5 Things I Love To Pack For A Spa Weekend
Written by Jaillan Yehia
I’m obsessed with swimming and spas while away on trips and I always have been. There’s nothing as relaxing as soaking in hot tubs, sweating it out in the sauna and reclining in a relaxation room, especially after spending a few days sightseeing.
After years of long haul travel to spa hotels, multiple gym memberships and plenty of weekends away or day trips involving hand luggage only, I’ve narrowed down the 5 essential items that I always pack for a trip to a spa.
What Does This Post Cover?
A Brilliant, but functional, Bikini
Finding the perfect bikini isn’t always easy
The most obvious item you need to pack for a spa weekend is of course the perfect swimwear – and years of swimming experience have taught me that one girl’s ideal bikini is another girl’s worst lycra nightmare.
Form and function need to marry up perfectly in your swimming costume, meaning you need to think about the kind of trip you’re going on before packing your cossie.
A trip to a waterpark requires different swimming costume than a dedicated sunbathing trip – especially if you love the adventurous rides or hate tan lines.
And if you plan to sit in the hot tub on your spa weekend you might want to think about bringing ladies swimwear that is designed for you not to spill out of.
A well designed Wash Bag
Finally found a use for those sticky card-holders!
Another tip I’d share for spa packing is the importance of having a wash bag that actually fits everything you need inside. There’s nothing more annoying than rummaging around in multiple bags for your shampoo or moisturiser or having no way of getting your wet bikini back to your hotel room. It ruins that feeling of zen you’ve worked hard to create.
On my travels around countless spa hotels I’ve noticed that the offering of robes, towels, swimsuit bags and toiletries varies considerably, even in 5 Star locations, so I always bring a full kit just to be sure. If the hotel spa has it, that’s a bonus, but I never rely on supplies being available.
Whistler’s Scandinave Spa
I like to use a large wash bag which fits all my lotions and potions, my underwater walkman, goggles, bikini, and everything else in between, and that has a hanger style design.
I also found the perfect use for those sticky-backed card holders which seem to be given out as merchandise quite a bit: I keep one on my wash bag so that I can put the spa card, gym membership card or hotel key in it, and not end up losing it in a robe pocket or on a sun lounger while at the spa.
A Way Of Enjoying Underwater Tunes
The Sony underwater walkman changed my life
I treated myself to a Sony waterproof MP3 Player last year on Amazon Prime Day and it changed my life when it comes to swimming.
If you like swimming lengths but get a little bored (I would max out at about 40 lengths) this will revolutionise your in-pool habits.
The pool at the Fairmont Makati, Manila
Obviously if you’re headed off on a girls spa weekend you’ll spend most of your time gossiping at the shallow end anyway, but if you’re going to be at a hotel spa during a business trip for example, or want to get some serious excercise in so you will deserve a glass of wine later, having your own music to listen to makes swimming an absolute delight and really incentivizes you to do a few more lengths. My go-to album is Moby’s Go which sounds like it was designed to be listened to underwater.
A Protector For Your Locks
Swim cap + a real swim cap is a good combo
If you have long hair and swim or go to spas regularly or even if you’ve got coloured or dry hair, you might not want to let chlorinated or salty water loose on your locks, so make sure you pop a conditioner on your hair before you go into the water.
With my part-afro hair I am a bit militant when it comes to this topic and use Swim Cap by Philip Kingsley as well as an actual swim cap, for a double whammy of hair protection. Because I often swim multiple times a week I always put the conditioner on before any chlorine touches my hair.
One extra tip: if you go swimming in chlorinated water at the spa make sure you rinse and condition your hair before going to the sauna – the heat opens the hair cuticle and will turn any conditioner into a lovely nourishing deep treatment. Don’t rinse and you’ll be baking chlorine into your hair instead. Yuck!
An Extra Element that makes your spa trip More enjoyable
Most girls at the spa take the opportunity to being a nice girlie cover up, kaftan or wrap, or some sparkly flip flops, cute beach bag or something that makes them smile, because if you can’t be super girlie on a spa weekend, when can you be?
I pack my bikini beach towel on a spa weekend; it’s huge and fluffy and a bit cheeky and just puts a smile on my face.
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