Aromatherapy treatments use essential oils that can be very soothing or energising. It can be used for a number of things. For instance, maybe you’ve had an unbelievably hard day at work and your muscle and joints are crying out for relief, or perhaps you can feel a bit of a cold, flu or migraine coming on. Some oils can even be used as insect repellents – better yet, as an aphrodisiac!

If you’ve given aromatherapy a go before or even if you haven’t and would like to, why not make a much-needed break of it. This is not to say that there aren’t any places local to you that can provide you with an amazing course of aromatherapy treatments, but have you thought of taking a weekend break in a really luxurious Cologne hotel instead – one that’s equipped with its own spa?

It doesn’t matter if you live locally to Cologne - it’s the perfect excuse to find out more about where you live. It’s a misgiving that hotels are just for travellers. There’s nothing to say you can’t enjoy what your city has to offer. Another great thing is the hotel might be such that you feel that you’re in another country. Good hotels tend to have that effect – where you feel as if you’re a world away from the world.

Once you’ve convinced yourself that, yes, you are deserving of a break, book the hotel before you change your mind. You could try the Hotel Cologne (Hotel Köln) , for instance, or Hotel Ascot to see what their spas have to offer. Your plan for the weekend could be …to do absolutely nothing …except for having lavish aromatherapy treatments, facials, a good manicure, pedicure, a lovely steam in their sauna, followed by some more aromatherapy! Let’s say you arrive on a Friday after a hard week. You could ask the aromatherapist to use Lavender oil, lemon oil or the vanilla-smelling Benzoin oil to relax you. The next morning, you could ask for something refreshing like Bergamot or black pepper oil to put a kick in your step for the rest of the day.

There’s no harm in having a bit of the same the next day before you leave. None at all.

If at any point during your sumptuous weekend, you start to feel a bit guilty for treating yourself, go and have another facial, order room service, take a nap. That should do the trick!

So the weekend’s over and you’ve spoilt yourself completely rotten as you float down the stairs to check out. A weekend away in an exquisite Cologne hotel might not cure all of life’s problems, but it’s a good start in the right direction. Besides, wouldn’t you rather deal with life head-on smelling like a bucketful of essential oils with a perfect set of nails to die for and a swing in your step?

Hope you’ve booked your next hotel weekend away.

No ifs or buts.

Remember: you deserve it.