Victoria Hotel, Sidmouth
There was a reason why Egyptian pharaohs, Roman emperors, Indian moguls and many others down the gold-leafed annals of the great-and-good insisted on having facilities in their palaces dedicated to the pampering of royal flesh and bones. Such human pampering was - and is - relaxing, pleasurable, and it does you good.
Fast forward many centuries and we British, in particular, became curiously shy of having our well-wrapped-and-safely-covered limbs manipulated, massaged and generally pampered by others. Stiff upper lip, stiff in mind, you might say. But that is very much yesterday’s news. In our fast-changing and somewhat hectic modern world, we love a bit of pampering - as is witnessed by the increasing number of spas in this country.
The new Source Spa, Victoria Hotel, Sidmouth
And as a signaller of this trend, one of the newest and best is to be found in one of the most traditional British seaside resorts of them all. The four-star Victoria Hotel, at Sidmouth, has recently opened a fabulous new spa in the grand and well-known icon of hospitality which overlooks the town and its famous promenade.
I was musing over Roman emperors and the like the other day as I lay in a semi-darkened room in this new centre-of-pampering-excellence. There was not much else for my mind to do, as three-quarters of the rest of me was being gently pushed, pulled and gloriously pummelled. In other words, I was enjoying a full-body aromatherapy massage. This, I thought to myself, is what those highly pampered rulers-of-the-world used to enjoy thousands of years ago.
In fact, 2200 years ago there was a famous Roman physician by the name of Galen, a physician to many emperors, and he was the guy responsible for making massage a staple part in their health routines. The trend caught on and soon wealthy Romans began receiving massages regularly in their homes. Centuries before that, the ancient Greeks were already in on the act. Athenian physicians practiced a form of massage with a combination of health-giving herbs and oils.
And here was I, receiving exactly the same kind of pampering treatment nearly 30 centuries later. And why not? You no longer have to be an emperor or a wealthy aristocrat to enjoy such delights.
As I lay there thinking such thoughts, with my overly tense upper back and neck undergoing the skilled attentions of the young masseuse, I realised I was - in some obscure way - having a gentle argument with my younger self. Because 25 years ago I was terribly old-fashioned and also pretty ignorant when it came to such things. My attitude back then would have been to think that spas were there only for posh women and certainly not for men, of any kind, particularly not robust countrymen like me.
How silly, and how wrong! Let me tell you, everyone I know could do with a full body aromatherapy massage.
The Victoria Hotel’s new Source Spa has an indoor heated pool, a modern gym, a hydrotherapy spa bath, aromatherapy sauna, and steam room. The luxury treatment rooms, staffed by highly skilled spa therapists, offer a range of treatments including massages, revitalising facials, and invigorating body treatments, all designed to pamper and restore both body and mind.
The Victoria Hotel, Sidmouth
The hotel is part of the Brend Collection - a family run business based in Devon which owns eleven hotels - and the launch follows the recent success of the company’s first Source Spa at the famous Saunton Sands Hotel.
Matthew Brend told us: “Our team has worked hard behind the scenes to bring a brand new luxury spa to the Victoria Hotel for guests to relax and recharge during their stay, as well as an exclusive membership offering. Since our first Source Spa at Saunton Sands Hotel was such a success, I’m confident the second edition will have the same impact and further strengthen the brand we look to continue growing across the Brend Collection.”
The spa is open daily and has newly launched Spa Day packages which start at £95 per person. Spa memberships will cost £125 per month, allowing guests unlimited access and can be purchased by contacting the spa manager at spamanager@victoriahotel.co.uk.
We were fortunate enough to spend a night at the Victoria Hotel last week and we really did enjoy every minute of it. We had a luxurious deluxe sea-facing room with a large view window that was dominated by just one thing… The sea. Which is, of course, very much what you want at a seaside hotel.
Sidmouth with Victoria Hotel in foreground
Many of us also want something else: a sense of place. Book an online package to almost anywhere in the world and the likelihood is that you might end up staying somewhere that could be anywhere. I have stayed in a hotel in Vietnam which, from the perspective of its interior, could have been anywhere from Florida to Greece.
I do not think I have ever stayed in a location which exudes the high-class traditional English seaside holiday quite as much as either the Victoria Hotel or, indeed, Sidmouth. And I mean that in the very best way. I am not only talking about the general classy elegance of the place (both the hotel and the town), but the amazing attention to detail. The good food, the incredibly polite, helpful and friendly staff…
Fillet of beef at the Victoria Hotel
Delicious chicken terrine
My wife and I loved it. We loved the white-jacketed quartet playing gently away in the grand Jubilee Restaurant at dinner time and we loved the fact that the wonderfully helpful duty manager showed us around the gleaming Rolls Royce which has a staff chauffeur who will whisk guests down into town at the drop if his uniformed hat. Indeed, we would have a little spin ourselves had we not been determined to have a round of putting on the hotel’s immaculate front lawn overlooking the sea.
Hesp with the hotel’s Rolls Royce
Ever since Roman emperors were having their massages all those centuries ago, there have been a great many troubles in this world - and now we seem to have returned to worrying times. I put it this way because, as I lay there having my massage, the thought struck me that visiting a place like this offers the ultimate antidote. This is wonderful, peaceful old, England at its best.
The hotel was built in the Victorian era and a great many elements of the original ethos have remained. Tradition, attention to detail, politeness, thoroughness, an exacting level of care… Indeed, the overall gentility of the place. I’ll take this wonderful combination by the bucket and spade-full.
Rooms start at £269 (for two guests in a standard double) and can be booked via the hotel’s website www.victoriahotel.co.uk - for more information on the Brend Collection go to www.brend-hotels.co.uk
SIDMOUTH CHARM
Middle England doesn’t really exist, but those looking for it could do worse than explore Sidmouth - a town so rich in the wonderful ephemera of an older more traditional Britain that you could shoot a remake of Dad’s Army in wartime Warmington-on-Sea without doing much to the fabric of the place.
I recall visiting a delicatessen in town which had a sign declaring it was established nearly two centuries ago. The wonderful Fields, the town’s rather famous departmental store, bears the logo: “For Service As It Used To Be”.
There are some fabulous walks around Sidmouth, but you might well need a massage after enjoying one or two of them. Why? Because if you take the South West Coast Path in either direction, the only way is up. Steeply up, at that.
Head west out of the Victoria Hotel and you will climb, and climb, High Peak - the name of which gives some clue as to the size of this coastal eminence. I’d recommend anyone who’s fit enough to take the hike over this tree-topped ridge to Ladram Bay with its attractive shingle beach and its big bold red-rock sea-stacks.
To the east of town there’s another perpendicular stroll up Salcombe Hill Cliff.
Considerably up. The best part of 500 feet if you are counting. At the top you will be able to turn around and see what could be known as Red Sandstone Country.
And what country it is! Being soft, the sandstone is easily carved by water. Sidmouth’s valley was cleaved by the River Sid, while the neighbouring steep valley to the east was made by a stream so small it seems to have no name. Maybe it should be the Sal, because Salcombe Regis lies at the top of South Combe. It is a pretty little village with a well-to-do look about it, and it boasts a fine and dreamy old church.
Sidmouth evening
SIDMOUTH FOLK FESTIVAL
You may have seen reports that the Sidmouth Folk Festival is preparing to celebrate its milestone 70th year with a classic offering of song, dance, music and merriment this August. Needless to say, there will be some special anniversary events to delight and unite everyone visiting or living in the picturesque Devon seaside town.
Folk lovers have been making an annual pilgrimage to Sidmouth since 1955, when the very first event dipped its toe in the water with a gathering for folk-dance fans, featuring displays along the Esplanade. Seven decades later, the much-loved annual summer festival has grown into a world-renowned week-long extravaganza that’s become part of the town’s DNA, as well as a faithful stalwart of the West Country festival calendar.
Sidmouth not only champions the very best of traditional and grass roots music and dance, it’s also proud to inject vibrant new energy year after year, embracing a myriad of folk-fuelled genres, as well as harnessing and nurturing the young, rising, cutting edge and culturally diverse. Check out sidmouthfolkfestival.co.uk for tickets and more details of the 2024 programme.
