insideKENT Magazine Issue 43 - October 2015 | Page 90

HEALTH+WELLNESS

on the edge of the wilderness
IT’S TIME TO DISCOVER A WHOLE NEW LEVEL OF HEALTH, FITNESS AND
WELLBEING – WELCOME TO THE UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE THAT
IS REYNOLDS RETREAT. BY SAMANTHA G

Sometimes you have one of those moments –
you know the ones I mean – where you stop
dead in your tracks and are overcome but what
you see; your jaw drops and you just zone out
staring, caught up in your own daydream of
existence. Well, my first glimpse of the panoramic
vistas, fantastically framed by huge floor-to-ceiling
windows at the Reynolds Retreat was one of
those moments; it is quite simply breathtaking.
The Retreat in Borough Green is the fourth spabased offering, but the first dedicated retreat by
the family-run Reynolds Group, which opened
its Victorian restored and rejuvenated doors to
its purpose-built home just last year. The
Reynold’s concept of health, wellbeing and fitness
(honed no doubt from the healthy performer
mindset of its owner) is simple, and these days
arguably necessary, however, its delivery here is
quite frankly exquisite.
Easily accessible in its location just outside
Sevenoaks, the beautiful building comes into
view at the end of the lime tree lined driveway.
Its entrance surrounded by well manicured
gardens is just a few gravel crunching steps from
the carpark which is cleverly positioned away
from the main house, protecting those delightful
garden views.

The refurbishment and rebuild here was very well
done, leaving the existing character and structure
of the main house and extending off to both sides
creating purpose-built new wings, housing a state
of the art two-story gym and fitness centre to
the left, and a tranquil cutting-edge spa complex
to the right. The central areas are home on the
ground floor to a welcoming bar and lounge,
where my guest and I had our first ‘that view’
experience, and upstairs to the therapy rooms,
lounge and Waterleaf Restaurant. Every space
is designed to harness that amazing view to the
rear of the property meaning you can run, stand,
sit and swim, up to the edge of nature.
And that nod to nature is harnessed further with
the soft décor palate of greens, browns and
beiges and natural stone throughout, but with
an extra luxurious touch set off by decadent
chandeliers which even make an appearance
above the pool.
On arrival my guest and I were led to the bar
area and needed no persuasion to take a seat
at one of the comfortable sofas facing out of the
windows. Open all day and providing a range of
drink options, it was here that we had our first
experience of the ‘superfoods’ that have been
perfected by the retreat across their food and
beverage offerings, all designed to aid your healthy

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mind, body and spiritual journey – this time in the
form of super smoothies with ingredients such
as kale, maca, wheatgrass and protein in
abundance.
Suitably refreshed and keen to explore, my guest
headed for the fitness complex, passing on the
popular exercise classes and spin studio, he
instead headed for gym. The intricate complex
provided a mix of cardio and weight machines,
free weights and even an infinity rock climbing
wall.
Now on my own, I chose to head to the spa,
where I whiled my time away taking full advantage
of the huge steam room, a charming modern
wood-clad sauna (again with ‘that view’,) foot