Let me preference this by saying this is my very first blog post. I am not much of a writer so just keep that in mind if you are a grammar guru! I talk a lot and am always telling people about my experiences so I thought it might be neat to start a blog about my experiences, places I love or things I love to do. Hopefully I can help you decide if it is something you want to check out. I will pretty much tell you like it is. I am not a mean spirited person but I do believe in being up front so, I will tell you about both the good and the not so good. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy.
Me - Alex was being a baby & wouldn't smile for the camera!
So finally after a year I got to experience Hot Springs, NC! Alejandro and I went for our 1 year Anniversary (hard to believe he has put up with me for that long already!). Hot Springs is just a tiny town with a cute Main Street area. We didn’t get the opportunity to do any shopping but there are a few places to eat and shop.
We arrived around 4:30 pm and got checked into our Cabin – The Boat House about 2 blocks from the Spa (more on the cabin later). We had just enough time to unload and head to the Spa.
Because it was so hot and we were having massages done after our soak, we decided to be lazy and drive. Well I would have walked but someone was a big baby!;) The entrance to the Spa is lined with trees – I always think that is so pretty. We checked in (both employees were eating at the front desk and there is a break room right around the corner so I thought that was a little unprofessional) and the front desk gave directions like I had been there before so after having to ask for more details we headed out back for our soak. It would have been nice to be escorted to the changing area and told a little about the history of the spa.
**Be sure to bring your bathing suit (I don’t really see why you need one you are in a private tub area but whatever makes you more comfortable) and your own towels. If you need to rent towels they are $1 and have to get them at the front desk!
Our view from the hot tub.
I like to soak in a hot tub before a massage. It helps me relax and loosens up my muscles which makes my massage more enjoyable. We were in tub number 6 I believe on the creek side. It was very peaceful and was $35 for the 2 of us for 1 hour before 6 pm. We were escorted down to the tub (our attendant was on the phone the whole time and at 1 point we were not sure where he had turned). The tubs are very private and the view was very pretty and restful. I loved the trees and the sound of the water. We brought the iPod with us so we could listen to some light music and just chill. I stayed in the tub for the whole hour but, by the end the heat was starting to get to me. Alejandro is not much for hot water so although it did help him relax and he fell right asleep (not hard when you work very long days, 6 days a week), he spent half of his time out of the water. The attendants (different then the first one) came in discreetly and told us our time was over. We headed back to the first building for our massage (massages range from $45-90ish).
Just an FYI – they drain and clean the tubs after each session!
Jeanette and Sandra were our therapists. So off to opposite directions of the spa for our hour of massage. The rooms were very clean and tidy. There was a little more light then I am used to in a therapy room and my room was rather cold. I had Sandra add a blanket for me and I could have used a heating pad as well. In fairness I do tend to be cold when having services done. I am one of these weird people that actually like a heating pad in the summer. My muscles are so tight that being cold just makes it worse. Sandra did a very nice job. Alejandro loved Jeanette – this was his first real massage and he was like a marshmallow when he came out of the room. Now off to The Boat House to settle in and have dinner.
View from Back Deck.
I had made a bunch of healthy stuff to eat. So we fired up the grill for the asparagus and prepared to have dinner on the back deck. It had cooled down some and we were able to enjoy being outside. The animals and insects were making noise and it reminded me of back home. Surprisingly enough I did not get assaulted with insect bites?!
The house has a studio type layout and was built in 2009. The kitchen area is awesome , it has a punched tin back splash. The back deck over looks the creek. There is a nice size bathroom with a stand up shower only. The only thing I thought could be better was the sleeper sofa. It was not very comfortable but, I think that once they add a memory foam pad it will be good to go. The linens were all very nice and high quality. The sofa itself was very comfortable. There is satellite TV for those that need it and 2 well constructed rocking chairs on the front porch if you want to sit and relax. Everything about the house said quality to me. I am sure we will stay there again. This is the first year that people are staying in the cabin they wanted feedback how to make the cabin more comfortable.
I love this back splash! Punched Tin
The owners of The Boat House are super nice! I had booked us at another place but after a week of trying to contact them to ask some questions and not being able to get a hold of them I decided to look for another place. I found The Boat House. I am so glad we did. A lot of the places were booked on Sunday night but Libby was able to accommodate us. When I asked about check out time for Monday she told us we could stay as long as we wanted on Monday, which I am sure is not the norm but I had also explained to her our circumstance and she was just so nice about it. She also contacted the place we were suppose to stay and told them about the problems I had contacting them and that we would be staying with them instead. I was actually worried about the owners of the other place because I knew it was a Mom and Pop hotel. Libbey told me the owner is sick and the person taking care of him is having a hard time keeping up with everything. I thought it was great that she knew the people in her town.
We were going to head to Green River to go tubing but after having a slow start to the day and not very good weather we decided to head back to Greenville. We plan to take a 1 day trip to Saluda for tubing at another time so I will keep you posted on our experience. So instead we decided to go to The Great Escape in Simpsonville and watch The Expendables (very typical Stallone movie) but it was just nice to get to spend some time together and relax.
So if you are looking for a nice place to get away that is close by you should check out Hot Springs, NC. Here are the links for the spa and the cabin where we stayed:
http://www.nchotsprings.com/
http://www.hotspringsnc.org/pages/rockhouse.html
Happy Travels!
