Romantic Watsu treatment for couples at Thermae Bath Spa
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One of the best spa experiences for couples available anywhere in the world can be found at the Thermae Bath Spa.
I had been floating with my eyes shut in warm water for what seemed like most of my life. The silent therapist was supporting my head and massaging my back and shoulders, while my feet were supported by a float. I had swiftly lapsed into some sort of euphoric dream-like state.
I hardly noticed her glide me gently across the private pool. On the other side of the pool another therapist was doing the same thing with my wife. Suddenly my dangling fingertips brushed against another set of fingers. It was like a thunderbolt of sensation. I knew they must be my wife’s fingers.
Anyone who has read my other articles on thetraveleditor.com will know I’m not one for tolerating any arty-farty girlie nonsense. A soon as I sniff pretension or pomposity I demand my money back. And I’ve had spa treatments in luxurious and expensive spas all over the world and usually thought it was over-priced and often embarrassing. But in the heart of the Georgian World Heritage city of Bath I have just experienced a spa treatment that was simply extraordinary.
It wasn’t about fancy potions, bizarre Oriental mysticism or the use of expensive products. A joint session of ‘Watsu’, or water shiatsu, at the Thermae Bath Spa is more about a spiritual journey, an exploration of mental intimacy.
First of all, Bath. This is a World Heritage city full of Georgian architecture that has long been dedicated to wallowing about in the natural warm water that bubbles up from the ground here. For more than 2,000 years the ancient Brits, Romans and Georgians have all flocked here for the water. It’s even called ‘Bath’.
There’s a Roman Bath to wander around like a tourist, there’s a Pump Room, which is now a restaurant, and there are plenty of posh hotels in Bath with ‘spas’ that use heated tap water like every other spa in the UK. There’s only one that uses the raw hot spring water - Thermae Bath Spa housed in a modern glass, steel and stone building in the heart of the Georgian colonnades.
This is a special enough experience, with its simple, spartan design and friendly, accessible atmosphere. The open roof-top pool I’ve already described elsewhere on thetraveleditor as one of the sexiest spa experiences you can have anywhere in the world. But Watsu tops even that.
Deep within the treatment section of Thermae Bath you feel pretty privileged stepping into a private secluded octagonal Georgian bath about 20ft across and full of the natural hot water.
When you are doing it with your partner it feels even more special. We had a therapist each. You float in your swimming kit. There are floats under your legs and with eyes shut. All you can hear is the lapping of the water. All you can feel is the therapists gently massaging, manipulating and twisting you. It’s an ultra-relaxing mix of sensory deprivation, massage and rebirthing. I found myself thinking about my mother, about flying, about holidays, about nothing at all. Time stops. Your mind races off into some dream place that’s like the most pleasant waking sleep. It’s the closest thing I’ve found to a drug effect without taking a drug.
Then they choreograph the coupling bit. We were both blissed out in some distant state… so when they glide you closer together so your fingertips brush it’s quite a jolt. There’s someone else there! And of course it’s the person in the world closest to you. The cynic in me says it’s a clever trick but really I was totally impressed. That fingertip brushing ends in hand-holding across the water. It feels so intimate and binding that you’re almost embarrassed the therapists are there.
If you did it in a pub no-one would notice, but when you are floated so close that you are cheek-to-cheek, it seems an almost unbearable level of intimacy. Finally our feet were lowered to the floor of the pool - and that hard surface is another shock - and left to recover at the edge of the pool. We were left whispering, giggling and almost breathless with the power of the experience.
Now then… the hard part. Watsu is the ‘signature therapy’ of Thermae Bath and it costs £110 for a couple. You could have a night out at the theatre and intimate dinner for that. But this unique Watsu couple treatment at Thermae Bath Spa is so much more than a good seat at the show and a bottle of Rioja. Two days later I’m still feeling more relaxed than usual, and I’m still feeling mysteriously closer to my wife. Corny I know, but this is one of the best couple experiences we’ve ever had. I’m going to pay to have it again. They should make it part of the marriage ceremony for everyone.
Useful links
This is the website for Thermae Bath Spa
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