I went to Aqua Sana Forest Spa at Center Parcs in the snow and it was close to pure relaxation

We all do it. These days we seem to think relaxing is slouching on the sofa and either binge watching a series we feel obliged to watch, because someone has recommended it, or we just sit and scroll aimlessly through nonsense on our phones.

I'll start with a disclaimer - I actually find it very hard to relax. When I say that I mean the true meaning of the word.

Working in a job with constant notifications, meetings and phone calls might be to blame for that but to just sit and truly relax is not something that comes naturally to me. Nevertheless, a trip to Aqua Sana Forest Spa at Center Parcs Sherwood Forest six-and-a-half months after welcoming our first child into the world was certainly appealing.

I had booked a twilight package for my wife as a birthing gift and, much to my delight and pleasure, I was chosen as her plus one.

The twilight package provided access to the spa from 5.30pm until 9pm with complimentary robe and towel hire and a free glass of bubbly (or soft drink) on arrival. We arrived at Center Parcs at around 6pm and were keen to get into the spa and relax.

Unfortunately we were met with an obstacle in our desire to relax in the shape of a huge gate at the security lodge. The member of staff seemed to be some trouble locating our booking and it, rather frustrating, took around 15 minutes for us to be let through the gate into the car park.

Despite that frustration, the Christmas decorations and lights scattered around the site added a little extra something to our visit. Checking in at the spa itself was much more straightforward and, after a quick change into our swimwear, we were through into the Vitale Café and Bar for our complimentary drinks.

Given the rush from work, we'd also not eaten so opted to share some snacks. The spa itself is made up of 25 different experiences split across two floors.

As we arrived, snow was just starting to fall, which added a fantastic side to the outdoor pool and hot tubs. As a lover of snow, I was far too excited for the treetop sauna.

With flakes falling on us as we made our way inside, the excitement soon turned to disappointment though. There is probably a valid reason for it and hopefully it's not just an oversight but at night you actually can't see anything out of the windows - just your own reflection.

Bird noises played inside the sauna and I imagine that by day it is quite the relaxing experience but I couldn't help but wonder why a light underneath the sauna lighting up the trees hadn't been installed below. Some of the other experiences included a number of steam rooms and saunas including Lava Sauna, Volcanic Steam Room and Salt Steam Room.

The outdoor pool in the snow was also quite the experience. The lighting was perfect and there was something magical about looking up and seeing the white stuff falling.

There are also relaxation areas scattered throughout the spa - one of which was the heated sun loungers which were soothing. Another was a selection of water beds, which were more strange than relaxing.

It may have been down to my seemingly inability to relax or the fact we rushed from work to make the most of our evening but while I did manage to relax (in the true sense of the word), a few small tweaks - namely, allowing people with a booking into the car park in less than 15 minutes and a light underneath the treetop sauna - and Aqua Sana is as close to pure relaxation as you can get.