I am a stay at home mom and have been for a little more than
6 years now. Love my kids (boys aged 6, 4 and 2), really do, but I have to
admit that I have been feeling the pull to get away for some quiet time for a
while now. I follow a few spa resorts on Facebook because a girl can dream
right? And then the best thing happened – Grail Springs Wellness Retreat popped
up in my newsfeed with a “Bring A Friend For FREE” special. As luck would have
it I convinced my mother that we needed a mother-daughter weekend away so she
booked herself a room for 2 nights and I got to tag along completely FREE to
renew my sense of sanity away from the little people.
I even booked a few spa treatments for the Saturday of our
stay and told the hubby that was my “Christmas present” so he was off the hook.
I’ll admit I was a little anxious about leaving my boys, having never been away
for more than a night, but I also knew that my husband was more than capable of
holding down the fort so I could take off. We left on Friday morning for the 3
hour drive to Bancroft in hopes of arriving in time for lunch and, although it
was super snowy, the drive was beautiful!
When we walked into Grail Springs it was like walking into a
little castle and I was struck by how quiet and serene it was. Although our
room wasn’t ready yet, because we arrived before check in, the staff were so
friendly and allowed us to keep our things behind the front desk until things
were ready. After our tour we settled into the Great Room to relax until lunch
was ready and it was so beautiful, so peaceful and comfy, that I fell asleep
almost instantly snuggled up on the huge couch with a cozy blanket wrapped
around me. We then had lunch in the intimate dining room – this is not a huge
resort, I think I counted just 24 seats in the room. I’ll preface with this; I
am not a healthy eater. I am a vegetarian and have been for many years now but
I’ll admit I’m more of a “junk food vegetarian” than one that eats a lot of
veggies and good stuff. I wasn’t sure how I would like the vegan meals – which
are not selected by you, each meal is planned in advance and everyone gets the
same thing (minus adjustments for allergies of course). I cannot even
adequately describe how good that first lunch was. It was served with an herbal
tea (again, not usually a fan) that was refreshing and delicious and I cleaned
my plate of my salad and falafel wrap.
After lunch we had a “bonding ceremony for two” that,
truthfully, was strange and awkward but oddly enough left me emotional and
thanking my mom for the role that she plays in my kid’s lives and my own.
Having not had at all a great relationship growing up, this was kinda huge for
me and felt like a good “opening” for the weekend. Then we had free time to
check out the hot tub which overlooks the lake and I had no idea how gorgeous
Bancroft is in winter. Fluffy snow sitting on all the trees, the view was
spectacular and again just peacefully quiet while soaking away our troubles in
the tub!
The days at Grail Springs are somewhat scheduled but it’s up
to the individual what you’d like to participate in and what’s not for you. In
the evenings there was motivational speaking and meditation, the mornings had
snowshoe hikes through the incredible acreage that’s all part of Grail Springs
followed by yoga. And then throughout the day (depending on what you’ve booked)
your spa treatments are scheduled in too. I decided to try something different
for my treatments so I booked a Colour Therapy Bath with Reiki, a CranioSacral
Therapy and also an RMT massage. There were honestly so many choices for
different spa treatments that I wanted to choose one of everything just to
experience them all BUT the time (and obviously budget) didn't allow for that!
So clearly this was an incredibly relaxing weekend away and
I highly HIGHLY recommend putting this one on your bucket list. From the moment
we arrived until we sadly had to leave everything was taken care of. My body
felt completely re-energized after a weekend of truly taking care of it with
exercise, pampering and amazing food. My favourite part of the weekend was the
food – I can’t say enough good things about each and every meal. I can still
taste those incredible flavours and, although I generally crave nothing but
sweets, I seriously CRAVE those healthy vegan meals still, several months
later!
One day I plan on dragging my husband along for a weekend
away because although yoga and meditation is not his thing – massages and out
of this world food is definitely something he would enjoy too! Maybe I can
convince him that this would be a great anniversary trip…
-Cassandra
