Being a frequent day tripper between Sydney and Melbourne, I found that I would have to spend 4 nights in Melbourne for meetings and to support the charity that I'm the Patron of (The Trigeminal Neuralgia Association of Australia). They were having a conference in the Yarra Valley, so I decided to extend my stay in order to be able to pop in to say hello to everyone.

So at the coal face of four nights away from my family, I thought it would be a great idea to indulge in some time for myself. I had booked in to Crown Towers with my one of my co-workers and Crown has everything at your disposal - some of the best restaurants in Melbourne (or in Australia for that fact), the most amazing Day Spa, Gym, Pool, Shopping & Gambling. I've stayed before but have always hurried in and out, and never really stopped to smell the roses, so to speak.

As luck would have it, over the time I was staying, my meetings were pretty well spread out leaving ample time to explore.

This is how the 'Mummy-moon' idea came about. Some special time, just for me. So where do you think I wanted to be? The Crown Spa, of course!

I decided to allocate a day away from everyone and everything to do nothing but be pampered. And ahhhh, did I get pampered!

With my own Spa room fit for a queen, complete with an actual spa, shower, lounge area and massage tables, I had some contemplation time before my Spa session began. I used the contemplation time to eat an apple and catch up on a magazine story (which I felt guilty about - should I have been meditating?) before my Spa technician arrived to give me a full facial and massage.

Crown Spa has the exclusive rights to use and sell the brand 'Carita' from Paris. I don't normally buy into products from Spa's - I'm more of a $5 Apricot Scrub girl from the pharmacy - but when I saw my face in the mirror, I was all ears when the technician filled me in on the product range. There are actual gold flakes in one of the products, and I was lucky enough to be given a sample range to take home to test out.

The suite we stayed in at Crown was one of the refurbished ones. They have done such an incredible job, we actually gasped at some of the gorgeous light fittings. We had access to The Crystal Club, which you really should try out. Staying in some of the rooms gives you automatic access which is great because it's super exclusive. Everything up there is complimentary and we fell in love with the delicious chocolates and panoramic views over Melbourne and beyond.

We didn't do any gambling - I'm not sure I really know how, but we did dine in a couple of restaurants including Maurice Terzini's relatively new Giuseppe Arnaldo & Sons which lived up to its glowing reviews.

With meetings all over town and then with having to head down to the Yarra Valley, we hired a car from Avis. Satellite Navigation was an absolute must and was well worth the additional cost of $10 to ensure we got to where we were going - and on time. Two girls in a car trying to navigate their way around? You know what they say about girls and maps? Totally true.

x Mel