Ben
TS Founding Member
- Favourite Ride
- Your Dad
So I visited the spa last week and my god what a mess its ended in due to the complete short sighted building around around it. I had visited the spa before Cbeebies Hotel was built and really enjoyed the visit - the spa was just a week old from a refurbishment so should have been in top condition.
I'll review it...
Entrance - small but nice, the staff member was lovely.
Mens changing room - (cant comment on the womens) - SMALL, so very small. A tiny L shaped room, a few lockers a bench and a door to the shower* (ill come back to the shower).
Walking into the spa area you find 2 steam rooms and a tropical shower on the walk to the main pool area and centre of the spa.
Sadly due to the demolition of the formally attached conservatory and raising of the land what was a huge light wall is now 3 very high windows - the entire area is now VERY VERY dark. Its quite gloomy, the spa have tried to ammend this by putting led candles on every surface, but this just makes it feel like a haunted house with a pool.
First room we visited the Traditional Sauna, which was warm, but not hot, it was nicely lit - thats it.
Then onto NEW FOR 2018 the Eucalyptus Sauna - it not a sauna, it has a smoke machine not a steamer - the old stunning room has been replaced by perspex and vinyl imitating tiles. Its also cold. Very cold. And the smoker rarely works.
Onto the Footspas - theres 3, only 2 were working a week out of refurb.
Onto the relaxation beds (sleepy room) - only half the LED ceiling was working - again a week out of refurb.
We did find ANOTHER NEW FOR 2018 future - the new outside 'log sauna'. (The old one was in the ATH garden but was too close to the new Cbeebies hotel so replaced) - with a new patio. Walled in as it is smack next to the Cbeebie entrance.
The sauna itself is an actual shed from B&Q, the benches and heater nailed to the walls, wood sheering underneath the seats, and wood glue melting on the walls. It was at least hot. But pitiful.
--
Having pretty much given in on the place, my friends went for another swim - I asked if I could have a drink, as there were price lists around, I could have one I asked where to sit, as the old seating area was the conservatory.
I was offered the patio (the fenced in prison next to the shed and cbeebies entrance) or benches hanging on the edge of the pool. I mean theres barely room to walk past without a person sat on them.
--
So I gave in and left, back to the changing room and the shower - which was covered in limescale and what looked like a significant amount of mould on the floor. What a finish.
--
I used to really like the spa, but I left feeling completely deflated and underwhelmed. Its become a dark and dingy place to spend time, the facilities either removed or replaced with poorer efforts, and those working were already tired or damaged after a week.
The 2 new features were decidedly done on the cheap and poor imitations of what they replaced.
But I dont know what else they can do, the building is completely boxed in and I dont think can be saved.
I'll review it...
Entrance - small but nice, the staff member was lovely.
Mens changing room - (cant comment on the womens) - SMALL, so very small. A tiny L shaped room, a few lockers a bench and a door to the shower* (ill come back to the shower).
Walking into the spa area you find 2 steam rooms and a tropical shower on the walk to the main pool area and centre of the spa.
Sadly due to the demolition of the formally attached conservatory and raising of the land what was a huge light wall is now 3 very high windows - the entire area is now VERY VERY dark. Its quite gloomy, the spa have tried to ammend this by putting led candles on every surface, but this just makes it feel like a haunted house with a pool.
First room we visited the Traditional Sauna, which was warm, but not hot, it was nicely lit - thats it.
Then onto NEW FOR 2018 the Eucalyptus Sauna - it not a sauna, it has a smoke machine not a steamer - the old stunning room has been replaced by perspex and vinyl imitating tiles. Its also cold. Very cold. And the smoker rarely works.
Onto the Footspas - theres 3, only 2 were working a week out of refurb.
Onto the relaxation beds (sleepy room) - only half the LED ceiling was working - again a week out of refurb.
We did find ANOTHER NEW FOR 2018 future - the new outside 'log sauna'. (The old one was in the ATH garden but was too close to the new Cbeebies hotel so replaced) - with a new patio. Walled in as it is smack next to the Cbeebie entrance.
The sauna itself is an actual shed from B&Q, the benches and heater nailed to the walls, wood sheering underneath the seats, and wood glue melting on the walls. It was at least hot. But pitiful.
--
Having pretty much given in on the place, my friends went for another swim - I asked if I could have a drink, as there were price lists around, I could have one I asked where to sit, as the old seating area was the conservatory.
I was offered the patio (the fenced in prison next to the shed and cbeebies entrance) or benches hanging on the edge of the pool. I mean theres barely room to walk past without a person sat on them.
--
So I gave in and left, back to the changing room and the shower - which was covered in limescale and what looked like a significant amount of mould on the floor. What a finish.
--
I used to really like the spa, but I left feeling completely deflated and underwhelmed. Its become a dark and dingy place to spend time, the facilities either removed or replaced with poorer efforts, and those working were already tired or damaged after a week.
The 2 new features were decidedly done on the cheap and poor imitations of what they replaced.
But I dont know what else they can do, the building is completely boxed in and I dont think can be saved.
