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Book review: The best spas in Britain by the Good Spa Spies

January 22nd, 2011 by Penny Golightly

It’s that time of year when a young woman’s fancy turns to the spa, post all that festive indulgence and beleaguered by coughs, colds and winter greyness. Although, to be fair, I fancy a good spa experience whenever I can get myself one…

However, just about every gym, football club and sub-standard hotel has now tacked on a ‘spa’, often charging premium prices for slapdash services and offering up crappy levels of ambience. They all have glossy PR and websites, and it’s very easy to make an expensive mistake. Well here at www.pennygolightly.com we hate expensive mistakes with a passion.

How do you sort the wheat from the chaff? That’s a tricky one. You can go for your own potentially expensive trial and error, you can ask around, or you can find yourself some reliable expert reviews.

I have to say that I’ve found the Good Spa Spies to be pretty reliable. This latest edition of their spa guide is not a comprehensive listing of every UK spa, it saves you a lot of time and bother by only listing the best ones. They have ‘bubble’ ratings, similar to stars, and only the 4-bubble (would go again) and 5-bubble (we want to move in and never leave) establishments are included here.

My personal visits to certain British spas all tally with their ratings, and I particularly like how they provide plenty of information about the style and type of spa, locations, treatments and products, prices, food and atmosphere. It’s pretty comprehensive but presented in a concise way. They also pull no punches about weak spots, including tired décor and lack of privacy.

If you’re a regular spa user, or you’re thinking about dipping a toe in the water for the first time, this book could save you a lot of heartache. Alongside the reviews there’s also a glossary of all kinds of treatments (it’s presented in an uncritical fashion, so I’d recommend further research if you’re looking for efficacy rather than just general pampering), plus handy regional maps.

To sum up: a trustworthy guide to the pick of the best British spas, full of useful information. Could save you a small fortune, or just save your skin.

The latest edition of The best spas in Britain by the Good Spa Spies, published by the good spa guide, has an RRP of £18.95. It’s currently available from Amazon priced £12.32, including free delivery.

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Review: My £10 spa day experience

March 5th, 2010 by Penny Golightly

Everyone needs a little pampering every now and again, and I’m a spa girl through and through. Sometimes it’s a day trip or an all-too-brief appointment with the beautician, and sometimes when I’m feeling flush I love to indulge myself with a little stay in the countryside.

I was interested to see what the £10 spa deals from lastminute.com were like, as my previous spa-hopping experience has shown me that the price you pay often has no relation to the standard of service you receive. So I bought vouchers for myself and a friend next time the offer came up, and we booked in to use a spa in Sutton.

The deal included use of the spa facilities and a choice of short treatments, including a mini facial, a back massage, a manicure or a mini pedicure. My top tip for a day like this would be to book your treatments for the late afternoon when you call the spa – the last thing you want to do is soak off the massage oil, nail polish or expensive moisturiser and eye cream by getting into the pool or jacuzzi afterwards, or sweat it off in the gym or steam room.

The spa and gym turned out to be part of a large hotel chain, and when we arrived the place looked fairly generic and anonymous. Having said that, the spa itself was excellent once we’d found it: clean and fresh with friendly and polite staff. The gym was on the small side but had everything you could want if you were hoping to burn off a few extra calories with some aerobic activity, so we got stuck in to the exercise for a couple of hours. The indoor pool was attractive and we enjoyed a swim, a soak in the hot tub and some poolside lounging around. So far so good, but the real revelation was meeting the therapists after lunch – both of them turned out to be well trained and skilled people who used quality beauty products including Dermalogica and Essie.

My friend opted for the back-of-body massage and said it was one of the best they’ve had in years, high praise indeed. The pair of us floated off home feeling fabulous, and agreed that we’d both go again at the drop of a fluffy towel.