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Some people are really easy to buy for…
but what do you get the friend who has everything?
Last month it was my friend Ellie’s birthday and I wanted to surprise her with a really meaningful present. Not something I could just pick up off the shelf, not something she would use once and then forget about, but a proper gift that really says, hey, you’re special to me.
And that’s when it hit me – BuyaGift! I’ll get her an experience, something we can do together and make memories with. The gift of time spent together….and a few glasses of fizz thrown in for good measure!
Our BuyaGift voucher included a 2 course lunch with a drink in the Malmaison Birmingham Brasserie, spa access and TWO treatments each for just £69.50pp!
Having spa’d at the Manchester Malmaison, and stayed in Birmingham and Liverpool before, I knew this experience was going to be good. With quirky interiors, great brasserie grub and relaxing treatments – Malmaison know how to deliver the full package and are a great option for a girly spa day in the city!
Choosing 2 courses from their spa day set menu was difficult as it all sounded incredible, but we powered through and both ordered a main and desert to enjoy before our spa time.
A huge well seasoned fish cake for me Hollandaise style, and comforting belly pork for Ellie which were both delicious…and devoured!
For desert we both chose the Rhubarb fool which was HUGE and absolutely delicious – great for anyone with a sweet tooth!
Our voucher also came with a glass of fizz but our server allowed us to swapfor a cocktail of our choice, which as always were really well mixed and made our lunch extra special!
Nicely fed and watered we made our way down to the spa to get into our robes and relax before our treatments. As part of the voucher you can both choose two 25 minutes treatments or one 55 minute treatment, so we each went for a mini facial and a back neck and shoulder massage – a winning combo if you ask me!
For a city based spa, the Birmingham Malmaison is very relaxing and they do well not to overcrowd it with bookings each day. It’s small with a relaxation room and a wet room alongside a gym and their treatment rooms (similar to their kinkier sister in Manchester), but despite its size its uber chilled and the staff make you feel right at home.
We each were taken separately for our treatments and before I knew it my 55 minutes were up…I think even if I had a 3 hour treatment it still wouldn’t be enough!
(Actually, I did have a two hour treatment once in Bangkok and that was out of this world! Lets start a petition to extend the minimum time of any massage to 2 hours please!)
After our treatments we went through to the wet room of the spa and spent the entire afternoon in the hot tub! Malmaison allowed us to order a bottle of fizz down to the tub so we sat like ladies of leisure putting the world to rights with bubbles all around us and in our bellies!
Aside from the ample hot tub, Malmaison have also got two monsoon showers – one with ambient sounds and lights to mimic different types of tropical storms – a sauna, and a steam room.
The changing rooms are also well equipped with showers, lockers, hairdryers and hair straighteners so you can glam us after your relaxing day in the spa!
We had such a wonderful time at the Malmaison Spa and it was the perfect way to celebrate Ellie’s birthday. We also made a pact to start buying experiences over possessions for birthdays as the time spent together and memories made are worth so much more.
Skydiving next year yeah?
From driving experiences to spa days, fancy meals and family adventures – take a look at all the experiences available on BuyaGift HERE!