Top Five Ideas for Hen Do's
Luxury Spa Weekend
How about a bit of pampering with the girls on a luxury spa weekend? There are literally hundreds of spaÕs around the country, offering great deals for weekend breaks and for parties of six or more.
For the more sedate or mature parties, choose a spa situated in the country with full facilities on site and lots of fresh air and surrounding countryside. A good example of this is Champneys Health Resorts (www.champneys.co.uk) There are four resorts in the UK (Leicestershire, Hertfordshire, Hampshire and Bedfordshire) and even one in Goa for the more extravagant hens!
The UK resorts offer a Weekend Mini Break with an arrival of 11am on Saturday and departure at 4pm on Sunday. The prices start at £199 per person (sharing a twin room) but this includes all meals during your stay, which are all very healthy, a complementary massage and facial, full use of all facilities including sauna, steam room, 25 metre pool, gym, tennis courts, bicycles and up to twenty exercise classes per day. Phew! Just one warning though Š they donÕt really like guests drinking too much alcohol with their meals as it is supposed to be a health farm!
City Centre Break
If the hens want to combine relaxation during the day along with a boozy night out clubbing, you might be better booking a city centre hotel with spa facilities on-site. That way, the girls can pamper themselves during the day and then ruin all that beauty therapy in the evening by drinking too much champagne and getting all hot and sweaty in the local nightclub! A good example of this is the Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa in Edinburgh. For an extra £130 per day on top of the room rate, guests enjoy an Ultimate Body Wrap, Intensive Facial, access to the Thermal Suite where they can enjoy a series of heat and steam experiences and the unique rooftop Hydropool with its views of Edinburgh's skyline.
Girls Night In
How about a girls night in? A Leeds company called Pamper Me, offer Girls nights in either at your home or in hotel rooms. For £45 per person for a minimum of 4 people, the Girls Pamper Party includes the provision of a chocolate fountain, individual foot spaÕs, face masks and a choice of treatments from back, neck and scalp massage, Indian head massage, eyebrow shaping, body brushing, manicures and pedicures. If you want to combine the same pampering but with a stay in a luxury hotel, various hotels offer this service in Leeds eg. The Queen's, 42 The Calls and Woodlands. Prices vary from hotel to hotel but will usually include some champagne too. (Telephone Pamper Me: 0113 253 6000).
Be a Pop Star – for a day
Do the hens fancy themselves to be the next Spice Girls or Pussy Cat Dolls? For just £175 per person, which includes accommodation in a three star city centre hotel, the hens can become a celebrity pop group for the day. At music studios based in Leeds, the group picks a theme from Pop Divas, Rock Chicks or Disco Queens. After a welcome glass of bubbly, you go into make up, wardrobe and styling before learning some dance moves from a choreographer. After a session lasting 3 hours, you will get a professional quality pop video on dvd plus behind the scenes documentary footage. Also on offer are "Paparazzi" nights which usually consist of a limo, been hounded by paparazzi (meal and clubs included) and after the event a front page format similar to Hello magazine is sent on to the hen. Contact Ice Cube on 0113 250 8383 or look up www.ice- cube.co.uk for more information.
Who Done It?
Murder Mystery weekends are great fun as you are part of the intrigue. You all have a character in the story, you are all a suspect and the murderer is one of your group. If you have at least 12 people, Murder Mystery Weekends (tel. 01727 821824 www.murdermysteryweekends.com) will organise a special event just for you or you can join a bigger group, which take place in hotels all over the country. Prices start from £490 per group of 12 plus the cost of the venue and food. So there are five ideas for you. And I haven't even mentioned quad biking, pole dancing lessons, weekends in Amsterdam and Prague and those strange limousines that are frequently seen in the centre of Leeds on a Saturday night. Enjoy!
