Spa offers star quality

HAD only had a massage once before I pitched up at The Cairndale Hotel and Spa to check out its £2million refurbishment. this spring.

- BY DOUGLAS DICKIE

I was on holiday in Turkey and it wasn't an experience I have any great desire to repeat.

Rather than leaving relaxed, it felt as though I had been beaten up by a member of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's private police force.

So the prospect of another, in the more homely surroundings of Dumfries, did not fill me with any great excitement.

But, not only did I escape being physically assaulted, I ended up leaving feeling invigorated and recharged after a delightful stay at what is fast becoming one of my favourite hotels.

I had last visited The Cairndale in November 2022 but the spa has been given a complete makeover since then.

In fact, it was unrecognisable. Spas tend to be attached to hotels, but The Cairndale feels like a spa that happens to have a hotel attached to it. Almost every penny of the refurbishment was spent on the spa area, and that, in my opinion, was the correct decision.

The facility, which has welcomed none other than Outlander star Sam Heughan in the past (much to my wife's excitement), is sleek and modern. I could have spent hours relaxing in the thermal pool or taking a dip in the whirlpool bath.