Atlanta Garden Tour and Spa Weekend

I recently went with a friend for a girls' spa weekend and garden tour in Atlanta.  We stayed at the Mandarin Oriental, previously known as the Mansion on Peachtree.  I chose this hotel partly because it made the top 25 hotels in the nation on tripadvisor.com, and also because it was one of the few hotels in Atlanta that had a wet lounge in the spa, meaning there was a hot tub, sauna, showers, and steam room along with an indoor pool, all freely available to guests until 9 pm every day, although the staff leaves at 7 pm.

The dining room at Mandarin Oriental Atlanta

  

The garden tour was spectacular, as it was in 2011.  The Georgia Perennial Association hosted it.
  

Here are some highlights from the spa and from the garden tour.  

If you view my video on youtube, you will see other uncut videos.  I did a complete walk-through of the spa  on video for those of you curious about the layout.

Here's the review I wrote for tripadvisor of this hotel:

A girlfriend and I went on the Atlanta Perennial Association's Garden tour and decided to make a spa weekend out of it. We chose Mansion on Peachtree and were not disappointed. We stayed in room 1502 with two double beds. The room was comfortable and had nice views. I would have loved to get a room with a window tub, but they had none, although they were willing to give us a free upgrade, so be sure to ask for that! The hotel was very quiet and relaxing, but our main mission was to relax at the spa.

 As soon as we arrived we went straight there. I had a french manicure, which was very well done. I'm rough on my nails, and five days later, as I write this, they look great! My friend had a massage and pedicure that she was very happy with. We sat in the whirlpool, steam room and sauna and enjoyed $20 hamburgers on the outdoor terrace. There are a couple things I think they could do to improve this spa. The relaxation room was open with no door, and the hairdryers were loud. The whirlpool and pool needed a good scrub. And to get to the pool from the spa, you have to go out to the spa lobby, get on an elevator, and ride it down 3 floors to the pool. I love it when hotels have a hot tub by the pool, and this establishment did not have that. BUT, you could walk outside the pool to the terrace and enjoy the views of the hotel's lovely English garden. 

Also, it's nice that the spa is available free to hotel guests even if they don't book treatments, and I spent many hours there just relaxing and enjoying the amenities. I also enjoyed the spa showers - they provided facial cleanser (which was actually a menthol scrub that you don't want to get in your eyes!), shaving cream, shampoo, conditioner, and body wash along with free razors. The only other thing I missed that I enjoy at other spas is scented ice washcloths. The bottom line is, despite these areas for room for improvement, I would highly recommend this place for a girls' spa weekend! 

It's affordable if you share a room with a double bed - we had tons of room. The turn down service at night was a nice touch with a floor mat and slippers provided. Just be sure to bring your own refreshments - as with most places, the in room goody bar was expensive - $5 for a mini bottle of soda!!! The beds were beyond wonderful with pillowtop mattresses and clean white duvets.