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Ayush Wellness Spa at the Hotel de France, St Helier - 5 bubbles
The Ayush Spa at the Hotel de France in St Helier is a completely ayurvedic spa. If you're looking for holistic treatments as well as heat experiences and a pool, this hotel spa has much to offer both Jersey locals and those from further away looking for a little spa serenity, sanctuary, and even solitude.
First impressions?
How did they welcome you?
What happens next?
Which treatments did you have?
What were the treatments like?
How did you feel afterwards?
What happens afterwards?
Was it worth it?
What else could you have?
What do you wish you'd known before you went?
Any special features?
Who do you think would like it?
Why did you give the spa this rating?
Would you go again?
First impressions?
The Hotel de France is set on a hillside just outside the centre of St Helier (a short walk, in estate-agent-speak). It's an enormous and imposing building, the largest hotel in the Channel Islands, with 298 bedrooms and a large wellness spa, Ayush.
The hotel was built in 1866 and has had a chequered history, serving time as a Jesuit college and a training school for German soldiers during the war. A family-owned hotel since 1971, the owners have invested in a series of refurbishments and additions, including Ayush, the Sanskrit word for a long, healthy life.
How did they welcome you?
The lobby is large and grand but the check-in was friendly. The reception staff sent me to find the lift to my "spa bedroom" and this journey can be a little confusing -- you have to go past another lift first, and round by the coffee shop. The lift took me up past glass walls and empty corridors and patios, all looking like they just needed 200 conference delegates to enliven them. When I emerged from the lift, I found my room down a beguilingly orange corridor with frosted glass windows.
My room was modern, spare and elegant, done throughout in browns and yellows, with a large steel balcony and views over St Helier to the sea. The bed was wide and soft, covered in patterned cushions, and there was a TV and desk to work at. The bathroom was large, but functional rather than luxurious.
If you stay in one of these spa bedrooms, in the wing overlooking the spa, you should find your robe in your room.
You will also have to go down to Reception to get a cable for your laptop as the free Wi-Fi that covers the rest of the hotel doesn't extend this far. But the cable access is free and reliable once achieved. A nice plus. The access point was on the opposite side of the room to my desk, though, which meant I had to balance my laptop on my knees.
What happens next?
I had arrived in time for lunch -- always a bonus. The sun was shining so I ate on the terrace of Café Aroma, outside overlooking the lawn, which was very pleasant. I was supposed to have the spa menu, which recommends foods appropriate for your dosha, and includes mung-bean soup, but somehow I missed this and ate cauliflower soup instead. I felt perhaps a little less balanced than I might have done, but perfectly replete. The staff were attentive and I could have lingered in the sunshine longer, but it was time to spa.
The spa is purpose-built and divided over three levels. You enter through glass doors to a reception area, a wide, airy space with a desk by a glass wall looking down to the pool area. The first impression is of health rather than pampering. You go down a level to the changing rooms, and these are large, too. Pictures of red poppies enliven the walls. However, there are 38 lockers, and only two showers, so there might sometimes be a crunch on the shower front.
Once changed, I went through to the pool area, which is impressively airy and spacious. The glass walls give a lot of natural light from the gardens, and the stone floor lends a luxurious feel.
The centrepiece is a large infinity pool; the water wall at one end gives a swishy atmosphere and you can rest here between lengths. After my swim, I tried the deep and warm hydrotherapy pool with a bubbly bench; three swan pipes will do your shoulders and back no end of good. The sauna is large and hot, with room to accommodate at least eight people without sweating on each other. You can cool off in the frigidarium -- a cold plunge pool where you can recover from the heat, or relax in the caldarium -- a shallow warm pool.
There are plenty of loungers all around the pool area for relaxing on; in warm weather, you can walk through to the garden from the pool and relax outside, too, with fresh juices, teas and coffees from Café Aroma next door.
After my swim, it was time for my treatment. I went upstairs to the spa proper, where you enter a different kind of world entirely: stone and wood again, but now combined with soft lighting and curtains, and open glass walkways. The spa is large but there are only six treatment rooms, so it's never going to feel crowded. The atmosphere is hushed and calm, with the sound of flowing water. There is a reception desk with a bookcase behind containing all manner of tomes on healthy living, and a sofa area where you can make yourself a tea according to your dosha.
Ayurveda is an ancient "science of life" that originated in India. Simply put, your dosha is your individual bio-energy, which you need to maintain in balance for your best health. Ill health is a sign that your dosha is out of balance. Your individual dosha is a mix of three elements: vata, pitta and kapha. Depending on your type of dosha, particular foods, exercises and lifestyle choices are particularly appropriate for you. So, obviously, you need to have your dosha diagnosed before anyone can prescribe the right ayurvedic treatment for you.
Which treatments did you have?
I had an ayurvedic consultation with a trained ayurvedic consultant, Dr Prasanna (55 minutes, £70). This was followed by an Abhyanga, a two-therapist massage (120 minutes, £125), and a Shirodhara (55 minutes, £70) where herbal-infused oil is streamed onto your forehead. You could also have all these treatments together in the Reflective Day Package for £195.
What were the treatments like?
My ayurvedic consultation was carried out properly, starting with a consultation form, then Dr Prasanna took me through to the consultation room and asked questions about my work, sleep, activities, worries. He took a pulse-point diagnosis and asked me to stick out my tongue. A proper ayurvedic consultation!
The oils for the massage were then mixed to suit my diagnosed needs and Kavita, my therapist, led me through to the large and airy treatment room.
My four-handed massage was extremely soothing. You might find an abhayanga a bit unusual if you have never had one before, so let me tell you one thing you should know: the massage starts with one therapist alone. The second therapist enters the room while you are face down on the massage table so you don't get to meet them at all. But you can certainly feel the difference.
The therapists poured warmed oil over my body and along my limbs. They kneaded and massaged in synchronisation, so that it was soon impossible to tell who was doing what. The combined pressure of their hands was extremely relaxing, unknotting my muscles and making me deeply relaxed.
The abhayanga ends with a bashpa sweda: a herbal steam treatment designed to increase the elimination of toxins. Kavita led me to a steam cabinet in the corner of the room, which had been gently bubbling away throughout my massage. You sit on the seat, and your head pokes out of the closed doors while the rest of your body is bathed in herbal steam. The feeling was of definite detoxification; I was very warm, but not uncomfortably so, and my therapist remained in the room throughout, which was reassuring.
My treatments ended with the shirodhara. I wasn't sure I was going to like this, and my uncertainty was compounded when Kavita took a little time to get the placing of my head, the bed, and the oil-drizzler just right; up a bit, down a bit...
But when the treatment began, I couldn't fight it. The sensation of the oil on my forehead and flowing through my hair was perhaps the most relaxing treatment I have ever had. I floated away, letting all tension go, and just enjoyed the warmth and the sensations. Fantastic. I didn't want this treatment to end.
How did you feel afterwards?
Extremely relaxed and soothed.
What happens afterwards?
Kavita took me through to the relaxation room where six or so loungers are arranged in a circle. I drank some tea and got ready to return to the world.
Dr Prasanna had prepared an individual food recommendation for me that listed all the foods I should choose to keep my Pitta dosha in balance (a wide range) and those I should avoid (including mushrooms, olives, and cheese). I also got an information sheet about healthy eating, which contained sensible guidelines.
The next morning, I woke early and went to the gym. The gym is divided into two wooden-floored rooms -- one with aerobic machines and one with resistance equipment, weights and a Swiss ball. The machines are all excellent and you can have a good workout. The music in there is very loud, which may suit you.
I later had breakfast in the Orange Tree restaurant, which is a buffet affair, with plenty of fresh fruit and juices on offer as well as cooked bacon and eggs and croissants.
Was it worth it?
Individual spa treatments are reasonably priced and about what you would expect to pay at similar spas elsewhere. An initial short consultation is free when you book your first ayurvedic treatment. You could happily spend a day at Ayush swimming and relaxing, dipping into the saunas and steam rooms, having a treatment, and sunbathing on a lounger when weather permits, so you get good value for money with the day packages particularly.
What else could you have?
The only spa treatments on offer at Ayush are ayurvedic treatments, with traditional spa therapies adapted to the spirit of this philosophy, so you can have wraps and hot-stone massages, but they are tailored to you. Treatments include Vata, Pitta and Kapha facials, and a wide variety of massages, including Pizzichill, where two therapists massage you in gallons of warm oil, and Padaghata, where your therapist uses her feet to give you a deep-muscle workout.
There are also specific treatments for areas of concern, such as the feet or the lower back, and treatments specially designed for men, plus rituals for couples and friends which are carried out in a private treatment suite.
The programmes on offer range from individual facials and massages to a half-day visit or a three-week stay.
There is a hair and beauty salon elsewhere in the hotel, so you don't need to be without your manicure or make-up should you wish.
What do you wish you'd known before you went?
That I should brush my teeth before going for my spa treatments.
Any special features?
The lightness and sense of space in Ayush is a very special feature. The spa is committed to ayurveda, and it shows in the quality of the treatments.
Who do you think would like it?
Anyone in need of relaxation, balancing, and a time to de-stress.
Why did you give the spa this rating?
We gave Ayush 5 bubbles because the spa is well thought-through, and the treatments are professional, thorough and relaxing.
The pool area is beautifully done, but the changing rooms are not the last word in luxury -- there are only two showers, for example, and the feel here is more health club than spa.
However, this is a spa that offers enough to keep you blissed out for a day or longer, and space enough in the spa to find a little serenity.
See more on how we rate the spas.
Would you go again?
The hotel wouldn't be my top choice to stay as I found it a little impersonal, but Ayush is definitely worth a visit. I'm looking forward to my next invitation!
We visited Ayush at the Hotel de France in October 2010
See also:
* Contact Details for Ayush Wellness Spa
* Ayurvedic massage
* All Spa Spy Reviews
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