Who knew there was a spa in rolling farmland that you could get to by tube? (Well, almost – I admit there’s a 15-minute taxi at the other end.) Now, of course, there are plenty of day spas in London and very nice they are, too, but it’s not the same as that genuine getting-away-from-it-all feeling, all waving cornfields, ancient oaks and birdsong. So, this place could be a game changer for Londoners.
The Glass House is not perhaps what you might expect from a spa in the Essex countryside. There are no half-timbered buildings here but instead a modernist construction with, as the name suggest, plenty of glass and plenty of space as well – those cornfields are all part of the property. The main building houses the treatment rooms and guest rooms, the restaurant (it’s Vegan, I’ll come back to that), the pool, gym, fitness room and most of the hydro spa. Outside, there are gardens with plenty of places to relax in the great outdoors, a geodesic dome for meditation and mindfulness sessions, a holistic studio for yoga and Pilates, a hot tub, Finnish sauna and showers and a pool with fish you can join for a spot of wild swimming.
The Glass House has been going for almost five years and has garnered numerous awards so I’m not quite sure how it had escaped my notice until now. The spa has an extensive menu including a variety of facials and massages, some more hi-tech treatments (such as lipofirm for targeting specific areas of unwanted fat), colon hydrotherapy and even teeth whitening. Alongside the hi-tech approach is an equally important holistic one and they boast a pretty formidable list of relaxation therapies.
The holistic approach continues in the restaurant. It is, as I mentioned, Vegan (with no alcohol or caffeinated drinks either) and the food is impressive, even if you’re not accustomed to this kind of cuisine. On the evening I arrived, I had crispy spring rolls with peanut sauce, followed by black bean stir fry with courgette noodles. All delicious and I could have gone on to chocolate orange mousse or lemon posset but refrained. I had already decided when I arrived at lunchtime that I was going to take advantage of their Juicing menu for a bit of a detox so I had a Rejuvenator (celery, spinach, cucumber and ginger) for lunch and booked myself a Refresher for breakfast (kiwi, celery, apple and cucumber).
There are three menus – Juices, Lighter and Equilibrium. You can do a three-day juice fast here (with soup in the evenings and a protein shake to keep you going) or lose weight comfortably on the Lighter menu where every dish is under 600 calories. If you don’t want to lose weight, the Equilibrium menu is slightly more indulgent but you can mix all three as you wish. Everything is gluten free and, if you have any other intolerance, they make the dish to suit that so you can have anything you like from the menu.
I was there, though, not specifically to detox (though it’s always good to do it when you have the chance) but to try out a foretaste of their Menopause Retreat which is launching in October. Now, the menopause is something that has been in the news a lot recently and there is some disagreement about how to treat it, literally and figuratively. Clearly, it’s not a disease, just a part of the natural process of life, but on the other hand, it can have side-effects that, for some women, are a nuisance and, for others, the bane of their lives: hot flushes, weight gain, poor sleep, brain fog…
Bearing all of this in mind, the Glass House has come up with a Menopause Retreat, offering a variety of relaxation, exercise, re-balancing, workshops, talks and sleep treatments over the course of a 4-night stay for women who are before, in the midst of or after the menopause. My taster version covered most of the bases and threw in a few surprises along the way. Among these were the Pelvio Chair that improves the pelvic floor and is also, it turns out, suitable for men recovering from prostate surgery. It works by stimulating contractions of the entire pelvic floor area and a 30-minute session is equivalent of doing 11,000 pelvic floor exercises.
Then there’s Cryotherapy, used by athletes to help heal injuries. It also reduces cellulite, joint and muscle pain and inflammation. It is one of the oddest treatments as it takes place inside a huge fridge. You step into one for a minute at -25 degrees (you’re wearing a swimsuit, gloves, a woolly hat and a face mask) and then into another for three minutes of -100 degrees when you’re encouraged to dance around to a sound track of I Will Survive. It is a strangely exhilarating experience and I did indeed feel great afterwards (perhaps that was relief at actually surviving).
Late on my first afternoon I had a very relaxing full body massage with Valentina. This was all designed with the aim of promoting sleep. It started – as do all treatments in here – with a pinda massage. Pindas are little cotton bags and often filled with herbs then steamed so they are hot and moist when applied to the body. Here they are filled instead with rose quartz crystals, which are traditionally used for healing and for brightening the skin. It worked for me and an unusually good night’s sleep followed.
The menopause can lead to the skin becoming dry, delicate or even prone to acne. So, the next day I had a wonderfully restorative facial using a range, Image Skincare, that was new to me. This is an American brand and my therapist Bethany started with the pindas, then gave me a double cleanse and exfoliate followed by a deep Vit C massage and then Image’s Max stem cell masque. While this was on, there was a blissful scalp massage (so relaxing I almost fell asleep a couple of times). Then the serum from the same Max range was applied, plus eye cream, moisturiser and lip enhancement complex.
It’s not all lounging around, though. There’s an early (7.45) walk through the countryside, a gym and classes from weights to Pilates. All the classes are free and you can drop in as you please. I had my original consultation with Dot – who has a good claim on being the Glass House wise woman – and she suggested that I really should try the aerial sound bath. It sounded intriguing and it was. Sound baths are now becoming very popular but this one came with added hammocks. Once you’d climbed in (and it did take a bit of working out), the sound bath began and every now and again someone came along to push your hammock, so you were rocked like a baby. Later, Dot decided our 1:1 Pilates wasn’t going to work because I had an injured knee so we spent an hour on yin yoga and grounding. The service here is nothing if not personal.
There will be even more on offer in the retreat itself including a speaker who can suggest natural aids to menopause symptoms as well as tests for intolerances, deficiencies and general health. Even after just 48 hours, I felt rested and refreshed (and I’d lost 1kg), while the actual retreat will be four nights, so I would definitely recommend this if you’re looking for a non-invasive way of dealing with the menopause. On the other hand, you could just go for a therapeutic break in a peaceful, supportive environment – and relax.
The first menopause retreat is 6-10 October 2024 with prices from £1400 (based on double occupancy). For more information, including details of packages, breaks and offers, please visit www.glasshouseretreat.co.uk.
