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very annoyed that I cannot review another face mask of the same range - despite spending 30minutes writing the review!
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Beechdown is located in Kempshott, Basingstoke and offers a health and beauty complex suitable for all the family. My experience of Beechdown is limited to the Day Spafacilities and the beauty treatments on offer; as such this review will predominately cover those areas. However I will give an overall evaluation of the facilities available.
Booking
Booking my day out was easy, the telephone numbers for each area of the complex can be located on the website www.beechdown.co.uk. I called the beauty booking number and was requested by a voicemail to leave a message as my call could not be taken. My call was returned the following day by an apologetic lady who had been on leave the day before. I booked 2 day spas, 2 Blissful Facials and 2 full body massages as well as 2 eyebrow shaping treatments, for my mum and me. When booking you are required to make full payment in advance of your day and so I paid over the telephone, however I was given the option to drop into the complex before the day and pay in person.
3 working days later I received a letter confirming my booking, the treatments I had booked were listed and my credit card receipt was attached. Also including in the paperwork were 2 questionnaires’s to complete, one each – detailing any special needs or health concerns we had. We were asked to complete and send these back prior to our day out so that the beauty therapists were aware of any medical conditions in advance of our treatments. We were also instructed to bring £10 each on the day as a deposit for our towel, robe and locker.
On Arrival
We were scheduled to arrive between 9.30am and 10.00am. On arrival we were seated in the small reception area and were greeted by a friendly member of staff. She explained that there were just 4 of us enjoying the day spa on that day and so the spa facilities would be limited to just the 4 of us. The other couple were already there so we knew who we would be sharing with. The staff member acted as a guide but prior to showing us around we gave her our £10 deposits required to cover our towel, robe and locker key. When being shown around we were convinced we could get lost, there are a lot of doors and corridors which initially were quite confusing; however at no point in the day did we get lost. After we had been given the guided tour we were shown to the Brassiere and given a voucher booklet – this consisted on vouchers for morning coffee and flapjack, lunch and a glass of wine or draught drink, afternoon coffee and biscuits, the tanningtube or sun-bed and 2 additional vouchers for a hot or cold beverage from the bar.
We were then given the times for our treatments, the key code to the ladies on spa day room and left to our own devices.
Our Spa Day cost £49 – this was the basic spa day price but you can choose from pre-packages or build your own – we chose to build our own. The room was a lovely temperature with tiled floors and a lovely stone surround with nice relaxing lighting. The room included approximately 12 loungers some wicker and some leather, all very comfortable, and a Shiatsu massage chair – this chair was bliss! In addition to the seating arrangements there was complimentary tea, coffee, hot chocolate and chilled spa water. Walking through this room took you into a second which was the changing area. This room consisted of large, solid wood lockers, accessible with your personal key, 2 shower cubicles, wooden benches and a toilet. We were quite surprised that there were no individual changing areas but not being shy and there only being 4 of us this wasn’t an issue. However, had there been a lot of women booked in on that day I’m not so sure it would have been as comfortable an area to change in. There were also mirrors lining one wall and hair dryers available. The showers offered complimentary shower gels and shampoos.
Spa Day Facilities
The other facilities included in the spa day are;
The swimming pool which was a lovely temperature and all one depth. There was as schedule with regards to the pool which stated that children were only allowed in at certain times this was great because it meant that we avoided screaming children at all times. Attached to the main pool was a smaller kids sized pool and separate to both a Jacuzzi. The Jacuzzi was very hot (I later found out it was 40 degrees) but we managed about 20minutes in there – it was just like a hot bath with bubbles – bliss (until I got out and fainted through the heat).
The swimming pool area is divided into 2 levels – pool level and slightly higher up 3 or 4 steps was a dryer area. This part had 2 ceramic loungers which were hot – what a great idea, not 100% comfortable but very relaxing. The sauna was also based on this level and a room to the side catered the sauna and steam room. Plastic chairs and wooden benches were dotted around the pool side and it wasn’t too warm just to relax by the water.
As part of the spa day package ladies are invited to make use of the gym facilities, sports facilities (squash, badminton and tennis) and dance/exercise classes. We chose to do no exercise other than swim, but the gym look amazing. There were several sections and the equipment was all modern and in working order. Should you chose to use the gym you will need to declare your knowledge of the equipment or take part in an induction to ensure safe use of the facilities. The gym always had instructors on hand to help out and offer persona guidance and personal trainers are available should use regularly make use of the facilities.
Lunch was included in our Day Spa booking. The Brassiere was located near the gym with doors offering garden seating. We presented our voucher on arrival and were invited to find our table. As part of the Spa Day our table was identified with a pink table cloth and our names on it. We had chosen our lunch menu during the tour and within minutes of being seated our starter was placed on the table. The menu for the Day Spa offered Soup or Melon for starters – a selection of main courses ranging from sandwiches, pasta and salads and profiteroles for desert. The food was very nice and we chose a soft drink to wash it down. The service was fantastic, the staff were attentive to our needs but not overbearing and our plates were cleared quickly, leaving a short break between courses. We chose sandwiches as our mains and took approximately 40minutes to enjoy all 3 courses. The Brassiere also offers a full bar area and Sky Sports catering for the live sports in the evenings. The restaurant did appear to have quite a few ladies of leisure and their children whilst we were dining and I can’t say there were all very well behaved but it wasn’t noisy and we were not interrupted by anything other than people opening the door to go outside despite it stating that in the winter months it was strictly and emergency exit.
As we had booked the Day Spa we were advised we could dine in our robes, however we chose to dress back into our day wear.
The treatments we had booked were allocated into timeslots. My mum and I both had our facials at 11.10am they lasted an hour and cost £34.50. Having never had a facial before I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the therapist explained the whole process to me as I arrived in the beauty area.
The beauty section is upstairs and has its own small waiting area as well as a receptionist. In the waiting area you are seated with a selection of products available for purchase by top brands such as Jessica, St Tropez and Clarins. All products the therapists use for their treatments.
I was taken into a treatment room and had a mini consultation with the therapist who explained the products she would be using that were suitable for my skin type. The bench she asked me to lay on was made up like a bed and I was advised to lie under the covers with my arms on top of the duvet. The facial consisted of a face massage and a face mask which took 20minutes to set. Whilst the mask was setting the therapist gave me a foot, hand and scalp massage. The whole treatment was a very relaxing experience and I struggled not to fall asleep. The treatment room was dimly lit and decorated in brown and cream. There was a beautiful ceramic sink and the music playing in the background was very calming. During the treatment the therapist remained quiet and allowed me to relax – there was no chit chat or awkward conversation and this I appreciated. At the end she checked I was only, game me water to hydrate my body and showed me back out to the waiting room.
My second treatment was at 1pm an hour and a half before my mums. I had the same therapist and used the same treatment room so the conditions were identical to before. This time I had a full body massage – and I was quite surprised that I still needed to be covered by the duvet. The therapist would remove the cover from the areas she would be treating, for example when massaging my back the cover was moved to my waist and pulled up again then moved away from my right leg etc when she was working on different body parts. Again the music was very relaxing as was the massage – I left feeling very chilled out and dreading that I was about to have my eyebrows shaped.
The same therapist shaped my eyebrows she offered wax or tweezers, I chose the former but she ended up tidying up with the later. This was fine and it didn’t hurt unlike my preconception of the experience.
After leaving with a fresh face, relaxed body and nicely shaped eyebrows I purchased a Clarins set costing me £18 for a set of products which would normally cost me over £40. Bargain!
The beauty spa offers an extensive range of treatments, ranging in prices. These include manicures, pedicures, gel nails, various types of massage, various types of facials, detox and body wraps, hair removal and spray tanning. The price list and “menu” is available on the website as a PDF file. It is quick loading and lists each of the treatments as well as a definition of what is included for the price. We both thoroughly enjoyed being pampered for the day and wouldn’t hesitate to return to Beechdown for another day session.
I would also like to add that the 1st aid assistance was brilliant, I made comment earlier to passing out. This happened by the pool which has some ceramic seating. I was sat on this seating with my mum because I felt unable to walk any further. When I came too (I don’t remember passing out) I had 3 members of staff surrounding me all knew exactly what they were doing and were very helpful. All were from the Gym and had been called but another visitor their response was fantastic – they also made it very clear that they would be available all day should I feel unwell at any other point. They also fed me to restore my sugar levels.
All in all Beechdown offered us an excellent day out, with brilliant service, luxurious treatments and a lovely relaxing setting I would recommended it to anyone! Please note their cancellation policies and relevant information prior to booking.
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Mar 9th, 2009
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