Every year in the Christmas holidays my boyfriend and me find a nice spa to go for the night just to get away from it all. Last year we went to Champneys Spring but that was very close to home and I like a nice drive so I looked around the web and came across Whittlebury Hall and spa which looked very grand with a picture of what looked like a large country manor surrounded by a golf course and fields.
BOOKING PROCEDURE AND PRICE I am such a trawler when it comes to finding the best price for things I will always hunt down the best deals for anything but I would say the prices for this hotel are pretty standard across the board we were looking for an overnight spa stay to include meals the prices I found were www.whittleburyhall.co.uk Over night accommodation, breakfast and evening meal, heat and ice experience and 10% of any treatments booked £69.
www.lastminute.com Over night stay check in from 3pm only you cant come any earlier and you can only use the leisure facilities until 11am the following day, with breakfast, evening meal and only 2 hours in the heat and ice experience for £193 for the two of you so £96.50 each. www.spabreak.co.uk
One night stay with heat and ice experience, breakfast, lunch and evening meal and choice of 1 treatment out of a body polish, energising express facial or a back neck and shoulder massage for £99 per person. We choose this option as it seemed the best value for money as the treatment alone would have been £35.00 plus the lunch which was either buffet style or a menu either one you would have been paying over £15.00 per person. You can book online or over the phone with spabreaks you cant book online you have to request availability via email and then they ring you to book over the phone, which is a bit long winded, but you get over it. If you are only looking for a day spa you can get that for around £45 which includes lunch and treatments are separate and if you want just a rooms for a night its around £210 for two of you on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis then if you want to add the spa on later it's a further £27.50 each! So you may as well book a special offer to the spa to get the best price even if you're not going to use the spa.
THE DRIVE UP TO WHITTLEBURY HALL We come from the M1 junction 23 and had to travel down to junction 15a and then on A43 for about 10 miles its very straight forward but not very well signposted so you do literally have to follow directions or a sat nav. You can also get to Whittlebury Hall via the M40 and A5 it is very close to Silverstone. You have to drive through Whittlebury village to get to the hotel which is a nice quaint little village with an abundance of small cottages, little streets and large individual houses all in all it takes about 3 minutes to drive through and you can tell all the cars are going to and from the hotel. The hotel in on the right, you can sort of see it from the road yes it does look like the pictures on the website but not so big and not so isolated as you would assume. The golf course is on the left and is very small probably smaller than the big car park!
OUR SPA EXPERIENCE When you make a booking all your treatments have to be done on the same day, unless your paying for them separately so we decided to get their early and not bother with the spa the next day. We arrived at Whittlebury Hall at 9:30 and went straight through to the spa reception, as that was closest to the car park. The entrance was very dark and soothing straight away it was very quiet with one receptionist and a few people sitting around chatting quietly. We were told we could check in their for the spa and then at the hotel reception where we could leave our bags and have them taken to our room so they would be waiting for us as soon as we got our key card. We didn't fancy traipsing through to the 2nd reception so just left out bag at the spa reception office and collected it when we had totally finished at the spa. Once checked in we were given a piece of card that said our names, locker number and reference that we had to give to order any separate food or drinks. We were also given a white credit card that you needed to access every part of the spa as all doors were electronically locked this card also was the key to your locker. After completing our medical forms we proceeded into the male and female changing rooms which were nice and warm with plenty if space to get changed. All the lockers were lined up around the room with benches underneath them, you also had a toilet area which was very clean with beautifully smelling molten brown soap and hand cream and then shower cubicles with a curtain, door and little bench so they were like your own little enclosed changing rooms. The showers were really powerful which was nice with again some lovely smelling shower gel, shampoo and conditioner in dispensers. Once you are really to stow away your belongings you pass your card over the little light sensor on your specific locker to open it and again to lock it. Once you have opened your locker inside you are provided with a large one size fits all robe and slippers which had been obviously reused, washed, reused, washed many a time. The slippers for me were actually more like a health hazard as they were so huge on my size 4 feet it was like paddling round in boats. You also had your personal schedule in their which told you the sitting you were on for lunch and what time your different treatments were its was very personal, clever really. Once me and my boyfriend were ready we went back to the reception ready for our tour of the spa, we went round with around 6 other
people being shown how to access the doors, where to go for the treatments, where the toilets were, how to get to the pool, where you would go for lunch etc it was very helpful because without it we wouldn't have had a clue where to go or what to do. The tour ended back at the reception area where the heat and ice experience was so we decided to opt in there first which was a good idea as everyone who came in after us thought about doing the same thing and before long the place was jam packed with people so we ventured up to the pool after about 2 hours. Our lunch wasn't until 2pm and we hadn't eaten since 7am so we were starving by 12 o clock and we were sick of drooling over the food being served up to the lucky devils who got a 12 o clock sitting so we picked up the phone next to our very uncomfortable wooden sun loungers with no cushions or padding on and rang through to the terrace which is the café bar next to the pool area with an eating area inside and by the pool. We ordered a very berry smoothie priced at £3.95 which was very sour but very delicious too, we also had a £2.50 banana milk shake which wasn't very nice at all too thick and gloopey for my liking and a bowl of yummy chips at £3.00 very bad of us I know but this was a matter of life and death you must understand we needed something to keep up our energy levels. After we had had our naughty snack we went back to our sun loungers and had a well deserved rest from having such a hard day, I got my book out and read for about an hour before finally succumbing to the very dim lights and relaxing silence. I fell asleep for about an hour before waking up with a horrible crick in my neck so decided to have nice dip in the very warm poolside Jacuzzi uumm bliss. At 2 o clock me and my boyfriend made our way into the terrace café for our 2 course buffet lunch we weren't expecting amazing things but from the food but I at least thought the staff would acknowledge us. On entering the restaurant from the pool door there were lots of tables not being used but still hadn't been cleared away, there were other tables that were only half made, others with just nothing on and the rest with guests round them. We didn't have a clue what to do and neither did anyone else it was quite embarrassing because the staff were milling around doing nothing and trying not to make eye contact with anyone so we just grabbed a table with no tablecloth, no glassed just a menu. After sitting for about 5 minutes which doesn't sound long but when your just sat waiting it feels like an eternity to be asked if we wanted a drink or to explain what we did next nothing happened no one came over to us, looked at us or anything. This wasn't a big café probably seated about 100 and there were about 20 people in the so what the 7 members of staff were doing I have no idea. They all looked the part in their trouser and skirt suits but their service certainly wasn't the part. In the end we just got up and helped out self to the buffet we had a jacket potato some potato salad, coleslaw, some beetroot, some gorgeous vegetable stew and a few prawns there were a few other bits to choose from but nothing overly exciting. After a further 15 minutes I just couldn't go any longer without a drink and had to shout someone over just to get a drink of water. I was really disappointed with the service as the food was basic but edible which was fine but it really put a dampener on our day. I know it is quite hard to believe this would happen but it wasn't just us it was happening to everyone was moaning about having to ask for drinks 4 or 5 times and still getting nothing, others were annoyed because as soon as you ordered a drink off the menu the waitress would say "how are you going to pay?" before she did anything a gentleman and his son behind us did the same as us walked in, took as seat and went to the buffet after they sat down the same waitress went up to them and said oh the buffet is £30 you know how are you going to pay? Well that was it then he went mad saying they had just got there and had been told to go straight to lunch and check in later so he had no room number he was then saying very loudly to his son you don't pay to stay somewhere and then be expected to billed for everything you have already paid for. He wasn't rude but you could tell he wasn't happy. After a further 5 minutes he said to this waitress where are our drinks we have been here over 20 minutes now everyone else has had their drinks and you haven't bought ours you were too busy worrying how we would be paying you! After that episode we promptly left as we just wanted some peace and quiet it wasn't the mans fault at all he just wanted to be sorted out properly but it seems the staff are more interested in looking busy rather than being busy. After lunch I was raring to go in the sauna as I had gone cold from sitting in next to nothing all day but I had to wait for my dinner to go down so again me and my boyfriend had a lie down on the sun loungers for half an hour before going off for our massage. We went into the treatment waiting area where we had a pear and some lemon water before our names were called out for relaxing massage or not the case might be. The waiting area is very spacious and bright with people all going in different directions to the pool, to their treatments and booking in at the hair reception. Once our names had been called we were led away to small rooms equipped with all the kit needed for all treatments on offer we didn't book anymore treatments as we didn't really want to spend our whole day waiting around for different treatments and if your only there for the day you like to relax and take in the other facilities. My therapist introduced me to the Elemis range they used and described about 6 different massage oils I could have all did different things like relax, detox and rejuvenate etc she then let me smell them and decide which one I wanted. My boyfriend didn't get the choice so I think all the therapist work differently depending on which one you get. The lady then said to me this is a medium massage so if you want it deeper then let me know she then began needing away at my back with her elbows and lower arms it was very forceful and not at all relaxing at one point she pressed that hard all the wind was pushed out of me it seemed very hard the lady was very nice but I just felt the massage was a bit over the top she pressed so hard on my shoulders that one wouldn't move for ages afterwards. The music in the room was very soothing and I am sure for others the massage would have been bliss but for me it was more like torture. As I am only a small build I thought it was hard because I didn't have much meat on me but my boyfriend said the same as what I was thinking before I even opened my mouth "mine said it was a medium massage but it was not very medium it was very hard!" After hobbling back to the pool area I read a few more chapters go my book I went into the spacious sauna with about 7 other people in I tried out the swimming pool but it felt freezing cold so me and my boyfriend went into the stream room before deciding we had had enough and wanted to go to our room. It was about 5pm when I came out of the changing rooms fully clothed but my boyfriend was stood outside still in his robe it turns out a man had been over come with everything and had fell over in the changing rooms and was now with a paramedic blocking the lockers! Whilst I waited for my boyfriend I went to the reception to pay for the drinks and chips we had earlier and as told I had those and then a further 3 cups of tea I said straight away we didn't have any teas and the girl behind the reception said oh no sorry no you didn't! Well I know I didn't but it still made me think how incompetent they were I checked the amount in the chip and pin machine and paid, I got given the receipt but didn't really look at it until I was home the next day and it said I had paid £39.15 instead of just £9.15 god knows if that's true I hope not but it just goes to show if you don't look at the time there doing god knows what to your cards and receipts. We then made our way to the reception to check in once there we were given our key card and directions to our room. After the long trek we reached room 310 amongst rooms in the 100's ?? Once inside I switched the TV on to find it didn't work it kept saying out of signal and no channels but after 15 minutes of faffing and pressing every button known to man it finally started working ok until we changed the channel and we then lost channels 1 to 5 again so in the end we just gave up and left it. Whilst my boyfriend went to the front reception to have a cigarette I decided to get in the shower and get ready for our evening meal. 10 minutes later my boyfriend came back and I was still trying to wash to combined shampoo and conditioner out of my hair because the water was coming out in a trickle! I ended up filling up the glasses to swill my hair, then did I realise how dirty the water actually was the cups were filled with clouds I couldn't even believe we were expected to wash in this stuff let alone bathe in it all day in the spa! After standing under the shower getting colder and colder I lost my temper and started hitting the shower head on the shower in anger just as I did the water started shooting out I don't know whether there was a blockage or something all I know is that it was all running out smoothly after that. Once ready we went down to our dinner reservation at Astons restaurant not that we knew that's were to go it just seemed everyone was going there so we just followed like sheep. Once seated everyone seemed to be getting served faster than us but we weren't too bothered after we had eaten the first course as we weren't too hungry. For a starter we both had broccoli soup, which was quite nice followed by the Lamb, which I found very sickly, and even though it melted in your mouth it still felt very stringy and with the mint sauce it didn't lay well on my tummy. My boyfriend had the Turkey which he couldn't manage to finish as it was so filling he enjoyed it but said it needed something else but he couldn't quite put his finger on it, my guess would be more vegetable as it really was just the meat and a bit of mash potato which wasn't enough to take away the rich taste. The pudding was the best for me I had a lovely crème brulee which is my favourite anyway and my boyfriend had the chocolate and cherry biscuit which could hardly warrant its title it was a rock hard biscuit base with well set chocolate inside with a wafting of cherry sauce on the plate a complete let down, if it had been my pudding I would have sent it back in disgust! After retiring to the bar for a drink we were very tired from such a relaxing day and went to bed early I read some more whilst my boyfriend tried to tune in the telly again to no avail. The next day we didn't have to check out until 11am, which was nice, so we didn't wake up until 9:30am we then took a leisurely walk down to breakfast where we tucked into a delicious hot and cold buffet. When we sat down we were told tea and coffee would be brought to the table but it never was but us not being the type to moan just sat tight and thought well we have the juice and if we're that desperate for a tea we will just have one when we get back to the room, shame not everyone thought like that a couple of ladies were sitting next to us had to ask for coffee from 5 different waiters and none came well they hit the roof having such a hissy fit I felt embarrassed for them, the staff were not at all phased they just said oh sorry it was just that we were waiting for fresh coffee to be made hahaha I did actually feel glad just for once that staff were so incompetent. After breakfast we finished packing our bits and pieces away and headed for the reception as we were in the lift 2 ladies got in and got off on the wrong floor one turned round and realised whilst still in the lift and the other got off and started trying to come back into the lift but the doors were shutting on her she thought the doors would automatically open again but they didn't they continued to shut on her until she pulled her arm out, god know what would have happened if she hadn't have done that! Once at check out we handed in our room cards and got the number to get out of the car park before we witnessed anymore incidents on what was supposed to be a relaxing trip!
THE HEAT AND ICE EXPERIENCE The heat and Ice experience is a must if you haven't got this is in your packages or decided against paying extra for it then your making a big mistake without using the heat and ice experience all you have to amuse yourself with all day is a swimming pool, busy sauna and steam room, unless you like the gym of course. The heat and ice experience is on the first floor as you come in you can see it from the reception and it get s filled up very quickly so your best to go in first as early as possible and use the single things quickly as people are just itching to jump on to anything that there is limited usage. The main area has a medium sized pool, which some will recognise as being a thalosso pool but they call it a hydrotherapy pool. It is basically a really warm pool with different sections to it like jets to the middle of your body, jets to the lower part of your body, strong showers for your back and head and also Jacuzzi type areas. To the right of the room you have experience showers, which you can choose between really hot or really cold some come from all angles at you, others are just straight down like a hard shoot. My favourite was the bucket shower where a bucket of freezing cold water is tipped straight over you. You are supposed to go from cold to hot very quickly (and that is supposed to be good for you!!!) so as you come out of the showers there is a hot bench to sit on which is scorching its really nice at first but after a while it gives the feeling you have wet yourself which isn't the most pleasant of feelings! You then have to the left two foot spas you can fill up with hot or cold water and vibrate till your hearts content. When you come out through your feet are wobbling all over the place because of the fast vibrations. If you get a bit bored of all this then you can venture into the Ice cave which is cold but lots of fun it a room with two freezing cold showers in and a shoot that keeps spitting out pieces of ice not nice when someone very mature is picking them up throwing them at you but very refreshing for sure. When you have had as much as you can take from the ice cave you move on to the sauna and steam room which are quite small but you don't want to stay in long anyway as your too busy trying to explore what else is on offer. Across the room you have two steam rooms, which are filled with aromatherapy oil and another with roman salt crystals, well they really are an experience. The rooms are full of steam and have little lights in the ceiling to give that really relaxing feel. Both rooms are very similar in aroma and they both work wonders as soon as you walk into the room you can tell they are doing you good. Although your nose isn't physically running it feels like a dripping tap, your eyes feel like they are watering and there not and your throat and lungs feel so refreshed when you breathe in these would be great if you had a cold or sinus problems, The aromatherapy room actually felt like you were walking into a tub of Vic. Going from cold to hot is supposed to stimulate your circulation, which aids the body to eliminate toxins through perspiration, and exfoliates the skin. I am not sure if it does all this but my face felt a lot clearer after the experience. I have never used any facilities like these before and thought they were really good but so did everyone else so you couldn't really enjoy everything to the maximum.
TREATMENTS When booking you can arrange your treatments there and then or you can take your chances and try and book on the day. Personally if I was going to book anymore treatments I would pre book them as most people will have and you will probably left disappointed. If you are looking for a hair appointment then you could probably leave it until the day or the day before to book as they didn't seem as busy but certainly the massage and facials I would book in advance they offer everything in the way of body treatments, spa bathing rituals, treatments for men, facial treatments, alternative therapies, hands and feet and a hair studio. The two brands they use are Elemis and Espa so you cant buy things treatments or products from ranges like clinique or dermo etc. I could go through the whole price list but you can access this on their website if your interested but on average you will pay £55 upwards for a facial, £60 upwards for a body wrap, £35 for a body polish, £55 upwards for a massage £30 upwards for a manicure, £35 upwards for a pedicure, £40 upwards for a soap massage and between £37.50 - £42.50 for a wash, cut and blow dry. If your looking for alternative treatments they do things like the Hopi-ear treatment and reflexology which are meant to be good for around £45.Men can have any of the treatments the women can have but they also have their own special range of treatments they can choose from such as facials for £65.00 and deep massages for around the £50 mark.
THE POOL AREA This is a nice relaxing area I know swimming pools are generally noisy places that echo all the time but you find that everyone talks quietly all the time and the majority of people are actually asleep throughout the day. When more people start piling in in the afternoon it starts to get a little bit busier and you get more and more people in the 19 ft swimming pool. If you don't fancy swimming but fancy a dip there is a whirlpool that seats about 8 of your comfortably and quite spacious saunas and steam rooms. The décor throughout the pool area is a very pale blue with paintings of castle ruins and little mice running around its quite nice but as soon as you look up into the roof there are lots of little spot lights and around those big yellow stains where the heat must be affecting the paint on the ceilings, not very nice.
OTHER FACILITIES If you have more time on your hands and are a lot fitter than me then there is state of the art gym equipped with all the latest exercise equipment and if you prefer more class based fitness you can check availability in the terrace café and join a yoga class or a step class what ever takes your fancy. It isn't just the guests that are using the spa that venture into these areas it is hotel guests and members of the leisure club that also have access to the swimming area so even though no children are allowed in the spa between certain hours you will get children at the poolside. There is also a relaxation room where there are quilts, pillows and blankets etc for a complete relax in total peace and harmony, however we didn't go in here because of the fear of not actually leaving!
THE ROOMS There are 3 types of room available the standard room, the club room and the suites, from experience we always just go for the standard if we are staying for a night because I don't really believe you get a lot for what extra you pay and for a night I have stayed at some bad hotels so I generally take the risk. All of the rooms have the basic molton brown toiletries, flat screen TV's with selected satellite channels, trouser press, hairdryer, tea and coffee tray and bathrobes. The club room benefits from being larger in size with slippers to go with the robes, a fruit platter, water and wine in the room and you get a daily turn down service. All the rooms are non-smoking and you you can have either a single or double bed. There are loads and loads of rooms so you should get what you want. The suites on the website look really plush and it boasts that they get famous racing drivers stay at the hotel so I can imagine it probably will be with a large lounge and dining area, bathroom with Jacuzzi, fluffy robes, sherry and chocolates as well as all of the other benefits of a club room. There is also a mini bar where in which you have to leave a £150 deposit down which will be refunded if you don't take anything. This is all good and well but after everything I wouldn't trust them not to make a charge for something you haven't had. None of the other rooms have a mini bar but have the cabinets ready with a sticker on them advising that mini bars are coming, wow cant wait! From the stairs or the lift which ever you are using unless your room is very close by you are guaranteed a long walk when you are looking for your room it is like a complete maze so if you are older or have problems walking long distances then I would ask for a room near the lift. Our room was very small and freezing once we went in we realized there was no heating on and I started to panic thinking there was no radiator because I cannot stand being cold until we realised it was because the card wasn't in for the electric to work so we quickly put the card in whilst I sat in my coat. The bed pretty much filled the room so it was a good job the wardrobes were built in. There was small dressing table with a chair you could hardly pull out as the bed was in the way and lots of advertising literature. The bathroom on the other hand was very spacious and very light considering there was no window. There were plenty of towels on a nice heated radiator. The room was sufficient for the night it was clean, bright and airy with a peachy décor the pillows looked a bit sorry for themselves but luckily there were extras in the wardrobe as well as blankets, which you definitely needed.
OVERALL THOUGHTS ON THE HOTEL I really enjoyed my stay at the Whittlebury Hall and Spa it was real value for money although all the facilities and some of the food isn't to everyone's taste you cant grumble at the price I mean £99 for a room for the night access to leisure facilities, a beauty treatment, 2 course lunch, 3 course evening meal and a large buffet breakfast what more can you ask for. You would pay that just for the evening meal in some places. Ok there isn't a great choice in menu unless your paying extra, décor is a bit tired and the rooms are basic but for a night you cant grumble. Overall you get a nice selection of people there looking for a good time the place is busy but not in a loud hustle bustle type of way. I do think the hotel has lovely bar and restaurant area but I would say the hotel has a feel that its very much upmarket in which its not carrying through to the rooms and standards. There are steep charges for food and drinks if there not included in your package and the service is slow and impersonal. It's a shame the hotel is so unorganised as people get annoyed very easily when things get messed up especially when you have paid for everything before hand. There are a lot of different packages involved in the spa area but how that is all monitored I don't know the staff are all quite scatty and seem more interested in how you are going to be paying for things rather than offering a good service. If you are looking for a one night trip out just fir a change than by all means go as it is great for that but if your looking for all the luxuries of a real upmarket spa then I wouldn't bother as you will be disappointed as there are so many different emphasises its not just a spa it's a hotel, a conference centre and wedding venue.
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Modern Hotel superbly furnished with an excellent Spa facility which offers a range of ... more
over 40 treatments for body mind and spirit Adjacent is an independant and privately owned Golf Course and the Hotel is ideal for visiting Silverstone Internationa...
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Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
Advantages: Excellent value, great food, comfotatble rooms and pleasant helpful staff Disadvantages: We kept getting lost but that was prabably our uselessness!
Advantages: Excellent value, great food, comfotatble rooms and pleasant helpful staff Disadvantages: We kept getting lost but that was prabably our uselessness!
Dec 29th, 2008
exceptional by (61%):
very helpful by (39%):
