco, canapés and to review a few of their treatments on the official launch night. The newly opened hair salon and day spa is situated on George Street in a beautiful traditional Georgian Property boasting a whole host of original and unique features. From the moment I walked through the door, I was blown away by the beauty of the building and decor. The salon looked elegant, clean and polished and exactly what Leeds was in need of, a new upmarket, vibrant and trendy place to relax and be pampered.

The salon and day spa covers 3,500 sq. ft and consists of a spacious top floor hair salon complete with spacious styling stations, a real fire place and exposed beams and a floor dedicated to beauty, which includes a bar and pedicure spa, private treatment rooms and an Aveda day spa. The floors are beautifully decorated with buddha statues, colourful asian style lanterns, all of which are set against a tranquil beige and earthy brown colour scheme.

For those who fancy a little something extra, the salon also has its own private bar and rooftop terrence. These are wonderful places to sit back and relax after a day of being pampered whilst having a glass of much needed Prosecco or a cocktail. Yet again the bar area is beautifully decorated with stunning woodwork and brass lamps on the ceiling. The bar is quirky, yet sophisticated and the best bit is that it is only open to spa guests.

When I read my invite, I couldn't wait to see the rooftop terence and when I got the spa, it did not disappoint. The terrence area is well secluded and although the buildings behind are not the prettiest sight to see, the plants, the seating arrangements and the lovely sheltered canopy make it for it. It is a relaxing area and a lovely place to chill out with friends post treatment, especially in the summer.

Once you are finished for the day, the official RMUK taxi can drop you off home (depending on distance) or to the train station. The salon has created a city first with the launch of the RMUK Pamper Cab, a refurbished black taxi that will provide customers with a free chauffeur service, picking them up and dropping them off at locations across Leeds. If it wasn't for this cab, I would have missed my train that evening and I'm really grateful. I think the cab is a wonderful addition to the salon - especially for days when it is wet and the weather is horrible, after all no-one wants to leave a salon looking as bad as when they entered.

Overall I was really impressed with the spa and hair salon and I'm already planning my next treatments for when I go back. It's a great place to go whether you are looking for a day of 1-1 pampering or a day out with your friends.

Have you been to RMUK Leeds?

Back in 2012 I was all over the beauty box hype. Glossy Box, Birch box - you name it, I had it. I loved receiving my boxes and doing the obligatory 'look what I got' Twitter statuses, but after a few months I grew bored of them. The items just didn't live up to my expectations and I realised that I was paying for the surprise element and not necessarily liking what I was given. Since ending all my subscriptions a few years ago, my mind has constantly wondered whether I have been missing out. I keep seeing bloggers rate and slate boxes and every now and then a few boxes come up that I think 'wow, how did I miss that?' The one box that kept grabbing my attention was the Latest in Beauty box.

I've been a fan of the Latest in Beauty site for a long time.I remember when I used to pay something like £4 and I was able to pick a few samples off the website and they would arrive in the cutest little box. I used to tell all my friends about it. When I noticed Latest in Beauty had started doing collection boxes, I knew at some point I would need to try one of those. The Latest in Beauty Collections are boxes focused around particular themes or magazine collections. The Glamour Beauty Power List is one of these.

The Glamour Beauty Power List Box is in collaboration with Glamour Magazine and all the products have been handpicked by the Glamour Magazine beauty editor Alessandra Steinherr. The box consists of eight of the best beauty products this year and is worth a whopping £92.87, even though the subscription price is £18.99.

The Glamour Beauty Power List Box 2015

1 x Eyeko Mascara in Blue or Black

1 x Rimmel 60 Seconds Supershine Nail Polish

1 x Phillip Kingsley Geranium and Neroli Elasticizer

1 x Nail Inc Superkale base coat

1 x Kiko Velvet Touch Creamy Stick Blush

1 x Revlon Ultra HD Lipstick

1 x Garnier Miracle Sleeping Cream

1 x Vita Liberata Self Tanning Night Moisture

I'm really impressed with this collection and there are so many products that I love. The Nail Inc NailKale base coat has been a delight to use on my brittle nails, I have noticed that gradually they are becoming stronger and now I won't apply nail polish without using this product first. The Garnier Miracle cream is also high up on my fave products list. The cream is really soft and blends in well and unlike most sleeping creams, it doesn't make my face itch in the middle of the night. I also can't get enough of the Kiko blusher that looks so natural once applied. The products that haven't thrilled me in this box have to be the Rimmel nail polish - it chipped within an hour of wearing it and didn't look good when I arrived at a blogger event with bits peeling everywhere. I'm also not a fan of the Eyeko mascara as it doesn't add enough volume for me. Overall though I'm very impressed with the collection and the box itself is a cute little collectors piece.

What are your thoughts on the Glamour Beauty Power List box?

*PR Sample

Growing up I always took things for granted - my health, my stable family and the fact that I got relatively good grades and knew from a young age my future career path. I suppose that is like all young people. We are always taught we can be whatever we want to be and no-one expects to fall ill or have something that can truly impact their ambitions. My adult life has been pretty stable, I got engaged at 21, I passed university with a first class degree and my future looked bright and cheerful. It was in during my final year at university my health started becoming a burden. I developed joint pains and rashes and I felt so tired. I had really bad anaemia and struggled to stay awake most days. A month before I handed in my dissertation and around 9 months of feeling weak, I was finally diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

I felt like my world was crashing down and the future I once dreamt of felt like it was impossible achieve. Luckily after playing around with my medication my health grew stronger and although I have 'flare ups' my arthritis seems under control. I had regained a part of my life and my future seemed brighter. Then earlier this year I started becoming ill again, this time it wasn't my joints but my stomach. I suffered from very painful stomach spasms and ended up in hospital six times. The doctors decided it was my gallbladder and in July I had an operation to remove it. Yet again, I felt optimistic and kept reassuring myself it was only a tiny set back. That was until I was hospitalised again a further two times with the most pain I have ever experienced. I was screaming down A&E pleading with the doctors to take the pain away, morphine didn't even touch the surface. I cried for days, writhing around in agony. Since my last hospital admission I have undergone several tests and finally been diagnosed with a very rare stomach disorder called Sphincter of the Oddi dysfunction that causes my stomach to spasm due to problems with my bile ducts. The condition also causes frequent jaundice and uncontrollable sickness. I can go a few weeks without a spasm then it hits me when I least expect it. Yet again I was told by doctors that they cannot completely treat it and there's a chance it may never go away, it is a chronic illness.

I'm not going to lie, the last few weeks have been a bit of a haze. I have days where I feel like I can conquer anything then the next day I feel like I want to spend hours curled up in pain just wondering what the future holds. Everyday I'm drugged up to the eyeballs on medication and work, blogging and even general life is more tiring than it used to be. People have commented saying I seem withdraw and unhappy. It's usually when I have a bad pain day. Everyday I'm struck with the thought that I'm on 24 and I should be planning my career, but right now I feel like I'm planning my retirement.

I've learnt that dwelling on my problems isn't the way forward. Although I'm going through this right now, it doesn't always mean it is forever. After all, no-one can predict what the future brings. All I know is that I need to stay positive, work hard and know when my body needs rest. My doctor keeps telling me 'you have all your life to live and work', it doesn't matter if you take a few days out to rest. Although it is hard in a fast paced modern society, she is right. I need to focus on getting my life back on track, to focus on coming to terms with what I have and most importantly, learning to adapt so that I can live the future I want, I just might have to go a different route.

I haven't wrote this post for sympathy, I've done this for all those out there going through the same as me, to raise awareness of SOD and although this post seems a bit doom and gloom, to let people know that chronic illness isn't the end of everything.

Image source

As you may have gathered from many of my previous posts, I'm rather partial to an Afternoon Tea. In fact, I'm a little bit obsessed. I have gone from Afternoon Tea virgin to a self proclaimed Afternoon Tea connoisseur in a matter of months and I cannot get enough of them. Recently I was kindly invited down to Betty's in York to sample their new Lady Betty Afternoon Tea menu. My blogging bestie Lizi and I made our way up to the glamorous Belmont suit situated on the first floor of the tea room and was treated like royalty during our two hour stay. The piano played in the background, we drank champagne and ate like Queens and you too can experience this with the menu.

As I'm vegetarian my menu options are slightly different to the classic Lady Betty menu, but nevertheless, they are still absolutely scrumptious. As an appetiser I was served this wonderful avocado mousse with fresh chopped tomato salad. The dish was beautifully presented and was perfectly light, whetting our appetite for the next few courses.

My starter was then a mushroom frittata and what I think was a Mediterranean vegetable style wrap. In all honesty I ate it quicker than I could acknowledge what was on the plate. It tasted mouth wateringly good and I couldn't get enough of it.

As if those two courses weren't enough, we were then brought out the star attraction, the classic afternoon tea. My sandwiches were a mix of goats cheese and beetroot, cucumber and cream cheese and egg mayonnaise. All of which were fantastic and yet again tasted so fresh and light. The sandwiches were in nice small portions so they weren't too filling. I admit, by this time my stomach was feeling a little bit full but we were given a three hour time slot to enjoy our afternoon and eat at our own leisure. It was nice not to feel rushed and the piano playing in the background made us feel relaxed. It was a perfect girls day out.

After a good half an hour rest from digesting our sandwiches, we made our way onto the scones. We were given two types of scones - a classic scone and a Yorkshire Lavender scone. Seriously, words cannot describe how nice that Lavender scone was. I didn't know what to expect tasting Lavender for the first time - I thought it would be quite strong and floral, instead it was delicate, aromatic and added to the sweetness of the scone. It was probably one of the nicest scones I've ever had.

My final course and the one that left me feeling completely stuffed, yet extremely satisfied consisted of a mini Fresh Berry Meringue, a Coffee Religieuse (a choux pastry bun filled with coffee cream) and a macaroon. This dish was heaven on a plate. So many of my favourite desserts, all presented in the prettiest way and of course, so Instagrammable!I felt like that kid on the film Matalida, you know, the one who ate all the chocolate cake and wouldn't stop? I could have devoured this dessert three times over...if I wasn't watching my waistline and could afford to gain three stone.

The Lady Betty tea costs £32.95 without Champagne and £39.95 with Champagne and I would fully recommend it to those looking for a relaxing girly days out where you can dress up and eat lots of nice food. The atmosphere is lovely, the service is second to none and the decor is outstanding. Visiting Betty's is an experience that will stay with you.

Have you been to Betty's Tearooms before?

Autumn has to be my favourite time of year. I love dark romantic evenings where you can stroll huddled up together and see the stars, I love the colour of leaves as they lay on the ground and I love nothing more than sitting next to a warm fire drinking mulled cider and thinking about Christmas. The only thing about Autumn that I don't like is dry, blotchy skin from the sudden change in weather. I admit, I'm quite lucky when it comes to skin. I never suffer from spots and most of the year my skin is in pretty good shape, but when the weather gets colder I always get dry skin on my nose, chin, elbows, hands and feet. It happens every year without fail.

As I've got older skincare has become an important part of my daily routine and over the years I have managed to preempt the effects cold weather by investing in quality skincare products and using them as soon as the weather starts to turn. This year for me is all about organic beauty products. The older I get the less chemicals I want on my skin. One of my favourite all over body products at the moment is the [M]Botanicals* Uplifting Sugar Body Balm. The body balm promises to gently exfoliate the body and remove dead cells leaving your skin feeling moisturised, renewed and glowing and it does exactly what it says on the tin. I find this product really refreshing and my skin feels superb after use. The scent of Bergamot, Geranium and Frankincense lingers on my skin for hours after the scrub and it makes my skin feel rejuvenated - exactly what you need after a day in the cold, autumn weather.

Another beauty product I'm currently in love with is the Harpers Bazaar Beauty Awards Winner Antipodes Hosanna H20 Intensive Skin-Pumping Serum. The team over at Antipodes kindly sent me a few of their products to check out and I cannot get enough of this serum. I'm not usually a serum type of girl as I find them a bit sticky and I've never really seen the point of using them. However, the Antipodes skin pumping serum has completely changed my mind. I suffer from a lot of dehydration in the face from being ill and on a lot of medication and the Antipodes serum has made my skin look visibly smoother and brighter. The serum is really easy to blend in and feels like a second skin, like no product has been used. It's a miracle in a tiny bottle and one of those beauty products I would buy again and again.

They say that some of the best things come in small packages and another one of my favourite products is this small travel sized hand recovery kit from Crabtree & Evelyn, known as the '60 Second Fix for Hands'. The kit comes with a hand recovery treatment and an ultra-moisturising hand therapy lotion. I was recently given a complimentary hand treatment in the York branch after purchasing one of the nail polishes and fell in love with this duo. I couldn't stop stroking my hands for hours, they felt so soft. The hand recovery treatment is recommended every fortnight and is similar to a body scrub but just for hands. The two step treatment is really quick and easy and leaves your hands feeling super soft at the end of it. When I was told it was only £8, I couldn't buy this product fast enough. I would recommend this product to anyone that suffers regularly with dry hands like myself, it has really made a difference.

What are you Autumn skincare essentials?

When it comes to shopping for clothes, I much prefer autumn and winter fashion compared to summer trends. I love all the textured clothing that comes out in the autumn, the fussy jumpers, velvet crushed dresses and fur collared coats. The high street at the moment is my type of heaven., there are lots of beautiful beige, maroon and navy colours and I'm a sucker for anything leather. The dress above is one of my recent purchases from Zara and I'm in love with. The fabric is really soft, the pattern is so 70s, it fits really well and I love the big sleeves. It's the sort of dress that can be worn on most occasions and something I'm looking forward to wearing on winter date nights with my husband.

When I was shopping in York last week, I saw so many things I wanted to buy. Above is just a few of the items currently on my wish list. Firstly I'm loving this Lipsy Fur Collar Camel Jacket. The camel colour seems to suit my complexion really well and I love anything with a fur trim. Also when I was looking in my local House of Fraser yesterday, I fell in love with this Kiko Stitch dress from French Connection. I'd love to team this outfit up with this beautiful Charlotte Tilbury Matt Revolution lipstick in Glastonberry and I've started liking dark shaders of lip colour now it is nearly autumn and finally I can see this Bardot Heeled Booties from Topshop going with pretty much everything this season.

What is on your autumn/winter wish list?

During my recent trip to Dublin my husband and I were kindly invited to review an Art Afternoon Tea at The Merrion Hotel.The Merrion is a five star hotel encompassing four restored Georgian Townhouses and is situated in the heart of Dublin city close to Merrion gardens. The hotel has the largest privately owned 19th and 20th art collection in Ireland and is famed for their art afternoon tea.

Firstly, I have to say that The Merrion has to be one of the most luxurious hotels I've ever had the pleasure of dining at. The chandeliers glistened, the decor was out of this world and I could easily sit and admire the paintings all day. The staff were really polite and accommodating and the atmosphere felt really relaxed.

My husband and I were seated on a large comfortable sofa overlooking the grand fire place and within minutes were presented with the Art Afternoon Tea tea menu. I opted for the Jasmine Pearl tea as I like fruity and floral aromas and my husband chose a whiskey and cocoa tea. The whiskey tea had a smokey, rich flavour and tasted like autumn in a cup. It was fiery, rich and full of intense flavour and it was surprisingly easy to drink - it was one of the most warming and comforting cups of tea I have had.

I often feel nervous about telling waiters that I'm vegetarian. Some of them are really helpful and others panic and try to chuck dishes together that somehow don't work. As a vegetarian, I felt more than welcome at The Merrion. They made me a special plate of sandwiches, all of which had the same amount of thought and presentation put into them as the meaty dishes and all of which tasted delightfully fresh. The sandwiches above are: cream cheese and cucumber, asparagus and cream cheese on rye bread, a brioche bun with egg mayonnaise, mozzarella and pesto and a classic cheese and tomato.

The second course consisted of scones and jam and a variety of cakes including: Battenberg, Lemon Cake and Fruit cake. The scones were a perfect size for an afternoon tea and tasted fresh out of the kitchen. The previous afternoon teas I have had have all been great, but the scones have been so big that they could have been a meal on their own. The Battenberg was really yummy and I loved all the different colours they had.

The piece de resistance was the Art Afternoon tea course that was presented after the traditional afternoon tea. Each of these desserts were created to replicate some of the paintings around The Merrion. When the dish was presented, we were given a card naming the piece of art and at the back, it told us the name of the dessert. I loved this special twist on the traditional afternoon tea and I enjoyed seeing all the detail the chef that put into the desserts. The Art Afternoon Tea is €36 and I think it is really good value for money to say you get a large pot of tea (we drank three cups each), an ample amount of sandwiches and a hefty amount of desserts.

Our visit to The Merrion hotel was definitely a highlight of our Dublin trip and I would go back there in a heartbeat. If you're looking for delicious food, Instagram worthy decor and fantastic service, I would highly recommend this place.

The Marker Hotel in Dublin is a beautiful newly built hotel overlooking Dublin docklands and is situated in the heart of the city for those looking for a central overnight stay. The Marker is a five star hotel and boasts a sky bar, infinity pool and a brasserie focused around locally source Irish produce. If that doesn't whet your travel appetite, the hotel is also a proud member of The Leading Hotels of The World. I was lucky to find a superb deal on a travel website whilst booking my flights to Dublin and decided that The Marker would be the perfect place for my husband and I to stay on our anniversary. I wasn't wrong. The Marker remains one of the most beautiful hotels I have had the pleasure of staying at and the staff were remarkable - both professional and friendly, all willing to go above and beyond to make our stay enjoyable.

We stayed in one of the superior rooms at The Marker Hotel and found it to be really spacious, beautifully decorated and very clean. The bed was comfy, there was magazines and hotel literature on the bed, a heavily stocked mini bar with reasonable prices and a beautiful bathroom with a walk in shower, large bath and robes and slippers hanging neatly in the wardrobe. The room was overlooking the Dublin Docklands which looked superb on a night and with the docklands being a 10 minute walk from the city centre, we had a really calm, quiet nights sleep.

When we booked the hotel, my husband and I were both really excited to try the infinity pool and spa area. Yet again this didn't disappoint, although I wouldn't quite call the pool an infinity pool. The pool area was beautifully lit and featured dark green Kirkstone cladding to give a relaxing, tropical vibe. The menthol steam room helped clear my pores and left me feeling invigorated and the jacuzzi was a great way to soak off all the aches and pains after walking around the city all day.

After an hour of swimming and relaxing, my husband and I decided to check out the sky bar. We quickly headed back to our hotel room, put our glad rags on and then made our way up to the 7th floor. On arrival we were greeted by a lovely host who pointed out all the major buildings in Dublin and lead us to our seats. They brought us two trays of complimentary nuts and took our drink orders. I opted for a Rhubarb Mojito and my husband went for a Watermelon Martini. Both of which were priced at €13.50 (similar to London prices) and tasted exceptional. To keep us warm we sat underneath the heated shelter and were handed out blankets with the Marker logo incase we got too cold.

The Marker hotel has to be one of the best hotels I have visited and the staff have helped make our anniversary exceptional. I can't wait to go back when I'm next in Dublin and I urge anyone who's looking for a trendy hotel in Dublin to take a look at The Marker or at least visit the skybar.

Have you stayed at The Marker before?

Choosing where you would like to go on holiday should be an enjoyable, exciting experience, but with so many countries and so little time to plan, it's sometimes a minefield trying to figure out where to go. There are so many things to take into consideration when choosing a destination, like whether you are looking for a beach holiday or something more adventurous, a city break or country retreat, flying, sailing or trekking. It can become rather overwhelming if you sit and think about it too much.

Next year my husband and I are planning to travel a lot more. Both of us have recently got the travel bug and have realised we are both getting nearer to 30 and haven't seen half of the places we would like to see. We are both in need of a high dose of travel inspiration and luckily, I think I have stumbled across some great techniques that can help us all.

Pinterest

If you spend your days dreaming of white beaches, beautiful architecture and images that give you wanderlust, Pinterest is the place to visit when looking for travel inspiration. Pinterest combines professional images as well as pictures from peoples travels and useful guides and tips from both travel agents, bloggers and regular people like you and I. You can create your own bucket list, be inspired by other peoples and plan out your journey in Pinterest albums.

Travel Blogs

Travel blogs are also a great source of inspiration for those that want to learn about new places from a trustworthy, reliable source. Bloggers often give honest blog posts and usually when they rave about a place, you know it is worth visiting. My favourite travel bloggers are: This Girl Loves, Lux Life and Six out of 10.

Travel Magazines

Although many people believe magazines are going out of fashion, there's nothing I love more than seeing glossy prints images and reading great travel features on a Sunday evening thanks to Conde Nast Traveller. Conde Nast Traveller is one of my new magazine subscriptions thanks to Magazine.co.uk and the first issue that arrived just happened to be about 'The World's Top 100 Places to Visit'. Another one of my favourite magazines is Wanderlust and I love their 'Inspire Me' webpage that picks a destination for you based on your current mood.

Travel Guides

If you have already picked a place to visit and you're looking to learn more about it, I would recommend investing in a travel guide. I found this very useful when I was in Dublin and prior to my visit, it gave me inspiration of places to see whilst I was there. The Marco Polo guides that I recently reviewed also has a hidden gem section and tips from previous visitors.

Speak to your friends and colleagues

Finally if you're still struggling to find a place to visit, speak to your friends, family or work colleagues. A lot of my holidays have been of recommendations from my friends and family.

Where do you find your travel inspiration?

After years of dreaming about visiting Dublin, I finally got my chance to go last weekend. My husband and I were visiting Ireland for a family wedding and it also happened to be our first wedding anniversary. We started our trip in a small County called Cavan and the ventured up to Dublin via a two hour bus drive for our big day. Dublin has always been on my bucketlist. I grew up listening to Irish folk music and I had heard from many people how beautiful the city is. Having now visited Dublin, I can honestly say I wasn't disappointed in my trip. The city exceeded all my expectations and I have left feeling like I want to go straight back.

If you read my previous post on my Dublin bucket list, you will have noticed one place on my places to visit was renowned Temple Bar. Temple Bar is one of Dublin's most popular bars and twice a day, seven days a week there's traditional Irish music playing. I loved the atmosphere of Temple Bar and seeing all the whiskey's they had on display. It was a very homely pub and everyone was so nice and friendly. It's a lovely place to sit back, enjoy the music and grab a pint of Guinness...if you like Guinness of course.

Whilst walking around Dublin, I noticed quite a lot of street art. Like most cities, Dublin has its fair share of Graffiti, but some of the pieces really brought the streets to life and looked so beautiful. I saw this particular one of my way down to Temple Bar.

During my time in Dublin, we also passed through quite a lot of Parks. Dublin has many parks, all in wonderful condition and kept clean and tidy. The parks were a nice place to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life and despite being in the heart of city, all of them felt like really tranquil areas.

One of the many highlights for me was finally tracking down the Phil Lynott statue on Grafton Street during my stay. I love Thin Lizzy and so does my husband. I couldn't wait to take a photo next to him and pay my respects to an amazing musician. I love how people have placed guitar picks in the statue in commemoration.

This is only a snippet of the things I have done during my stay in Dublin and I have many more posts to come. Dublin really captured my heart and there's so many things I cannot wait to share with you.

Have you been to Dublin before?

This morning I woke up to the bright sunshine beaming through my window and it instantly put me in a good mood. There's nothing better than knowing you won't be rained on if you leave the house and seeing the world all bright and shiny. I drove to the shops with my car windows down and my favourite summer music on the radio. It is days like this that I'm going to miss once the autumn weather truly sets in.

Whilst the weather was bright and sunny today, I was finally able to get an outfit post done. Yesterday I spent the day with my beautiful blogging wife Lizi shopping in York and I picked up this gorgeous black and white striped shirt from Zara. It is loose fit with roll up sleeves and it fits me perfectly, I couldn't be happier. I teamed this new shirt up with this gorgeous Borden Navy leather shopper bag from Yoshi* and these heeled boots from Daniel Footwear*.

Have you bought anything nice lately?

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending my cousin-in-law's wedding at The Slieve Russell Hotel in the Republic of Ireland. Despite being married to an Irish man and having dated him for three years previously, I had never been to Ireland and this wedding was the perfect excuse to visit my husbands home country.

The Slieve Russell Hotel is an award winning hotel set in the beautiful countryside with 300 acres of land, 50 acres of lakes and extravagant water features among the gardens. The hotel boasts luxury hotel accommodation and a world class spa.

The hotel lobby features the most extravagant grand staircase, marble floors and a statue depicting a scene from irish folklore. The hotel looked like a scene from a movie and inside, the hotel just kept on giving with its beautiful aesthetics and decor.

On arrival the staff were courteous and very helpful. Unbeknown to me, my husband rang the night previously before check in and asked for a bottle of champagne to be delivered to our room as his cousin's wedding fell our first wedding anniversary. The staff then as a surprise on arrival announced they had given us a complimentary upgrade on our room.

The hotel staff went above and beyond to make our day special as well as the bride and grooms. We walked into our bedroom to see these towel swans and rose petals on the bed and a complimentary box of chocolates and greetings card from management. The room was incredibly spacious - we had our own seating area, a view overlooking the golf course and a large bathroom with Elemis toiletries.

The hotel was spectacular and the wedding was one of the best I've ever been to. I found The Slieve Russell a delight to visit and I would stay there again without hesitation if I'm ever in the area.

A few days ago my husband and I took a two and half hour drive to Moddershall Oaks for a day of relaxation over the bank holiday weekend. Moddershall Oaks is a spa set in the countryside of Staffordshire. The spa boasts an outdoor heated pool, indoor pool, hydro pool and sauna, experience showers, gym and gourmet restaurant, all of which is set in the most idyllic surroundings, complete with its own lake.

I have heard so many brilliant things about Moddershall Oaks and couldn't wait to experience it all for myself. When we arrived both of us were blown away by the beautiful scenery and the pretty buildings. When we checked in and were given a tour of the spa everywhere was clean, immaculate and very peaceful, everything you look for in a spa visit.

The first place we headed after getting changed into our swimwear was this amazing outdoor heated vitality pool. The weather was sunny, but not too warm yet the pool made us feel like we were abroad. I loved being able to back and absorb all the scenery whilst bathing in a heated pool complete with jet streams and bubbles. The staff also walked around offering poolside service - I couldn't resist the non-alcoholic mojitos.

After relaxing in the pool for awhile, my husband and I decided to sit back in the relaxation area and order a few poolside nibbles. I ordered a scone with jam and unfortunately due to a mix up in the kitchen this took an almighty one hour and a half. Apparently the scones hadn't been baked yet and there was a misunderstanding between the waiter and the kitchen staff. The waiter was more than apologetic and I am one of those people that accepts that mistakes do happen, but I wasn't impressed when then after an hour and a half of waiting they decided to cancel my order without making it clear to me. In the end everything was resolved and dealt with in a professional matter and I was given a full apology and also a free scone in the way of compensation for my time. I'm pretty sure this was just a once off and would probably never happen again as the rest of the spa staff went above and beyond all day for their customers and I personally found everything else to be faultless. I'm not holding any grudges at all - I suppose the scone was better late than never and the cherry scone in particular was absolutely delicious.

After the scone situation, we decided to check out the indoor spa and the rest of the spa facilities. The indoor spa has an indoor swimming pool, hydrotherapy pool, heated tiled loungers, experience shower and reflexology footbaths. The room was nicely decorated, I loved the artwork and lighting around the hydropool and most importantly it felt relaxing. As most people were outside enjoying the nice weather and heated outdoor pool, my husband and I had the pleasure of having the pool all to ourselves for awhile.

We spent about an hour playing around in the indoor spa and afterwards my husband and I went to try some of Moddershalls latest spa treatments from their summer treatment menu. I opted for a Mojito Manicure and my husband had a rosehip back massage. Both treatments were greatly received and the spa therapists were friendly and professional. I loved being able to drink a mojito whilst having my nails done and I was really impressed with the overall colour one it was done.

When our treatments had finished my husband and I then headed down to the restaurant for our lunch. We had a table reserved for 1.30pm and the reception staff took our food orders on arrival that morning so the service was fast and efficient. I loved the restaurant. It was classic and elegant and the waiters were so friendly. I had the bruschetta for starter and the Portobello Mushroom burger for main. Both dishes were amazing and the Portobello Mushroom burger has to be on the best mushroom burgers I've ever had. The relish was full of flavour and I loved the chunky chips. I couldn't fault it and both courses filled up for the rest of the day.

Despite one little criticism, my day at Moddershall Oaks went above and beyond my expectations and my husband and I are already looking into booking an overnight stay early next year. The spa facilities were great, the food was so delicious and the countryside location makes you feel secluded and relaxed. The fact that I couldn't get phone signal all day meant I was forced to switch off from all my work and have some 'me time' and I couldn't have wished for a better way to spend my bank holiday.

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