There's a saying that 'It's not the finishing point, but the act of travelling which is important', and this is certainly true when applied to door2tour.com's Ladies' Leisure weekend

Not that there's anything wrong with the Copthorne Hotel at Brierley Hill, Dudley - it's just that the journey took so long, it became the most memorable part of the weekend.

I'm not quite sure what I expected when I was invited to go on a coach holiday. I had visions of blue-rinsed ladies singing 'Didn't we have a luverly time', but I decided it was an economical way to travel and an ideal way to get somewhere without the stresses of driving there myself.

Early start

I live on the South Coast and was delighted to learn that door2door.com provides pick-ups from around the UK. Stupidly on my part, I assumed that we would drive to Dudley, picking up fellow travellers en route. But when our friendly bus driver met us at 6.30am, he informed us that he was just a 'feeder bus' taking us to their hub at Thurrock where we would join the bus to our destination. We then spent the next three hours driving around East Sussex and Kent before being deposited at Thurrock at 9.40 with strict instructions to return to pick up our luggage at 10.

Service stations are never glamorous and I admit my patience was sorely tested by the early start and lack of caffeine, but my friend Luce and I dashed, first to the loos, then to a try to find a coffee in what has to be the slowest place on earth. We eventually emerged with seconds to spare, armed with coffee and a bag of sugary snacks for round two of our incredibly long journey.

Long delays

Delays among other 'feeder buses' meant our departure time of 10am was absurdly optimistic. Information was scarce, although our driver did eventually suggest we'd be away by 10.45, but our additional passengers were finally dropped off at 11, and we hit the road shortly after that.

The delay, of course, had a knock-on effect and we were subject to the usual traffic hold-ups along the way, but we arrived in Stratford-up-Avon in time for a late lunch. I was assured that usually people had time to explore but after just over an hour, we were back on the bus and heading to Birmingham to drop off a group of shoppers.

We eventually pulled up outside the Copthorne hotel, our destination for the weekend, at 5.15pm, travel weary but optimistic that we could relax and enjoy the spa facilities. We were met by Roberta and taken into a separate room for a group check-in (although you do still have to go to the general check-in afterwards to register) and a chance to book beauty treatments.

As we were part of a large group, our hotel decided to pre-book our dining times, giving us dinner that night at 7pm. Our late arrival meant that this left little time for the first of two themed beauty demonstrations - on reflexology - and we were faced with the choice of listening to the demo, or freshening up in our rooms. Luce and I opted for the reflexology, and being the only participants, we each enjoyed a sample session before dashing in to dinner.

Good food

The food at the hotel was delicious - a special menu was offered with four choices of starter and main including a fish and vegetarian option for each course. Desserts and coffee were also included and the staff were courteous and polite at all times. The only hiccup came with breakfast on the Sunday morning, when something went badly wrong and orders kept getting lost and people were becoming irate - we waited 20 minutes for our coffee, only to discover when it was brought to the table that the coffee pot was empty. It took another 10 minutes for the waiter to rectify his mistake, although he was hugely apologetic!

Other activities

Other group sessions were arranged - a second demonstration on hard skin removal was scheduled for 9am, but again it was poorly attended and we decided not to pursue it. We planned to take part in an abdominals exercise class, but when we arrived at the published time, we found it was already underway, but we were able to join in for the remaining 20 minutes.

The leisure facilities at the hotel are basic, so we didn't linger. There's a small pool (nothing like the picture on the website), lovely Jacuzzi, and small steam room and sauna, both of which would be cosy with four people. The gym and pool are also used by local members, and while they were friendly enough, the gossip in the changing rooms suggested some resentment at the additional number of people using the facilities.

The treatments themselves were lovely - I enjoyed a shoulder and back massage - but the surroundings make you feel it's more therapy than indulgence. The treatment rooms are just off the entrance hall and give the impression of doubling up as offices, which isn't completely tranquil.

The hotel itself is nice, without being fancy. The rooms are comfortable, but ours was very hot and stuffy, and leaving the window open at night meant we were disturbed by road noise. The bathrooms are basic, and while the communal areas downstairs benefit from luxury toiletries, upstairs you're offered the budget variety. The only complaints among our group, which mostly consisted of a 14-women-strong hen party and women travelling with their aged mothers, was that the key cards to the rooms became demagnetised when put in a handbag with a mobile phone!

The hotel is within walking distance of the Merry Hill shopping centre if it's retail therapy you're after, and beside a canal, with plenty of bars and nightclubs to choose from. We didn't venture into Dudley - the weather conspired against us and it rained solidly.

Our journey home was much smoother, but still took seven and a half hours - more than double what the AA route planner suggests. For a weekend away, you will spend almost as much time on the bus as you do at your destination (not counting the hours you're actually asleep!)

I found it quite stressful - the whole thing felt like starting a new term at school and not knowing the routine. Others on the trip were regulars and thoroughly enjoyed the experience - you could spot them when you boarded. They were the ones who came prepared - with their own coffee and sandwiches!

Need to know

The Ladies' Leisure Weekend can be booked through door2tour.com (or call 0845 956 9686) and includes travel to your chosen destination, plus two nights accommodation with dinner, bed and breakfast. Departure and arrival times depend on your destination. Door2tour.com also offer coach trips and holidays to European destinations.