I spent an afternoon at the Castleknock Hotel’s spa and it was the perfect break from reality

   

The Castleknock Hotel recently underwent a €7 million redevelopment - which included a brand new luxury spa, improved leisure facilities and a restaurant.

  Which is why I jumped at the chance when I was invited to try one of the spa's signature treatments. There were definitely a few hiccups when it came to even arriving at the spa, mostly thanks to the arrival of Storm Emma and me being pretty awful with directions. But it was so worth the wait. The spa has a range of massages and facials on offer, using the beloved Elemis and YOVA products, as well as some BIOTEC facials, detoxifying body wraps and brightening body scrubs. After arriving at the spa, I was led to the changing rooms to swap everything for my cosy robe and a pair of slippers. Once comfortable, I made my way to the tranquil waiting room, which had six bed-chair hybrids and a pile of magazines to tuck into while waiting for my massage therapist, Shauna. I had the chance to try the Elemis Absolute Spa Ritual, which included a deep tissue muscle massage and a facial that would target one of my soon-to-be-decided main skin concerns. Admittedly, I was a bit concerned heading into the treatment since I had pulled a muscle in my shoulder a few days before, making one of my arms basically unable to move. Not exactly ideal, especially since I wasn't sure if it would end up affecting my treatment in any way. But Shauna put my fears at ease as we went through exactly what I was hoping for during the almost  two-hour-long treatment. The afternoon began with the deep tissue massage, which was honestly so relaxing that it nearly led to me nodding off a few times. For the sake of my arm, I went with a medium level of pressure throughout the massage. However, looking back at the experience, I wish I had asked for things to be a bit more stronger. But above all else, Shauna was (thankfully) able to fix up what happened to my shoulder. Since the cold weather had left my skin dull, dry and just generally kind of grim (my description, not anyone's in the spa), it was decided that the skin solution facial would target...well, all that. Getting the Superfood Pro-Radiance Facial totally transformed my skin. It addressed every one of my skin concerns, leaving my glowing afterwards.. A little more than four weeks after my visit, the effects of the treatment have definitely - and expectedly - faded, but I'm still definitely able to see some results from it all. At the end of the treatment, I was provided with a personalised product guide and skincare programme to keep things up if I wanted to. I topped off the afternoon with the afternoon tea in the restaurant, which was super delicious - and inviting - though definitely far too much for one person. This kind of treatment wouldn't necessarily be for everyone, though. But the spa offers a number of options, depending on what you're looking for - and there's the cost to consider. Prices for the treatments range from €55 for the 25-minute stress-busting massage to €320 for the Voya Majestic Mermaid treatment, which takes 135 minutes. I'm really happy that I was able to check out the luxe experience, and I couldn't be happier with the results - after a long week, it really was the perfect break from the real world. While I can definitely see myself returning at some point this year - hopefully sooner rather than later - I'll just need to save up a bit first. **While the treatment and afternoon tea was provided by Castleknock Hotel on a complimentary basis, my review is an honest appraisal and they had no input into the feature**