'We flew to Milan for an 18-hour spa trip for just £102 — We were home in time for the school run'
Watch: "We flew to Milan for an 18-hour spa trip for just £102 - we were home in time for the school run"
A group of mums have found the perfect way to travel, relax, and be home in time to get their kids to school in the morning.
Laura Oduntan, 37, Jade Bassett, 33, Remi Pedro, 37, and Agnes Adenkunle, 38, spent just £102 each on an 18-hour spa trip in Milan - beginning their journey at 3am and getting home at midnight on the same day.
The group decided to level up their usual meet-up at Nando’s after Oduntan saw the QC Terme spa in Milan while scrolling on TikTok. She pitched the idea of going there to her fellow busy mums, noting that it was cheap compared to going to a spa in the UK. A spa day at Champney’s, for example, can cost nearly £200 per person.
After checking and making arrangements with their partners, the four mums flew via Easyjet from Gatwick Airport at 6.20am on a return flight that cost £62, and landed at Milan Malpensa Airport at 9am.
They then took the train into Milan for an early lunch at a local cafe, before heading to the spa to relax for three hours.
After getting pampered at the spa, the group went for dinner and Aperol Spritz cocktails. They got back to the airport for their 10pm flight back to the UK, and Laura said she was home by midnight. She was up the next morning to take her daughter to school.
Reflecting on the whirlwind trip, Oduntan, a mother of two daughters aged three and six, said: “I thought, let’s upgrade our Nando’s trip.
“It was a long tiring day. But there was so much laughter and fun. The spa was just lovely,” she continued, adding: “I still had to get up for the school run the next day.”
Oduntan, Bassett, Pedro and Adenkunle have been friends since 2016 and met while working together at Direct Line. They have had regular catch-ups at Nando’s ever since.
“We all had babies around the same time,” Oduntan explained. “We were on maternity leave together. That’s how we became a group of friends.”
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She added: “When you’re a mum you don’t like the sound of leaving your baby overnight. But it’s nice to do something as a group of friends.
“We booked the flights in May. We made sure our partners were on hand.”
At the QC Terme spa, the mums enjoyed relaxing in different rooms and pools from 12.30pm until 3pm.
“There was a lot to do,” Oduntan said, recalling one room in which guests “laid on a bed and it rained on you”. She also said there were “nice-smelling sauna rooms”.
After getting thoroughly pampered, the group walked to Duomo di Milano, a rooftop restaurant where they had pizzas and an Aperol spritz for €20 each at 4.30pm.
Once she reached home after the short, but luxurious getaway, Oduntan said she “snuck in” to her bed and woke feeling normal.
“I’m up all night normally,” she said. “I’m a tired mum.”
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The friends enjoyed their 18-hour holiday so much that they are hoping to make it an annual event for their group and plan to try going to different cities for a day.
“We said we would make it on an annual thing, and try and go to different cities… Agnes had the revelation that she’d never been to Paris,” Oduntan said.
She hopes their trip inspires other mothers to take a day for themselves, and reminded other women:
“You’re not just a mum. You’re a person. Look after yourself as well as the kids.”
Additional reporting SWNS.
