Obsession Salon & Spa, Radisson BLU, Birmingham

-SPA CLOSING MARCH 23, 2010

Memorizing massage candle treatments 18 floors up with panoramic views of the city

USP A small day spa with ample treatment choice in a very secluded Birmingham city salon.

AMBIENCE A secluded salon spa 18 floors up is independently run Obsession Salon and Spa.
A compact salon with three treatment rooms including one double treatment suite, a spray tan booth, sauna, 2 changing cubicles a mini gym only big enough for 6 people max and a small reception area.

The salon is decorated in coffee and cream colours, with no relaxation area but 2 chairs beside the reception desk with magazines to browse. The salon was quiet, with just a receptionist and a therapist present, it made for a very intimate and private experience, feel like secluded sanctuary – no one would find me here!

I arranged for my mum-of-two sister to enjoy a Deluxe Manicure (1 hour, £35) after my Lux Shea massage (1 hour, £60), so she went shopping with her 2-year old and turned up once I had finished. The salon was hugely welcoming of her and did not bat an eyelid to a child in a pushchair and shopping bags entering the calmness of the spa.

EXPERIENCE Holly introduced herself as my therapist and gave me an insight into the massage candle treatment before we began. I changed in the room and left my clothes hanging over the chair, and chose ‘Harmony’ from the choice of four candles. With a woody and warm scent, its qualities rebalance emotions using extracts of fig.
As the shea candle is lit the room fills with the fragrance and as the candle melts, the warm oil is applied to the body. Warm and soothing, the massage itself was powerful enough to reach my problem areas and although the room was cold, the warmth of the oil definitely made a difference.

The massage itself was most enjoyable, the room for me though was slightly too cool.
I sat in the same room enjoying a fruit tea whilst my sister enjoyed her manicure. The curtains were drawn back to reveal the panoramic views of the city and the suns warmth speedily heated the room. My sister’s overworked hands were restored, using warm mitts and enriching hand remedy and then French polished, leaving her feeling pampered and her hands looking pristine.

FOOD Because the spa is not part of Radisson BLU, you would be best to head outside and find the eateries nearby. The Mailbox is only 3 minutes walk away and hosts a wide range of bars and restaurants.

IN-CROWD Hotel residents – pop band JLS enjoyed spa treatments the week before me whilst staying in the hotel. Popular with male customers not surprisingly because of its secluded location and especially enjoying the Sports Manicure (£22). But most popular with local office workers.

WALLET WATCH The treatments were very reasonably priced £65 for my massage and £35 for my sister’s manicure. You could push the boat out further with a detoxifying mud treatment (1 hour, £72) and there are a couple of specialist pregnancy treatments (1 hour, £72).

NEED TO KNOW Obsession Salon & Spa, Radisson BLU, Holloway Circus, Queensway, Birmingham B2 2BT (tel: 0121 654 6075) http://www.obsessionsalonspa.co.uk/

Amala Spa, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Birmingham

Stimulating oxygen facials to protect against winter in a warm, roomy spa

As published on Times Online

USP 

A winning combination of a spacious spa area, reasonable prices and fabulous facials in the heart of Birmingham.

AMBIENCE 

The basement spa of this 24-floor hotel building is decorated in contrasting brown tones giving a warmth and elegance that matches the hotel above.

The spa has six secluded treatment rooms, including a therapy suite for two and a Hammam treatment room. There is also a nail bar big enough for four manicures at any one time.

There is no relaxation area, just a waiting area with leather seating where some groups come to take tea. It was quiet when I was waiting but rather noisy when a group of tea-drinking ladies arrived during my manicure.The clean and tidy changing rooms are shared with the Amala Club – a health and fitness centre that houses a Jacuzzi, cold water plunge pool, sauna, steam room, solarium, a state-of-the-art fitness centre and a 16-metre indoor lap pool.

EXPERIENCE

 I was looking forward to my Limited Edition Orange and Cinnamon Winter Facial followed by a Delux Manicure - with snow outside it seemed the perfect remedy to chapped skin. The treatment room, already filled with the treatment's aromas, was warm and inviting. I got off to a relaxing start with a complementary back massage using Karin Herzog’s Anointing Oil – a warmed coconut oil with cinnamon and orange.

The Winter Facial followed, a deep cleansing treatment with oxygen to stimulate cell renewal, circulation and collagen production. My face was cleansed, exfoliated, massaged and then put under Mask Niveux, a face mask containing the oxygen that fizzes and stimulates as it hits the skin.

Post treatment my skin felt firmer, more hydrated, smooth to touch and, might I say, glowing and remained so for some days to follow.

The treatment ended with a luxury manicure with softening heat treatment where my dry hands were smothered in a rich moisturising cream and put into plastic gloves before being heated and allowed to warm so the moisture enters and stays in the skin. My nails were polished with Orly Nail Varnish in a warm plum colour ready for the Christmas week ahead. My hands felt better moistured, softer and less chapped than before

FOOD 

The Atrium Lobby serves a traditional afternoon tea every day, priced at £14.50 per person. Champagne is also available. Aria Restaurant provides alternative lighter or more substantial meals. Bar Pravda offers a bar food menu of pizza, burgers and fish and chips among other dishes unlikely to appeal to serious spa goers.

IN-CROWD 

Amala Club members, hotel residents and local workers. Hen parties are particularly popular, with afternoon tea taken in the Atrium afterwards.

WALLET WATCH 

My treatments were reasonably priced: the Limited Editon Orange and Cinammon Winter Facial was £50 for 60 minutes and the Luxury Manicure £35 for 45 minutes.

NEED TO KNOW 

Hyatt Regency Birmingham, 2 Bridge Street Birmingham B1 2JZ (Tel 0121 643 1234; www.hyatt.com)

Spa Review: Hotel Du Vin Spa, Birmingham

Fitness and pampering in stylish surrounds in this boutique hotel spa in the Midlands

A Birmingham hotel spa in a historic property with a vast gym for those seeking complete health and wellbeing

As published on Times Online http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/good_spa_guide/article6949875.ece

The Health Du Vin spa is in the basement of this five-floor hotel. There are four treatment rooms, a manicure room, spray tan room and a relaxation room as well as a vast state-of-the-art gym with sauna, steam and drench showers. The spa, which is candlelit throughout and smelt beautifully of sweet scented candles, is open to hotel guests and members.

There is big emphasis on fitness in Health Du Vin - the spa manager is a personal trainer. The gym and spa share the same entrance, though in contrast to the spa's serene atmosphere, the changing rooms have cold air, walls of lockers and central benches. The shower products were non-descript, unlike most spa bathrooms, It is definitely a space better catered to gym goers, with an ironing board and iron in the corner.

The spa could benefit from its own changing rooms. In the heart of the old city of Birmingham, Hotel Du Vin is a red-brick early Victorian building (1884) that has been beautifully and sympathetically restored from the previously disused West Midlands Eye Hospital to a stylish boutique hotel with original features including granite pillars and a sweeping central staircase, making the hotel interior warm and inviting.

EXPERIENCE

Once I’d changed into my white gown and slippers I waited in the relaxation room - with six leather recliners, lit candles, relaxing music and a well stocked drink station, the room was calming and uncluttered.

My treatment, Holistic, Back, Face and Scalp, includes a full facial, head massage and back cleanse, exfoliation and massage lasting 85 minutes. I chose the ESPA made with stimulating peppermint, eucalyptus and rosemary to energise me.

The treatment began with a back exfoliation, cleanse and massage which broke down the tension in my shoulders and neck, then on to a facial, which was much needed after a week in the sun. The skin around my eyes and lips, as my therapist pointed out was rather dehydrated; she paid particularly attention to these areas and reapplied a hydrating cleansing milk to ensure good moisture. I certainly noticed the difference afterwards.

The treatment ended with a scalp massage, the coldness of the oil dripping on to my warm scalp felt wonderfully refreshing.

My therapist, who focuses on sleep disorders in her work, uses music with heart-beat rythmns to help clients drift off to sleep.
The next day I had a luxury manicure that lasted 60 minutes. The lost moisture in my hands post holiday was replenished and my nails were painted beautifully with Jessica products.

FOOD

There are two places to eat in the hotel: a bar menu in the Venetian-style Bubble Lounge served soup, salads and sandwiches and The Bistro offered a classic European menu with richer foods such as pan fried calves liver, smoked haddock and roasted Welsh rack of lamb. Both rooms are beautifully decorated, hugely welcoming and not typical of a hotel bar or restaurant. On a Sunday afternoon and evening, both were really busy and had a great atmosphere. I’d come back to both without being a hotel guest.

IN CROWD

The hotel spa attracts a mixed clientele, from locals, business guests and tourists. The gym is busy pre and post -work when local workers come for their daily workouts. The spa becomes busier in the evenings and weekends with hotel guests, hen parties, and gym goers with more time for a pamper.

WALLET WATCH

The ESPA back, face and scalp treatment costs £60 for 85 minutes or £75 for 100 minutes (with hot stones). My luxury manicure cost £35 and lasted 60 minutes. The most expensive treatments are the spa signature packages, which cost £210 including holistic back, face, scalp massage, a body wrap, luxury manicure and pedicure, two-course lunch in The Bistro and an ESPA candle to take away.

NEED TO KNOW

Hotel Du Vin Health Du Vin, Church Street, Birmingham, B3 2NR (0121 200 0609; www.hotelduvin.com)

Spa Review: Le Petit Spa, Malmaison Hotel, Newcastle

Good value treatments in a stylish setting keep well groomed locals buffed and tanned

As published by Times Online: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/good_spa_guide/article6912259.ece

On the city’s waterfront with views of the River Tyne, Millennium Bridge and Baltic Arts Centre, Malmaison Hotel is a Grade II converted warehouse in a lively, mainly pedestrianised, area of the quayside.

The Asian inspired spa on the lower-ground floor of this seven-storey stylish hotel gives seclusion and privacy away from the hub-bub of the hotel above.
There are four treatment rooms, a sauna and tanning room. The relaxation ‘area’ is bascially a throughway from reception to the spa and is not the calmest place to relax. With three motorised black leather massage chairs, which were surprisingly noisy when operated, a beanbag and footstall with loud upholstery, the area did not work for me as a calm place nor did the décor fit with the Asian theme. There were also unlit candles along the corridors and the lighting was too bright.

QUALITY OF EXPERIENCE

The Chakra balancing treatment was just what I needed on a cold autumn day. A full body brush and exfoliation followed by a deep body face and scalp massage using hot volcanic stones.

My therapist Jennifer consulted with me before we began to choose oils depending on my skin type and personal preference by smell; she was personable and confident and explained everything in detail.
I took a sauna as recommended before the treatment, a good way to warm up the body and relax the muscles.
The treatment was thoroughly relaxing; the hot stones slipped along my oiled skin and gave a heat that felt both mesmerising and healing, a fabulously deep-tissue massage without the pain. Perfect.
The treatment ended with a scalp massage, an ideal way to bring two hours of total escapism to an end. It stimulated my senses and stirred me from my relaxed state.

FOOD

I was lucky enough to eat in two of the three dining venues within the hotel - the first-floor bar, serving light dishes including bagels and burgers all day long with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the river, and The Brasserie, a more intimate evening venue, with a Mediterranean inspired menu and an in-house sommelier. At street level is Café Mal, a deli-style café on the quayside serving salads, muffins, cappuccinos and freshly squeeze orange juice.

IN-CROWD

Well groomed Newcastle city dwellers. The spa's location and its affordability attracts all kinds, from students studying at the nearby university, local office workers, to those visiting the town on a city break. I changed alongside three ladies preparing with the bride for her wedding day.

WALLET WATCH

The Chakra balancing treatment costs £75 for two hours, great value for money for such a smart hotel. There is a wide range of treatments, from an eyebrow tint at £10, to the Ultimate Indulgence – five hours of treatments for £220. They also suggest treatments for gents, which is a nice touch.

NEED TO KNOW

Malmaison Newcastle, Quayside, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 3DX (0191 245 5000; http://www.malmaison.com/)

Spa Review: Body Experience, Richmond, London

A tranquil Surrey spa with much more space than meets the eye behind its shopfront


As published by Times Online
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/good_spa_guide/article6883951.ece


Situated among the smart shops and designer boutiques of exclusive Richmond Hill, Body Experience presents a small, glass shopfront, that on entering opens up into a labyrinth of doors and corridors encompassing eight treatment rooms. The spa is also known for its teenage treatments.

Esther, my therapist came down to meet me soon after I’d arrived, a quietly spoken girl who seemed shy at first. She took me upstairs to the calming candle-lit corridors of the spa, the neutral décor and the water feature at the top of the stairs gave me the feeling I could have been anywhere in the world.

I was still on a hundred-miles-an-hour when I realised she was walking so slowly along the corridor in front of me; her pace gave me reason to think about mine and I started to slow down.

She gave me a tour of the rooms that would be available to me during my visit. Firstly the ladies bathroom, a large coffee-and- cream coloured space with walk-in showers complete with Elemis products and a wall of dark wood lockers, where I’d find my luxurious maroon chenille robe and flip flops, and a line of sinks where there were Shiseido and Thalgo products ready for some post-treatment slather. And not forgetting the jug of ice water with lemon, which I noticed was a common feature in every communal space.

And then on to the relaxation room, which had eight or so day beds, one side of the room in velour, the others leather. I waited here for Esther before my treatment in a room called ‘Daydream’.


EXPERIENCE
I filled out a questionnaire before I was taken upstairs, so Esther knew a little about me before she set to work on my 45-minute sea salt body buff and 75-minute Visible Brilliance Elemis facial. She coyly asked me to de-robe and lay face down on the couch for my body scrub. Slowly she applied the ancient sea salts to my back first, then one leg and arm at a time making sure she tucked me back under the towel after each limb was covered, I liked her gentleness, she was very careful not to make any jolting movements so as to keep me as relaxed as possible.

The sea salt buff was just the right rough to give a deep cleanse of the skin, not painful but certainly giving my skin a good going over. I felt thoroughly cleansed and just as I was sinking deeper into relaxation it was time to shower off the salt in the next door wet room. Struggling to find a place for my towel in the wet room I had to put it on the floor, where it got wet. My robe was hung for me on the outside of the door ready for the next part of the treatment. I wondered what might happen if someone was in the corridor while I reached round the door in all my nakedness to get it?

The body butter application, in contrast, felt nourishing to the skin and soothing too. She applied it with gentle strokes and once again put each limb back under the towel as she worked. I really started feeling the effects but thankfully did not need to get up again; she would go straight on to the facial from here.

The bed started to warm up beneath me as she prepared for my facial. One treatment blended into another, she did some feet manipulation and covered my body with a heavy quilt, which just had me dropping off, almost to sleep.

My facial began, Esther’s touch was light and when leaving the mask to dry, she gave me a head massage, hitting my tension spots perfectly. I found myself falling deep into relaxation. The treatment was the perfect tonic. On completion, she allowed me time to come round gently and walked me slowly back to the relaxation room where she told me I could stay for as long as I wished.


FOOD AND DRINK
In the calm of the relaxation room, Esther gave me the choice of peppermint or camomile tea. I opted for peppermint and she left me for just the right amount of time before she arrived with a tea and a small bowl of fruit, which actually was just what I fancied. The relaxation room looks out on the tranquil garden, where you can take tea on a nice day. The spa also offers a spa lunch, afternoon tea, herbal teas, smoothies even a glass of champagne and of course iced water for you to help yourself.


IN-CROWD
I came across two other people post-treatment in the relaxation room. I really enjoyed coming alone and having proper quality time to myself. The spa attracts all sorts as Richmond does itself, from sports fanatics, business professionals, to yummy mums.


WALLET WATCH
I used the exclusive ‘treat-me’ offer for September-October, “Book an Elemis Facial and receive a complimentary body exfoliation.” The Visible Brilliance Elemis Facial cost £88, the Sea Salt body scrub would have been a further £50. On registering, they promptly put me on their mailing list for further offers, I’ll certainly be looking out for them.


NEED TO KNOW
Body Experience, 50 Hill Rise, Richmond, Surrey (020 8334 9999; www.bodyexperience.co.uk)