Right before I left to Italy, we had someone from Farris Bad in Larvik over in our office. It was Hanne Moth who came to present "her" newly built spa hotel to us as incoming tour operator.
Her presentation was really interesting. The hotel opened in March 2009 and is the largest and most comprehensive spa-hotel in the Nordics. It enjoys a unique placing directly at the beach in Larvik. Thus, it is located also on the east side of the Oslofjord, just a 15 minutes drive away from Torp-Airport.
Hanne invited us for coming over for a visit one day. We should just contact her... and that's actually what I did when I was in Italy. Since I would land also on my flight back from Italy in Sandefjord, I would actually be close by. I wrote Hanne that I would be around in the area, because I'd land on Saturday 16/10 late in the evening at Torp airport and asked her if she could make me a good offer for an overnight; I'd really like to "test" and experience the hotel.
Well, I really did get a great offer: a stay for free :-)
Since it was my friend Audrey that would pick me up again with my car that evening - after not being moved for ages some long drives were really necessary for my car and its battary - I asked her if she liked to join me. Of course she did!
So, after she picked me up at the airport on Saturday evening we drove straight to Larvik to the hotel. We checked in... and to our big surprise realised that we were even given a suite, the "Nordheim Suiten"!!! That was so great!
It was already quite late and we were actually a little hungry. So we went down to the hotel restaurant which was about to close soon. Unfortunately they only had one pre-set menu... for the excessive price of nearly 500 NOK (≈ 65,- €)! The menu didn't attract us too much and we weren't that hungry. But it was possible to order only one part of the 3 courses menu. We decided on the main dish... which was still quite expensive. But well, we had to eat at least something. And it was not only colourful, but also tasty :-)
During the dinner Audrey and I had a very long and nice chat. Audrey told me a lot about her work (in the field of geophysics) and it was really fascinating to listen to her and get to know so much more about her.
Somewhat around midnight we decided to go to bed to make the most out of a day at a spa hotel.
We got up at about 8.30 a.m. and were rewarded with a great view from our room and bed after opening the curtains.
We had a room with terrace facing the waterfront. Veeery nice!
After a quick look around the main areas of the hotel...
... we prepared for our spa-day :-)
Slippers and bathrobes were provided by the hotel, free of charge for hotel guest and could be taken home afterwards.
The interior of the spa area is characterised by the beautiful effect of the sun, water and beach outside reflecting on the surface of Larvikite features.
At 11:30 a.m. we joined an acqua-pilates course. Funny!
This way led to the "VRP" (very relaxed person) area...
... with the fjord sauna,...
... a refreshment area where they offered fruits and nuts and fresh water,...
... another jakuzzi...
... and to the outdoor stairs leading right into the fresh and freezingly cold water of the sea...
I couldn't resist trying it :-)
In the late afternoon we met up with another guy from the hotel for a hotel "omvisning" (guided tour) in order to see all room types, services and business facilities. Right after that we made our way home. We still had a 2 hours drive ahead of us until finally reaching Oslo city again.
That was a really good and relaxing stay, full of all kinds of sauna, jakuzzis and pools. We didn't tryout any treatments... because they cost a lot and even without them time fly by in that place. I can really recommend this hotel for those looking for spa and not being interested in staying right in Oslo downtown.
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