Leave the Kids: Mums' Breaks Without Children

by Rhonda Carrier

So I asked some of my friends: What would you really like for Mother’s Day? The answers were wide-ranging but predictable: a night in a boutique hotel, a cleaning fairy, a new body, a magic wand that waves away wrinkles, the invention of calorie-free chocolate, and, of course, unlimited amounts of time…

For me, the answer would be sleep. I’ve not had a decent night’s worth in years. Not that that’s entirely the kids’ fault (it’s mine for being an indulgent attachment parent…). I’m one of those people who just doesn’t do great sleep. As a child, I talked so much in the night, my parents put a tape recorder in my room to capture my nocturnal rantings, and when I tried to let myself out the front door during one of my frequent sleepwalking episodes, they took me to a doctor. I’ve also been a lifelong bruxist (teeth-grinder). Today I find myself with a cat who chirrups at the full moon and broodily roams the house with stray kids' socks in her mouth, and a three-year-old in our bed for part of most nights.

Yet even when all three boys do sleep through and the cat keeps schtum, I still wake up. Sadly, it seems that having kids has made me hyper-alert to the slightest sound. So I have a special interest in breaks that allow you to sleep or help you sleep more or better. Indeed, I recently declined a yoga break on the basis that I’d have to get up at 6am for the first class. After years of 5am awakenings, what kind of holiday would that be?

But what kind of holiday do mums want? Perhaps you want to do a Greta Garbo and go solo, or perhaps you want to get together some fellow mums and organise a ‘girlfriend getaway’, a growing trend. You might not even have relaxation in mind; many women whose children have gone beyond all-consuming toddlerdom want to reclaim part of their lives and learn or improve a skill, perhaps taking themselves out of their comfort zone and proving to themselves they can rise to new challenges, whether it’s bread-making at River Cottage or mountain-climbing. Many women want to get fit or at least be more active, while others want to experience something exotic and perhaps put something back into local communities or even do some volunteer work. And some have even made a Bucket List of things to do before they die or are looking for a life-altering experience, à la Eat, Pray, Love.

For me, a personal goal would be to learn how to switch off, or at least to switch my brain off from angsting about how much I have to do and how I’m going to get it all done. Part of this would involve learning how to break free of the tyranny of my laptop and everything that calls to me via it, whether it’s work deadlines or time-vampires such as Facebook or Twitter.

If none of the suggestions below float your boat, choose a lovely area for walking, such as the Lake District, and book a self-catering cottage (our partner Cottages4You has a great selection), alone or with friends. Take along pampering goodies, a detox book if you’re on a health kick, a good cookbook, and sturdy walking shoes/boots. If you’re trying to get fitter, we also recommend mama mio bootcamp bodycare, which helps target specific areas such as post-children flabby abs or saggy boobs. Champneys (see below) is also launching an new range exclusively available in Boots' stores.

See also our features on Mother’s Day Breaks and Mums Breaks With Kids.

UK
See also our feature on A Parent’s Break at the Feversham Arms & Verbena Spa in Yorkshire.

Metropolitan, London
The famous home to the Met Bar and Nobu is a fun, chic place for a mum’s break, offering shopping and spa packages. The spa, COMO Shambhala Urban Escape, offers Asian-inspired treatments to treat mind, body and spirit, including pre-natal massages and ‘reviver’ day-spa deals including a ‘wrinkle cure’ package. Guestrooms come with yoga mats for those who want to stretch (instructors can be hired, as can private trainers), or relax and indulge in the avant-garde, ‘waist-friendly’ Afternoon De-light tea, featuring sweet and savoury cupcakes, fruit scones, and ‘no-bread sandwiches’ made using flour substitutes, low fat crème fraîche, fresh fruit purées and olive oil. If you do come with children, there’s a Honey, I Brought the Kids package.

Champneys Springs, Leicestershire
The best-known name in the health resort world, Champneys long pre-dates the recent proliferation of hotel spas, and its expertise shows in its range of treatment and facilities, both here and at its resorts in Hertfordshire, Hampshire, and Bedfordshire. It’s also a very good-value venue for a mums’ break, with rates including unlimited access to up to 20 fitness and relaxation classes and access to the swimming pool, whirlpool, steam/sauna room, gym, and tennis court, bike loan, and all meals. You can arrive as early as 11am the first day and departure as late as 4pm the next, giving you lots of time to relax. Your only problem will be choosing from the dizzying array of treatments, though we can vouch for the Ultimate Indulgence Body Massage – a Swedish body massage using essential oils of lavender, mandarin and chamomile to de-stress. If you’re pregnant, try a Beautiful Bump massage, or if you’re on a fitness blitz, there’s a luxury bootcamp.

Cotswold House Hotel, Cotswolds
One of the Cotswolds’ most luxurious hotels, this Regency townhouse boasts a Temple Spa where treatments and programs include Silent Night for those who have developed poor sleep patterns or simply need deep relaxation. It begins with a muscle-warming session in the hammam and cup of camomile tea, followed by a calming facial and body massage using both manual and hot stone techniques and concentrating on areas that encourage a good night’s rest. You also get a Silent Night Kit to continue the good work in your room or at home. Alternatively, you can be totally mothered with Duvet Day, a 2hr treatment beginning with a face and body exfoliation followed by cosseting in a down duvet while a facial is carried out, followed by a thermal face mask.

EUROPE
Les Sources de Caudalie, France
The world’s original ‘vinothérapie’ spa is perfect for wine-loving mums, who can follow up a grape-based therapy with wine- or champagne-tasting in the bar, from a 15,000-strong cellar. Situated in the wine region just outside Bordeaux, Les Sources offers cures and rituals focussed on slimming and anti-ageing, including Body of Your Dreams (toxin elimination), the Young Mother Cure for those who want to get back into shape after pregnancy (there’s a baby-sitting service), and various grape-seed friction scrubs. There’s a sister spa, Les Etang de Corot, in Ville d'Avray not far from Paris.

Hospes Maricel, Mallorca
This luxurious hotel is part of a small group of hotels throughout Spain and in Paris running the Dreams Project, a non-profit social initiative researching the importance of good sleep and ways to achieve it, as well as helping less fortunate young people make their dreams come true. In terms of its hotel guests, it aims to provide full mental and physical revitalisation via occasional packages (March 2011 saw a Month of Sleep promotion), Dreamers rooms (at Maricel, some of these have their own zen swimming pool), tips and advice, nutritional menus, and restful spa treatments. 

Fontina Spa Resort, Malta
With its four holistic spas, this is a pampering and wellness paradise offering a vast range of treatments and activities including yoga and pilates plus a 4th Trimester Healing Hour therapy for new mums in need of a little mothering themselves. Its Wellness Rejuvenation bedrooms are designed to promote a longer-lasting deep relaxation and thus a better night’s sleep, with magnetising beds that relieve aches, pains and stress, energised anti-dustmite mattresses, duvets and pillows, a living water and shower system (including a massage bath and shower on the balcony), and mountain-fresh ionised air purifiers. The aim is to get your body back in tune with the Earth’s natural rhythms, with better temperature control and fewer toxins.

REST OF WORLD
Journey to Petra (Adventure Company), Jordan
The perfect spot for some open-air floatation therapy, in the salt-laden water of the Dead Sea, this nine-day trip with a Mother’s Day departure of 3rd April provides the chance to explore this fascinating country in comfort and style, from its ancient wonders to its dramatic desert, from the rose-red city of Petra – one of the new Seven Wonders of the World – to the breathtaking landscapes of the Dana Nature Reserve, Wadi Rum, where you’ll camp Bedouin style.

Cocoa Island, Maldives
The sister hotel to the Metropolitan (above) on a private island halfway around the world is a wonderful place for frazzled adults (though its two-bedroom villas will accommodate older children), with a Blissful Sleep package combining a light, well-balanced meal with a deeply calming Ayurvedic session at COMO Shambhala Retreat. The best accommodation is the Loft Villas, set on stilts in the water, with sun terraces and steps down into the lagoon, plus full-length windows with views over the Indian Ocean.

SwaSwara, India
If you feel that your life has been taken over by other people’s schedules, this clifftop resort in Karnataka, with a name that translates as ‘my own rhythm’, may be just the ticket for a minimum 5-day break based around yoga, pranayama, and meditation. Art classes are also included, as are cooking lessons, with guests invited to help pick some of the ingredients for meals based on organic, seasonal ingredients with the emphasis on seafood.. There’s also an ayurveda centre on-site offering a variety of massages and other therapies.

Surf Haven, Bali
One that’s sure to go the top of many mums’ wish lists, this luxury women-only surf spa retreat offers a week-long surf, yoga and wellbeing program for all ages and abilities. Peaceful and serene yet within easy reach of Bali’s many fantastic shops, it offers accommodation for a maximum of eight women within two villas with all mod cons, including Bose iPod speakers, flatscreen TVs and eggshell tubs. There’s also two large swimming pools and a rooftop bar perfect for sundowners. You may just have found paradise.

The BodyHoliday, LeSPORT, St Lucia
This all-inclusive resort in a secluded cove on one of the world’s loveliest islands promises that if you give you its body for a week, it will ‘give you back your mind’. It does his through its famed treatments, therapies and activities, which include scuba-diving, Pilates, ayurvedic treatments, and yoga retreats. Mother-to-be massages are included in the price; some other treatments, including the 2-day Sleep Restoration course, which through reflexology and Shirodhara remedies the inability to sleep properly often caused by stress and poor habits, cost extra.

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