Waterfall Spa, Leeds - 4 bubbles

We had been hearing conflicting reports of Waterfall Spa in Leeds so we decided to check it out -- twice. On our first visit, no one knew that Sybaritic Spy was coming. Our second visit, a few days later, was by invitation. What did we find? A smart city-centre spa oasis with good treatments but a few cleaning issues...

"I visited the Spa with one of my friends last weeknd to celebrate her birthday - overall we both had a really great time together and we didn't want to leave! When we arrived we found the staff very helpful and courteous - they explained all of the facilities clearly and advised how to use everything around our treatments. We both found the facilties very relaxing and it was a nice touch to be offered an ipod to take around and listen to for the day.

My treatments were both on time but my friends was about 10 mins late, this was a shame but it did not really disrupt the day. We both had the three course meal at the restaurant and it was delicious! Overall we were both pleased with the day, and it was a very enjoyable experience. I would go back again.
Julie (1st time visitor) - 23.02.09"

"I went to the Waterfall Spa with my mother as part of a birthday present. I was a bit anxious about the day as I had read some bad reviews on this site. However within 30 minutes of arriving I was pleasantly reassured.
We were given a walk through of the facilities which were lovely and clean. I did notice some peeling paint by the jacuzzi but that was about it. The robes and slippers were fine, didn't notice any problems with anyones.
My treatment times were a bit too spread out but I didn't set them in advance. The food was lovely, I'm lactose intolerant and they made sure I was well provided for. There was no rudeness from staff.
The treatments themselves were top notch. I can recommend the mud n scrub! I really liked the therapists, they were friendly when spoken to but silent during more relaxing treatments.
Only issues;more towels by jacuzzi area, someone remaking relaxation beds and perhaps different oil in the steam room.
There was a delivery of chicken whilst we were in the reception area, but I don't see the problem with this. Maybe some people don't like to admit that a chicken meal is going to have raw chicken as one of it's ingredients, or they would prefer that a servants entrance was installed so they didn't have to be offended by the sight of raw meat!
What did the lady who wrote the "shambolic spa" review expect the staff to do if staff members were ill and the boiler was broken? One of my therapists told me what happened when I asked her and she gave a very satisfactory explanation. Also, the lady who made the review apparently made some rude comments to staff. i think she needs to realize that the world does not revolve around her and that something like a boiler break down and sickness can not be magically fixed.
I don't know why people have called the manager cocky, I found her bubbly and warm, and she stayed past closing to book us in for our next day!"

"I note the comment made below by a lady that attend Waterfall Spa. I am amazed that such a wonderful place can receive such a negative review as I myself have visited the Spa on 3 three previous occasions and have already been promised another visit as a Valantine present from my husband which I am very much looking forward to booking.

All I can thnk is that on the date of your visit that the Spa must have been having issues??? My collegue visited the Spa on the 30th December and other than her lunch being a little delayed her experience was as great as the ones that I have described to her and she also will be booking to go back.

I sometimes think that it does seem a little bit expensive if you had not visited before but at least they tend to offer good special offers and if you can go mid week I have found they have saved me up to £40!! That can be spent on a little retail therapy to end the spa day!!!

I can honestly say that the Staff have always been nothing but helpful and attentive when I have visited. My friends would tell you that I am the first person to winge if I dont like something but have to say that Waterfall ticks all the right boxes for me.

The thing is with websites and reviews its always difficult to determine what to make of somewhere as people always tend to have mixed reviews and I guess what suits me might not suit the next client.

On my previos visit to the Spa at the beginning of December 2008 I treat myself to some of the products from the retail range, they are great and already I have been thinking what to add to the collection!!

As far as it goes for me I think Waterfall is a good Spa and I certainly have nothing that I can say to knock it."

"Overall, Waterfall is a lovely day spa, small and intimate with a nice atmosphere. I took advice from a friend who had been before and booked my treatments in advance as apparently it can get completely booked up on busy days.

I only booked 2 treatments as they are not cheap, but actually this was plenty as it gave me the chance to lounge around the rest of the facilities like hydrotherapy pool, steam room etc which were included in the day pass I paid for. I was worried about looking out of place if I went on my own (my goal was complete relaxation before Xmas frenzy!) but I felt very comfortable and relaxed atmosphere made it easy to chat to a few other women throughout the day. All ages and shapes and sizes too which was reassuring!

I left feeling very well looked after and quite peaceful which, with a life like mine, is a miracle! It might be nice to go back with a friend for more of a fun day out."

"My experience of this 'spa' is terrible. The whole thing I found to be utterly shambolic.

I was bought a Time To Revive voucher (£150) for my birthday and booked a day off work to redeem it on Monday 29th December. Having just got engaged I was really looking forward to a bit of pampering.

I arrived at the designated time and was queueing to check in for a full 20 minutes- I wasn't greeted or invited to take a seat during that time. In fact I wasn't acknowledged at all.

During my lengthy wait, a butcher walked in and deposited a plastic carrier bag full of raw meat on the reception counter. The girl behind the desk just left it sitting there while she checked in two ladies. Several other girls buzzed about reception and ignored both me and the bag of raw meat that was sitting there right in front of them. I think this is absolutely vile.

Contrary to what I was led to believe in the blurb I got sent, I wasn't given a personal tour of the facilities. I was ushered in a large group of strangers like some kind of tourist sightseeing group to a changing room and then a cafe - joined by a drafty corridor that had a 'manicure station' in it. Very relaxing.

We were instructed to get changed into our swimmers and robes then come to the cafe for a relaxing welcome drink. It took ages for anyone to serve anyone, and the drinks a lot of people wanted weren't on offer. I'm not talking some kind of rare cocktail, just a cappucino.

The cafe was small, a bit chilly, with inadequate seating. It had no discerning features and with a fuzzy radio blaring from the kitchen it had all the allure and sensuality of a Travel Lodge bar. The magazines that were on offer were out of date, dog eared, and there were about three of them. Very poor.

After filling in forms they kept us waiting for a further hour ( with no refreshment) in the cafe before the manager came in and told the assembled group that the chef had phoned in sick, the senior therapist had also phoned in sick, and the pool wouldn't get up to temperature. She said that only a few treatments would be available, but that we could still use the sauna. Well woopee doo.

I was there on my own but I felt really sorry for a group of girls who'd travelled from Rochdale who were there on a hen party. For my part I was very much inconvenienced by having taken a day off work for this pantomime. I was offered the chance to reschedule, but no other compensation or gesture of good will was offered. I thought that was quite cheeky.

My treatment was scheduled in for 15:00 and my package had a lunch included, so I opted to get a full refund, which in fairness came with no quibble as well as did the £7 for parking money I'd paid in town.

I found most of the staff to be a bit off hand, very young, quite rude and unwelcoming and no one gave the impression that they were in control and knew what they were doing.

I've been to a great many spas (Pennyhill, Titanic, Espa at Malmaison for example) and found the staff to be immaculately turned out, elegant, polite and very highly skilled. This place in comparison was shoddy. And as for a bag of raw meat left on the reception, that is utterly unacceptable when they're charging £60-80 for an hour's treatment! It put me off before I'd even checked in.

The interior is unoriginal and doesn't put you at ease, in fact you feel like you're in a hotel lobby in your dressing gown. The 'facilities' are a corridor with a manicure station with people traipsing past you all the time, a small room with the pool, sauna and steam room (just twice the size of your living room really) and the cafe is massively underwhelming too.

Don't waste your money, I can't believe this place can't get its act together and provide a high quality service at those prices. It's a terrible place."

"I got back from this spa on Friday and need to tell people not to waste their money.
The website looks amazing and so a friend and I decided to go there instead of Eden Hall for my birthday... what a huge mistake. My husband bought the 2 for £100 offer and when I phoned I was told it wasn't for Fridays. I had to write an email complaint and point out in simple steps that the ordering route my husband took to purchase didn't ever state that in terms & conditions. I then had to contact them again as they had forgotten to send out confirmationa dn when eventualy ut did arrive it was wrong!

When we got there I have to say the staff were friendly - not overly but enough to make us feel comfortable. We aere then taken to the restaurant and I realised then that it was a mistake. The cafe was tiny and looked out onto the spa area which is one tiny room with 1 laregish jacuzzi, a special shower, a sauna & steam room. THAT'S IT! No pool, no excercise equipment. Just one other room with beds (no enough beds either for all the customers there at the time). My treatment was £40 for 40 minutes - so not worth it and the dinner was nice but nothing I would pay £25 for in a restaurant. We should have been there from 9 til 6 but left just after 4 as there was nothing to do. Even with the £25 off I spent £115 not including train fare gettnig there and when you consider Eden Hall is quite close I really feel their pricing structure and research was misplcaced. Don't go there unless you have never been to a spa before but be prepared for boredom and a total waste of money."

"We went to Waterfall Spa for the day in March as a treat for my Mum's birthday, which was in January - needless to say she had been looking forward to it. We have been to alot of spas and we just thought, 'what a total dissapointment'. The customer service and facilities are the worst we have ever experienced.

We were worried from the start as we found trying to book tricky. After getting through to the booking line, someone said they would ring back, but they never did. We got through after the fourth time of trying.

Due to my Mum having high blood pressure the person on the phone asked what the medication was she took to check she would be okay for her treatment. They then proceeded to tell her that there would be no problem.

On arrival this was then retracted. She couldn't have the treatment, due to her high blood pressure and it was against their company policy! It had been booked for weeks.

Nor could she have a wrap or a massage so she had to have her nails painted. It was the most expensive manicure she ever had! Due to the many problems we encountered we were told they would be complimentary.

On the way out we were told that she would actually have to pay and they would get in touch with customer services to get a refund.

Aside from our problems, this is small, it consists of a small jacuzzii, a sauna, steam room and a cafe. Hardly enough to fill a day.

Overall we would say the spa is no where near as good as any of the others we have been to. The treatments are overpriced as is the food and the staff hardly went out of the way to try and sort out the situation.

Our advice - go to Ragdale Hall the facilities and services are un-matched!"

"I had heard a lot about this spa, mainly very mixed reviews, but I was willing to give it a try, I booked in for a standard package -I should have known what lay in store by the shopping basket way of buying packages, I wasn't sure what to book so wanted to contact the spa - the only way was a call centre, this was a really difficult system - it was 2 days before I finally got an answer. One of my questions was that they claim to be award winning - on questioning this - the telephonist simply replied 'Oh have we, I don't know, no I don't think so'.

After travelling some way and through the worst weather, I was expecting a warm welcome, I was actually there for 40 minutes before anyone asked who I was, the environment was very un friendly, the staff all huddled togther making me feel uncomfortable, therapists in jumpers - not really the correct attire.

My treatments left me feeling really uncared for, everything felt stale and second rate, I have read all the other reviews and I have to say I honestly can't find one postive thing to say about this place apart from the fact it is in Leeds and it has great shops.

I certainly wouldn't go again - a tip though - a lady in a shop near by recommended an alternative place, one the good spa guide obviously agrees is a far better destination, I hope this experience hasn't put me off spa-ing for life!

Spa virgin"

"When I read your review of Waterfall Spa, I had to go and check it out. We were very impressed (I'd noticed a couple of people weren't totally pleased with their experience on here, but they must have addressed any probs as our day ran really smoothly and was totally relaxing and fun. Thanks for the recommendation - I have already recommended Waterfall Spa to several friends."

"We visited Waterfall Spa in Leeds in November for my friend's birthday after looking the spa up on this site; we had the most amazing weekend ever at the spa,
Waterfall spa is totally unbelievable I loved the fact it was ladies only! and it was very luxurious, the food was also amazing, I felt I had to put comments on as this is were we found the spa,
Thank you and would 100%recomend Waterfall Spa"

"I visited Waterfall Spa 2 weeks ago and had the most amazing day I have been going to spa's all over for the past 2 years and absolutely love to try new ones,
You know when you have found one that has got every thing right though,
I would recommend this spa."

"I visited this spa in November and altough I'm currently a spa "novice" I can truely say this place was fantastic. I was a little hungover on my visit and what a fantastic hangover cure.... the staff were fantastic, the treatments fantastic, the foot fantastic.... I think you understand what i'm getting at. I would totally recommend this spa and I look forward to visiting again shortly."

"I'm sorry but as an experienced spa go-oer this one has far to go. The staff aren't trained as my therapist admitted not having any formal training, the products they use come in suspiciously plain white bottles - no brands, they forgot our booking, it was hard to find even though I know Leeds and the only good thing was the lunch which was superb but the chocolate fountain wasn't working. The potential is definitely there, great branding and surroundings but the service is sadly not worthy of the prices they charge. Helen"

"I visited the spa in June and have to say I was extremely disappointed with the overall experience. After having looked so forward to it for such a long time, there were a number of dissappointments throughout the day. The place is a lot smaller than appears on the website and facy names have been given to basic facilities like jaccuzzis , steam rooms and saunas. The lunch was ok but we had to ask a number of times for basic things like salt and pepper as well as refills of drinks. The website advertised a chocolate fountain being there which myself and my friend were really looking forward to. When I asked the canteen staff, she said it was not on today. I laater asked another member of staff and I was then told that it was on and I needed to ask behind the bar. Shouldn't this information have already been given to me when i asked first time? The facial led my my skin coming out in a rash. The body massage was far from relaxing and the manicure was quite possibly the worst thing I have ever experienced with the manicurist making my cuticles bleed and then clearing my nails with nail varnish remover causing my fingers to sting. In addition to this, at 6.45pm when I was having my manicure a memeber of staff decided to start hoovering. Not what I would expect at all from a spa that I have paid so much money for. You expect to be indulged, but the staff were far from helpful and did not make you feel particularly pampered. I will not be returning again and would not recommend this as a place to go."