I went to the spa loved by Corrie stars and watched the sunset

Carden Park's luxurious spa is loved by soap stars and is rumoured to have hosted Hollywood A-listers

I went to a spa with an outdoor pool, Finnish sauna and Bollinger champagne bar that's loved by Corrie stars

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It's nice to be able to pamper yourself once in a while, and what better way to indulge yourself than at an award-winning spa? We're lucky here on Merseyside to have several amazing spas in which you can unwind and let your hair down.

But as it was my birthday, I decided to venture an hour up the road to truly spoil myself. Cheshire's Carden Park Hotel is tucked away in its own country estate and has just been named Spa Hotel of the Year in the AA awards.

Loading my mum and sister into the car, we were soon winding our way along the hotel's mile-long driveway that cuts through the centre of the estate's championship golf course. The hotel itself, which boasts 197 rooms, is an impressive sight. A sprawling mock Tudor building that stands at the top of the driveway, overlooking the 1,000 acres of parkland.

But it is the standalone spa we had come to indulge in. Opened in 2020, it cost £10m to build and boasts just about every facility you can imagine. The luxury venue has played host to numerous Coronation Street stars, and in April is rumoured to have hosted Hollywood A-listers and Wrexham AFC owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

We had booked online just a week before, scrolling through the myriad of packages available until one caught our eye - the twilight spa experience. As soon as I read it, I could imagine being sat in a warm hot tub in the middle of a calm oasis, watching the sunset on the horizon. The decision was made.

We arrived just before 5.30pm, booked ourselves in at reception and were shown up to the changing rooms where we found robes, towels and flip-flops waiting for us to change into. Having come prepared with our swimming costumes under our clothes, we were soon out in the spa garden and ordering our complimentary glass of sparkling wine from the Bollinger champagne bar.

The manicured gardens are sprinkled with loungers to lie back and enjoy the sun on, and thermal pods for you to retreat to when the temperature starts to dip. As inviting as they looked, I'd already spotted the hot tubs and made a beeline for the nearest.

I was soon up to my neck in bubbling, warm water - my sparkling wine on the side and an unobstructed view of the beautiful sky. Blissful relaxation.

We could have chosen to add a number of treatments to our visit, anything from a manicure or pedicure, to regenerating facials, muscle melt massages and even waxes and eyebrow shapes, but we didn't want to reduce our time in the pools.

From the hot tub, we moved to the outdoor vitality pool, which has a number of massage jets aimed at targeting the neck and shoulders, the sides and the back. After a sound pummelling under the neck massager, we relaxed on the bench area surrounded by bubbles from the underwater jets.

Exploring further we ventured inside to try the indoor hydrotherapy pool, saunas and steam rooms. I'm useless when it comes to heat, and the arid temperature of the Finnish sauna was too intense for me. Instead, I ventured into the aroma steam room and let the sweet-smelling steam envelope me - quite literally at one point

As the night began to draw in, it was back out to the hot tubs. Ordering another round of cocktails, we sat back and chatted, the sky above us turning into a radiant palette of reds, oranges, purples and indigos until the sun was gone and the night arrived.

The dark did bring with it a few light showers, but warm and snug in the outdoor pool, I really didn't care. As 9.10pm approached, staff came round and gave us a 20-minute warning the session was about to end.

I don't mind admitting I stayed until the very last second. Even though my skin was starting to look like a prune, I had enjoyed every second of my time there and will be saving to make my return as soon as possible.

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