Pearl Howie

The idea for this site came as my sister and I were practically passed out after an amazing massage at Rituels d’Orient in Barcelona in 2010, and it was the first step down a path of exploring my passions and sharing them with others. I just thought, wouldn’t it be great if you could offer this holiday to everyone; a safe, easy, affordable spa and hotel break – the kind that you could take your mum on and know that she would enjoy it. I hope that this website can do for travel what Gok Wan has done for fashion • Help you to find a good quality, affordable break somewhere new and exciting, that will replace the same old panic buys • Give you a designer spa holiday experience for a budget holiday price As much as I love looking through holiday sites on the internet, sometimes the amount of choice just gets too much – and then I find myself on Tripadvisor trying to figure out which of the rave reviews are made up and which of the nasty ones are just people who were having a bad day. I aim to only recommend one affordable hotel, spa, sight, top restaurant, everyday restaurant, and shopping tip in each location, so you can easily create your break with no need to search through all the travel websites or experience Jellyfish. London is the exception, but even here, in my home town, I will only recommend the exceptional (and that includes exceptional value.) In October 2009 I had 2 weeks holiday from work. I would have loved to have booked something but I was so burnt out and confused by all the choice that I gave up. I had a nice time – I spent time with my family, went to IMBS for a massage, took up yoga again, did lots of DIY, visited the Cotswolds and even surfed at East Wittering, but I also decided to never let myself get that run down again. So amongst the great spa and hotel breaks that I’ll be sharing here are also ideas for escapes that take a few minutes, hours or just a day, everyday escapes that you can indulge in, if you just can’t face the idea of packing a bag or getting on a plane. We all love to get away, but as the person who gets asked to sort out the travel details, by boyfriends, family and even my work colleagues (who are desperate for me to organise a trip to my favourite Moroccan spa) I also know how great it would be sometimes to just find a value for money holiday at the click of a button – and I hope you’ll find it here! And I hope you will tell me if there are things you want that aren’t here yet, and what you think of these escapes.