Spa Stories
Read about places our team has been to.
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Spa Breaks in Lord Byron's Old Home – by Veronica Matheson
LORD BYRON, the celebrated romantic poet, lived at Seaham Hall, in England’s north east, for barely a year in 1815, and moved away when his all-too-brief marriage to the daughter-of-the-house failed.
Centuries later the country manor is a luxury hotel with an underground spa so indulgent even Lord Byron, once described as “mad, bad, and dangerous to know”, might have been tempted to linger longer.
Software multi-millionaire Tom Maxfield was taking a flying lesson along the North Sea coastline from Newcastle when he flew over Seaham, a former coal mining village, and sighted the grand Georgian mansion.
Briefly distracted from his flying instructions he noted its location as he had been looking for a new project, and instantly knew he had found it.
What Tom didn’t know when he bought the property was that it had an illustrious history and that the celebrated poet Lord Byron married the daughter of the house in the drawing room in 1815.
While totally different in design today Seaham Hall Hotel and the in-house Seaham Serenity Spa still have the same focus _ the very best of everything in standards and service. It is an approach that has paid off handsomely.
Lord Byron’s Walk leads to Seaham Hall’s grand entrance, while public rooms also mark the poet’s past presence, with a stained glass roof in one room depicting verses he penned. One bedroom allows guests to sleep in the same room as the poet, and another in the ante-room where he was married... though now both are artfully modernised.
Within months of opening as a hotel in 2002, Seaham Hall, a classic Georgian building, was garnering awards for its accommodation, for its Michelin-starred White Restaurant, and for its Serenity spa. They are awards that continue to be garnered.
What makes Seaham’s Serenity Spa so different is that it is so unexpected, being perched on a cliff above the North Sea at the edge of the former coal mining village of Seaham in real “Billy Elliott” territory.
The underground walkway from the hotel courtyard to the underground spa instantly transports guests to Asia with a glowing, candlelit path edged by water trickling over stones. Buddha figures, a giant elephant statue, and balanced Feng Shui features.
It is a reasonably long stroll along this teak and glass boardwalk water feature that works beautifully in moving my mind away from the vagaries of life and closer to ancient eastern rituals that promise to bring back some measure of balance in an indulgent pamper zone.
Some spa goers go no further than changing into bathers and slipping into the inviting pool with its wrap around curves, or into one of the outdoor hot tubs, even in winter when the snow is falling. Inside there is a black granite steam room, limestone hammam, and a series of plunge pools as well as a hydrotherapy pool.
OK, I’d been advised to book in for a day ritual that includes lunch at the spa’s Ozone restaurant that specialises in pan-Asian food. Sadly I convinced myself I didn’t have time for a day-long escape, and leave full of regret. If I could only have found the time I would have been all the better for it.
Instead my therapist Jade works her magic on my stress level which is high, easing all those hidden knots in my shoulders and back, and giving me advice on how to stay relaxed.
Treatments range from the traditional to the more unconventional, taking in Balinese, Thai and Indian modalities, depending on the needs of the guest. The treatments live up to their reputation as Serenity Spa was named as England’s leading spa resort at the World Travel Awards in 2007, and continues to garner awards.
As the top hated porter remarks as I leave, “You don’t just stay at Seaham Hall. Seaham Hall stays with you.”
Spa File
Getting there: Emirates flies to Newcastle from Australia via Dubai. Business class passengers can use the airline’s complimentary car access on arrival in Newcastle to take them to Seaham Hall which is a half hour’s drive from the city, www.emirates.com.au
More: www.seaham-hall.co.uk