Sometimes you just have to take a break to relax, say lifestyle journalists Famke and Floor van Praag. They went to Rotterdam and were pampered in the spa of the new Mainport Hotel.
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On a Monday morning we decide to leave the mountains of work in Amsterdam behind us and get in the car to Rotterdam. This is because recently a new member of Design Hotels® has just been screaming to be tried. Once you have arrived, it turns out to be no punishment:the lobby of the Mainport Hotel has an amazing view of the Maas and is full of stylish design furniture. With a glass elevator we zoom up to the eighth floor to the Far East floor, where the spa is also located. Our room is already a kind of spa in itself:by the window is a mega jacuzzi and a sauna has been installed in our bathroom. And when we look around the corner, we see the Erasmus Bridge and De Rotterdam, the amazing new building by Rem Koolhaas. You don't need a wooded area or babbling brook for some relaxation; a view with high-tech architecture and the gray water of the Maas is just as calming!
Almost wrinkle-free
In the hotel spa with Finnish panorama sauna and haman you have the same spectacular view, but we need something extra and book the Sacred Nature treatment. Sharmila takes care of us - and does it terribly skillfully. First an extensive scrub with volcanic sand, then a massage with, among other things, oil from the buriti tree ('also called the tree of youth') and then also a full facial where she applies everything with massaging movements, like the Italian brand Comfort Zone that dictates. We are constantly teetering on the edge of falling asleep - that's what we call relaxing, we realize later - and are other women when we walk out again. With ruddy cheeks, almost wrinkle-free, we look like five years younger. And luckily, that's how we make a little impression on Feyenoord footballer Pelle, who we bump into the tall, muscular body. He seems (also) utterly devoted to Sharmila's hands.
Fish at Fjord
Because we are so very relaxed, we don't want to walk too far for dinner. Fortunately, restaurant Fjord is five minutes away. On the water, beautiful high space, playfully decorated, plenty of fresh fish and for enthusiasts Angus Beef that hangs to mature in a drying cabinet. We sit down and drink wine, cut into squid, pick from the lobster and dip the langoustine in the tarragon sauce. Not much later we lay our heads on down pillows and fall asleep completely satisfied. In this city of hard workers you seem to be able to relax very well.
Go to www.caperleaves.nl for more nice hotpots visited by Famke &Floor.
