Why a night in a hotel with your BFF is the best way to hop on to the adult sleepover trend
Looking back to my teenage years, there was nothing better than a weekend sleepover with my best mates. Watching films, eating snacks, laughing at rubbish jokes - it was carefree, innocent fun, and as we've got older and our lives more complicated and busy, I often find myself reminiscing about the halcyon days of the late 90s and early 00s.
But it was after I saw a peppering of social media posts about "adult sleepovers" that I realised that these happy memories didn't have to stay in the past - we could be making new ones now we're in our forties, too.
Speaking to Refinery29 earlier this year, psychotherapist Caroline Plumer explained that 'many of us are embracing more "wholesome" activities that give us a sense of safety and nostalgia.'
She added: 'Being at a sleepover with friends not only gives us the opportunity to have the type of deep and lengthy conversations that often tend to occur in the late hours, it also bonds us closer together and provides us a literal safe space.
'We are away from strangers, noise and bustle involved in being outside and away from home. At ours or a friend’s place we may feel more inclined to relax, be ourselves and even divulge things we may not want to discuss in public around prying ears.'
Eager to give the "adult sleepover" trend a whirl, I invited my one of my OG besties, Sarah, to come with me to The NICI Hotel in Bournemouth for a night away. The plan: to recreate the sort of Saturday night we enjoyed when we were 16 - albeit with spa treatments and an amazing three-course dinner, rather than a Dominos. After creating a Spotify playlist packed with our favourite songs from our youth, we hit the road and headed to the South Coast for 24 hours of uninterrupted catching up.
What's The NICI Hotel like?
The NICI Hotel is located in Bournemouth, but in all honesty, you could be forgiven for thinking that you were in Miami. The hotel's aesthetic is very art deco, with plenty of retro styling. I was totally obsessed with the brown velour sofas and chandelier in one of the cosy rooms off of the lobby.
This is not a "very demure, very mindful" hotel - there's flashes of neon, tropical prints, and the carefully curated art ranges from paintings to sculptures, is bold and thought provoking.
You need to experience The Nici for yourself! BOOK NOW
What are the rooms like The NICI Hotel?
There are 88 rooms, including 16 suites. We stayed in a Poolside Garden Suite, which had a hot tub on the terrace, two sun loungers, and a view of the hotel's amazing 30m (heated) outdoor pool.
Our room had an enormous super king size bed - a step up from when we would pile round someone's house and sleep on sofas and in sleeping bags on the floor - and as soon as we arrived we dropped anchor on it, logging into Amazon Prime on the room's huge TV.
We changed into our pyjamas straight away and just like the old days, got stuck into a horror movie, chatting away about what we had been up to over the past few weeks until it was time for me to go and check out the spa and for Sarah to have a nap.
What is the spa like at The NICI Hotel?
The NICI Hotel really is a one-stop shop for a perfect relaxing weekend away. Firstly, the beds are so comfortable you are going to sleep impeccably, but away from the rooms there's more ways to release some stress and feel like you can truly breathe.
The hotel's spa has eight treatment rooms and offers facials and massages using OTO and OSKIA products. As an OSKIA super-fan, I opted for the latter. My OSKIA Facial (£125 for 60 minutes) left my skin glowing and my nervous system deeply relaxed.
What's the food like?
There are two dining options at The NICI Hotel. A new clifftop restaurant, Old Harry Rocks, and the more casual South Beach Restaurant and Bar, which is where we had dinner. It had a great atmosphere, and was packed with diners, a mixture of hotel residents and locals.
We loved the Caesar salad, and I ordered my 'death row meal' of salmon fillet, broccoli and truffle parmesan fries. It was superb, and the (generous) piece of salmon was cooked to perfection. Make sure you also order the freshly baked bread - we both agreed it was the best focaccia we have ever eaten.
For breakfast, we opted to enjoy it in bed. This wasn't totally dissimilar to how our mums used to bring us cups of tea and toast the morning after a sleepover, except the staff at the NICI did it with a smile rather than through gritted teeth.
Final thoughts...
Spending some one-on-one time with one of my oldest friends was absolutely beautiful and it was great to see a new place and make some fresh memories.
We do hang out a lot, but as we live on opposite sides of London, and her being busy mumming, it's only ever for a few hours here and there, so getting to spend hours together in a gorgeous hotel with no distractions was a real treat for both of us.
As for The NICI Hotel, it really is a showstopper, and I will definitely visit again the next time I need some sea air and some RnR.
Go there!
Rooms at the The NICI Hotel start at £123 per night BOOK NOW
Nearest station Bournemouth, plan your journey on Trainline BOOK NOW
More staycation inspiration...
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48 hours of hot tubs and pina coladas at The Swan Hotel and Spa
'I tried a wellness weekend at a deconstructed hotel in the Peak District'
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