Myself and Himself decided to leave the car at home last weekend and instead hopped on the train to Cork for some much needed post-Christmas, post-snow R&R at the city’s Imperial Hotel and Escape Aveda Spa. The Imperial, as you can expect absolutely fecking everyone you encounter on your travels to be at pains to inform you, is Cork’s oldest hotel, boy.

As such, it has a very grand marble lobby and an exceptionally friendly staff who really know what they’re about, but its age does mean that the layout is a wee bit wierd in spots. I decided to chalk up things like the fact that you’d to leave the restaurant and go up the stairs at the end of the lobby to get to the loos to olde worlde charm.

Now, at this point I could tell you all about our wandering around The English Market and our gorgeous lunch and macchiatos on the balcony at Farmgate, or our delicious dinner in The Imperial’s Pembroke Restaurant. I’m actually getting ravenously hungry remembering the fab wining and dining. But I think what you’d probably really like to hear about is how I got on with My First Aveda Facial.

First impressions of the Escape Spa were very, very good. There was a dedicated stairwell at the end of our floor down to the spa itself, so you could well slip into your robe and slippers and float down without having to encounter a fully-clothed soul from the main hotel. Bliss. From the spa reception area inwards, it’s dark wood and muted lighting and quietness a go go, and once I’d filled out the usual consultation card and stashed my stuff in a locker in the changing room I was led down a corridor with stone clad walls and a trickling, full-wall water feature to the Relaxation Suite to chill out for a few minutes before my facial while Himself headed for the pool and thermal suite.

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