My name is Casey, and I am the founder and CEO of That Minimalist Mom. I teach women and busy moms to live intentionally, minimally, simply and clutter free, in order to make room for more of what matters.

My journey through minimalism has brought me a lot of things, but the most precious gift it has given me is time. Time that was previously spent on cleaning, organizing, and managing my material belongings is now spent on family, relationships, experiences, and investing in myself.

More recently, this journey has led me to experience the most luxurious spa getaway at White Oaks Resort and Spa. Have you heard the saying, “have stories to tell, not things to show”? It is through this that I have learned that I would much rather spend my money on experiences rather than material possessions.

With that said, I will be certainly sharing all about my stay with anyone who will listen for weeks (if not months) to come because it was that memorable. Like they say, “collect memories, not things”.

So here is how our stay went:

I was immediately blown away by the attention to detail from the moment I walked into the hotel and was greeted by two concierges. They pointed me in the direction of the front desk and offered to take any of my luggage. The main lobby was so picturesque with fresh flowers and beautifully aesthetic lounge areas. Our room was located in the newly renovated tower and was so bright, clean, and spacious. On each of our beds was a robe which I wanted to immediately jump into because they were just so incredibly cozy. The bathroom was again so clean and had a separate toilet area. The waterfall shower made me want to shower and climb into my robe as soon as possible.

That night we went to Play Bar + Grill for dinner. I am celiac and they were so accommodating of my food restrictions, providing me with a wide variety of gluten free options. I went with a Caesar salad (no croutons) and the Classic Club on Gluten Free Bread. It was delicious. They also made me a decadent gluten free chocolate dessert that wasn’t even on the menu. Talk about catering to my needs. After dinner we took advantage of the free WiFi and settled into bed with our robes and an avocado face mask (because, why not?).

The next morning, we had 9am treatments at the spa. I had the Detoxifying Seaweed Body Wrap which was basically a mud application applied to your whole body and then you are cocooned in warm blankets. It was incredible relaxing. Afterwards you wash off in a private bath and it truly felt like a royal experience. After our treatments we ordered breakfast to be delivered by room service. They had the absolute best smoothies. We enjoyed the Classic Breakfast and Eggs Benny, both were amazing. After breakfast we went down to the fitness centre to burn off some of those calories. We were surprised to see that this is not your regular hotel fitness centre. White Oaks has an elite fitness club with racquet sports, cardio, strength training and more. We basically spent the entire day there because it had so much to offer. The best part in my opinion was both the sauna and eucalyptus steam room.

For dinner that evening we went to LIV Restaurant and the meal there was so incredible. Again, they had a variety of gluten free options for me to choose from and the most delicious flourless chocolate cake. After dinner we went for a swim and were surprised at how warm the pool was. We also took a dip in the hot tub and relaxed on the pool lounge chairs for a bit. The next morning, we ordered room service for breakfast again and they surprised us with a complimentary fruit tray and mimosas. I had the gluten free French Toast and it was to die for. This made checking out incredibly difficult because we didn’t want to say goodbye, but we are already planning our next trip back!

I can truthfully say that there is no material object that could compare to the amount of joy I experienced from this mini getaway. I feel refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to focus on more of what matters.