Given all the restrictions, many spas have limited the numbers of people who can use them at any one time. At the Harper in North Norfolk, they have gone a step further. This spa is limited to one person, couple or group. So for an hour, the whole place is yours to drift around as you like β from the big, rather splendid pool to the Jacuzzi, from the steam room to the sauna. So, for a relaxing weekend with bracing sea walks and plenty of restorative treats, this is hard to beat. And, speaking of walking by the sea, North Norfolk has some of the best beaches in the country including the remarkable Holkham Beach voted best beach in Britain backed by dunes and pine forests.
You may remember Gwynneth Paltrow strolling down it in the closing scenes of Shakespeare in Love. You can go crab fishing or seal watching, kite flying or bird watching. All of this is more or less spitting distance from the Harper.
Less than a year old it opened in May , it is built around a courtyard, on one side of which is the spa. The hotel itself is the epitome of laidback luxury, very unstuffy, with charming staff who go out of their way to help. There are cocktails in the fridge, gorgeous bathrooms, contemporary four-posters. So, you can expect some very comfortable downtime, not least in the spa itself. Handmade with organic, vegan ingredients, Irene Forte likens her products to a Mediterranean diet for the skin.
These were the products for both my massage and facial and the two treatments were combined together for a blissful two and a half hours. Hannah, my therapist for the whole session, had come to find me in the hydro-spa area β so I was already feeling suitably relaxed which is a good way to start a massage.
For me, it was rose oil β highly nourishing, hydrating and smells gorgeous. We began with a back massage β all slow, smooth strokes and circles. Without any shoulder grinding, I felt my muscles melt. This continued with the backs of the legs before I turned over and the massage and the facial began to blend into one.
