Grooving at The Grove

ueen Victoria came for the weekend, and so did her son, King Edward VII. Horace Walpole, Lord Palmerston, and Vita Sackville-West also weekended at The Grove, though not at the same time.

Ever since the Hon. Thomas Villiers, British Ambassador to France and 1st Earl of Clarendon, acquired The Grove in the mid-18th century and the titled family grew in political stature, the 300-acre parkland estate in Hertfordshire has hosted an enviable roster of guests, eventually becoming what the London Times called one of the great political houses of the nineteenth century.

Over the years, as the original 18th century Georgian house was remodeled and enlarged, it became one of the most fashionable homes in the country, with invitations to weekend house parties in high demand. Londoners would drive down on Saturday and leave on Monday, setting the model for the English country weekend, which, some think, was more or less invented at The Grove.

Seventy-five years after the 4th Earl of Clarendon's family left in 1920, The Grove is having a second coming, this time as a fashionable resort. The seamless addition of a large new wing added 201 contemporary rooms, a ballroom and meeting facilities to the renovated mansion, creating a 227-room playground with a newly created championship golf course and spa. Opened in 2003, The Grove is a 40-minute drive northwest of central London.

The road from the main gate to the grand manor house curves by stately old trees, over a stone bridge spanning the Grand Union Canal, and past two

Between spa treatments find time to enjoy the abundant pleasures of The Grove: the 3-acre walled garden with tennis courts, a croquet lawn, and swimming pool; walking, jogging, and cycling trails through woodlands, wetlands, and along canal tow paths; award-winning formal gardens; and, of course, the championship 18-hole golf course.

picturesquely named golf holes, the grassy bunkers and hollows of Rustic Seat and the water hole called Hoggery and its Hell's Lake. Who says the Brits don't enjoy a bit of cheeky fun with their golf?

Their spa, however, is another matter. Sequoia at The Grove is serious business. ESPA, which runs Sequoia, was in on the planning and design of the spa from the beginning. The spa is housed in the estate's 18th and 19th century listed stable buildings, and connected to the original mansion by the new wing. In an architectural sleight of hand, a tranquil bamboo courtyard and sunken ornamental garden separate two buildings; one, a colonnaded oak barn, houses a black mosaic-tiled 72-foot indoor pool and Jacuzzi; the other accommodates fitness and exercise studios and a dedicated manicure/pedicure/make-up salon.

To reach the spa, a dramatic entrance in the courtyard takes you down a staircase curving alongside a large, metal sculptural wall to a lower level. Twelve treatment rooms and one couple's suite, changing and relaxation areas, heat and wet stations are all under the courtyard and stable buildings. Here the decor is quiet and subtle: doors of pale rippled sycamore, light cream-colored non-slip, non-porous limestone from Dubai in the wet area, oiled oak floors, cream walls and white doors in the treatment rooms, soundproof corridors. Ironically, the most colorful place is the relaxation room where deep ruby velvet walls and ten comfortable beds with electrically adjustable back rests create a sumptuous cocoon before and after treatments.

"The core of ESPA treatment philosophy lies in the Time Ritual," said Lisa, one of Sequoia's 24 therapists, explaining ESPA's decidedly singular point of view. The Time Ritual means that you book time (two hours is recommended) and your therapist performs a special foot massage while observing and gathering information about you to determine what kind of treatment you need. Without special training, ESPA does not believe you can choose the best treatment for yourself. For example, said Lisa, you may think you need to de-stress but you may actually need to invigorate and tonify the body.

That's also why there is an e in E-SPA; E for education. ESPA puts a lot of time and energy into their post-graduate training program and stands behind this Time Ritual as the most bespoke, luxurious spa opportunity they can offer.

As suggested, I arrived a half hour before my appointment, changed into robe and slippers, and slipped into the darkened relaxation area. Lulled by the ruby colored velvet walls, soft music, and a state-of-the-art bed with electrically adjustable back rests, I decided the pre-treatment heat experiences the steam room, Finnish sauna, and Turkish hammam could wait for another time and coddled myself in the deeply soothing relaxation room until Lisa came for me. Incidentally, the relaxation area, as well as the saunas, steam rooms, and hammams are all gender-segregated.

During the welcome foot ritual and the initial assessment, Lisa suggested an ESPA De-Luxe Facial with Firming Eye Treatment (55 min, 80), a signature facial that gives an intensive boost for maturing, stressed or distressed skin, using products to regenerate, firm, and nourish the skin. The treatment addresses three main massage areas: face. scalp, and chest and shoulders; Lisa would tailor the facial for my dry skin, and spend more time on the scalp massage, using oil for dry hair, and less on shoulder work in deference to a torn rotator cuff.

ESPA products plant extracts, aromatic essential oils, and nourishing marine elements are as natural as possible, explained Lisa, chosen for their purity, potency, and therapeutic powers. You ll see that I don't steam your face, she said, because the products themselves bring out the impurities. As she worked her way through the treatment, she pointed out the products and the jobs they were doing at each step.

1. Cleanse with Hydrating Cleansing Milk that cleans without disturbing the natural balance of skin oils. The chamomile and antioxidant-rich benzoin calms and the scented rose geranium soothes.
2. Exfoliate with Refining Skin Polish, with nonabrasive fossilized earth particles that remove outer layer of skin cells so under layer can absorb the mineral-rich plankton and its proteins and vitamins.
3. Tone with Herbal Spafresh, an astringent blend of rosemary to boost blood circulation, and tea tree, lavender and English peppermint to soothe and rehydrate the skin.



4. Rejuvenate delicate skin around the eyes with 24-Hour Eye Complex, a light nourishing cream rich in potent plant extracts and pure essential oils of patchouli, moisturizing and nourishing neroli, and cell regenerating frankincense. The antioxidant ginkgo biloba combats signs of premature aging and smoothes lines.
5. Massage face with Regenerating Face Treatment Oil, rich in antioxidants to repair skin damage from free radicals. Jasmine, neroli, and frankincense together regenerate, firm and revitalize while vitamin-rich avocado, carrot, and jojoba soothe, protect, and encourage cell renewal and suppleness.
6. Apply Firming Face Mask, a powerful cream with mineral-rich pelan silt blended with magnesium and chlorophyll to improve firmness and uniformity. Plant extracts of soothing cypress, protective frankincense and potentilla combine with kaolin to absorb and remove impurities. Intensely replenishing and nutritious, this mud leaves skin smooth and toned. While it did its job, Lisa gave me a scalp massage.
7. Moisturize with Regenerating Moisture Complex, with sea lettuce and antioxidant green tea. Vitamin C-rich orange oil helps maintain the skin's structure while moisturizing oils of macadamia and mango seed butter are absorbed deep into the skin. This is a potent source of moisture for mature and hormonal skin, improving elasticity, firmness, smoothness, and vitality.
8. Finally, protect against effects of pollution and climate with Essential Protective Serum, a sheer serum extracted from moisture-retaining plants to improve skin regeneration, firm and lock in moisture. It contains soothing and hydrating aloe, refreshing tangerine, and cell rejuvenating buckthorn.

Sequoia's roster of signature treatments starts with The Sequoia Suite, a private room for two, with a two-person bath and steam shower. Here the facility and not the treatments are special for twosomes. In the 1 hour, 30 minute option ( £240) partners/friends choose either the steam shower or the deep couples' bath surrounded by candles and petals, followed by a one-hour treatment per person. The 3-hour option includes both the steam shower and deep couples' bath, plus two hours of treatments per person ( £400).

Given ESPA's interest in combining the best of ancient and modern therapies, it isn't as surprising as it might seem that ayurvedic-influenced treatments are high on ESPA's signature list, not only at Sequoia but also at ESPA's other United Kingdom spas, among them Four Season's Hampshire, One Spa at The Balmoral in Edinburgh, and Turnberry Resort in Scotland.

Each ayurvedic treatment includes a padabhyanga foot ritual followed by exfoliation, polarity balancing, and a specialized face and body massage using advanced techniques. An Indian head massage, or Shirodhara oil pouring, completes the ritual. In general, these are 1 hour 50 minutes, and cost £140. Dosha Specific Hot Stone Massage and Body Wraps last 1 hour 20 minutes and cost £105. A 25-minute Indian Head Massages (Shirobhyanga) is £40.

At Sequoia, a group of advanced holistic body treatments, inspired by traditional cultures, rise to signature status. They include Aromatherapy Body Massage, Balinese Body Massage, Deep Tissue Body Massage, ESPA Holistic Back, Face and Scalp Massage with Hot Stones, and ESPA Chakra Balancing with Hot Stones. These all end with a therapeutic head massage (1 hour 20 minutes, 105).

No surprise that Sequoia's roster of treatments includes a variety of ESPA facials (55 minutes, £80; 1 hour 20 minutes, £105), a wide selection of massages, from Detox and Stress Reliever to Energizer and Jet Lag (55 minutes, £80), and a corresponding range of body wraps (55 minutes, £70). One noteworthy wrap is the ESPA Ultimate Body Envelopment that combines warm Marine Mud, an ESPA body oil chosen for your particular needs, and The Grove Estate Honey, produced in the property's bee hives; the wrap is the finale to lymphatic skin brushing, body exfoliation, and a full body rub with specific aromatherapy oils.

What Sequoia calls Finishing Touches attend to make-up, waxing, and tinting, with special attention to hands and feet, not just with manicures and pedicures but an ESPA Holistic Hand and Nail Treatment with Hot Stones (55 minutes, £55) and a similar one for feet (1 hour 10 minutes, £70).

Many treatments can be combined, for example as in a Detox package (3 hours, £250), which incorporates a specialized facial, wrap, and massage, or the Sequoia Signature Ritual (2 hours 55 minutes, £245) that begins with the foot ritual and consultation and includes a salt and oil scrub, Balinese body massage, and intensive facial. The Sequoia Journey (4 hours 45 minutes, £390) is a holistic trip through several ESPA signature treatments, among them the Ultimate Body Envelopment wrap; Chakra Balancing with Hot Stones; an acupressure head massage; an intensive facial tailored for your skin; Holistic Foot and Nail Treatment with Hot Stones; and reflex point massage with aromatherapy oil.

In addition to day packages, a variety of overnight spa programs are on offer on The Grove's website.

Between spa treatments find time to enjoy the abundant pleasures of The Grove: the 3-acre walled garden with tennis courts, a croquet lawn, and swimming pool; walking, jogging, and cycling trails through woodlands, wetlands, and along canal tow paths; award-winning formal gardens; and, of course, the championship 18-hole golf course.

One of The Leading Hotels of the World, The Grove has 227 rooms and suites that range in style from contemporary to opulently exotic, many with balconies or terraces, and all with views over the gardens and parkland. Sixteen suites are in the original mansion, many with open fireplaces and four-poster beds. Doubles start at 295 (about $585), including breakfast and taxes. At press time the pound was $1.98.

The Grove

Chandler's Cross
Hertfordshire, WD3 4TG

Tel: 011-44-1923-807-807

www.thegrove.co.uk