BRINGING up two toddlers can be pretty unforgiving on your relationship, and every couple, even those whose offspring have long flown the nest, can benefit from a night away from the stresses and strains of everyday life.

So when the chance came for me and my husband to stay at the five-star Chester Grosvenor Hotel and Spa we jumped at it - after all you only have to leave home, not the county, to enjoy a break.

And a visit to the Grosvenor is about as far removed from staying at home as you can get (well, my house anyway!).

Unfortunately, we chose the night of very bad weather to stay and it took my husband took nearly four hours to drive from Manchester to Chester due to horrendous traffic jams.

For a moment I thought our precious evening would be a non-event and I would be spending the night alone!

When I phoned the restaurant to say we'd be late for dinner, and might not even make it all, they offered to keep the chef on to cook especially for us - now that's what I call five-star service.

Eventually he arrived and after a great meal from the Brasserie menu in the hotel's Arkle restaurant we spent the night in a truly sumptuous suite with a bed big enough to sleep four adults comfortably and a beautiful marble bathroom with his and hers basins, a huge bath and Molton Brown toiletries. We also had our own sitting room.

The next morning we had full use of the hotel's deluxe thermal spa facilities and a treatment booked for both of us. I chose a stress recovery massage while Francois opted for a deep tissue muscle massage.

Stacey, my therapist, began by asking about my general wellbeing and how, on a scale of one to 10, I would grade my stress levels.

I reckoned about six or seven, especially as I had been frequently working into the night to launch and research a new website I've set up with a friend.

She started with a connection touch' followed by chakara balance breathing to rebalance and ground my body prior to the treatment.

Then she tailored the massage to my needs, blending techniques from both east and west and incorporating Swedish, reiki, Hawaiian, lomi lomi, shiatsu, ayurveda and Chinese Tui Na massage.

Using a blend of lemon, juniper and seabuckthorn oils to invigorate and detoxify, she began the full body massage which included my face and scalp.

When finished she said my muscles indicated a stress rating closer to eight or nine - I reckon they were probably down to about two by the end of it.

My husband simply described his deep tissue massage as gorgeous' - not an adjective he uses very often!

A single night at the Grosvenor is as good as having a week away and we felt the benefits for just as long.

More please!