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Two Spies were invited to Whittlebury to try out their day spa. The heat and ice experience offers an atmosphere that's just right for friends to have fun, and the treatments were smoothing and soothing.
Was it easy to book?
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?
Was it easy to book?
We had no trouble getting the treatments we wanted and the spa was very accommodating to our wishes.
First impressions?
You drive in through impressive double gates, through the grounds, past the golf course, and past the hotel to the car park. If you have any doubts about the closeness of Whittlebury to the Formula One track at Silverstone, they are put to rest when you recognise the familiar buzz of engines from just beyond the trees as you switch off your own...
There is a walkway to the main entrance of the hotel, which also takes you past the separate entrance to the day spa. The main Reception area is large, with sofas, and a dramatic floral arrangement on the main table. The feel is contemporary rather than chintz, but elegant rather than Spartan.
How did they welcome you?
This is a busy hotel, with conferences and meetings taking place most days, so there was a bit of a wait at Reception. However, they found our booking and a young man was despatched with the cases while we had a nice cup of tea in the library to recover from the drive.
The room: My club room was lovely - spacious and bright with a view of the golf course, a large, soft bed, a TV, table with flowers, water and fruit, and a spotlessly clean bathroom with Molton Brown products. All you look for in a hotel room, really! (If not necessarily the golf course.) I flung open my case, retrieved my trainers, and was off to the gym.
What happens next?
They have cleverly positioned the spa at Whittlebury so that it is a self-contained day spa rather than an integral part of the hotel. It is in a separate wing, although you can reach it from the bedroom corridors as well as through the main entrance so you can waft down to the pool in your robe. This separation works well, as it means you don't get people in wet swimming cosies (me, mainly) dripping through Reception on the way back to their room.
The separate wing is also where you'll find the pool and gym. You need to sign in at the pool-and-gym reception on the ground floor, where you're issued with a towel and a key that will allow you access to the changing rooms, where you can get ready to gym or swim.
The gym: The gym is upstairs. It's a reasonably bright room, with windows overlooking the golf course, and plenty of machines to go round even thought the gym also functions as a local members' health club. There was a cycling class going on when I arrived. There are running machines, cycles, cross trainers, free weights and mats, and cooled water is freely available. After the gym, we went back downstairs and through the changing rooms to the pool.
The pool: On a Sunday afternoon, the pool was quiet, though friends were chatting in the Jacuzzi in the corner. The pool is sizeable enough for lap swimming, and the Italianate frieze on the walls lends the place a classical, stone-columned air. There are loungers all around the pool, but they are quite functional and hard to sit on. We wished we'd requested more towels. If you're suitably softened, though, it's a great place to swim, sit and chat. There is a large steam room that was deliciously hot, which paradoxically chilled us out after the journey. It's a functional rather than a luxurious room - plastic rather than turquoise tiles.
The food: All this, and we were ready for dinner in Aston's restaurant. The food is modern, offering choices that cater for fish lovers and vegetarians. It was all well cooked and, judging by the amount of people eating dinner there on a Sunday night, the place is obviously very popular.
The day spa: The next morning, we reported to the spa Reception at 9am, ready for our proper day of spa-ing. The place was busy with people checking in and lurking around in white robes for their spa tour. Even though the receptionists were busy, they were very patient as I faffed around changing the time of my treatment (I had to go and do a work call in the middle of the day - how unfair is that?!) and were able to accommodate a new time that suited us all.
The changing rooms: We got our locker keys and went through to the locker room where I was utterly unable to make anything work. I thought there were no free lockers left and had to go back to Reception and cry! They pointed out the tiny number on my locker key... There are plenty of showers and all were clean, with plenty of bathing products.
The facilities: Whittlebury's main spa attraction is the heat-and-ice experience that is the centre of the day spa. It has a central hydrotherapy pool with underwater massage jets and swan pipes (nicely strong, to pummel away stress in the neck and shoulders.) Beyond this are ceramic heated loungers and a series of hot and cold rooms designed to increase your body temperature then dramatically cool it down again, resulting in a happier, healthier you. So you'll find an aromatherapy crystal steam room and a salt steam room, a caldarium, the milder heat of a sanarium and tepidarium, foot spas, a traditional sauna and a super-cool ice cave. In the experience showers, the bucket of cold water that fills up and wakes you up with an icy drench is a particular favourite with friends, who shriek in abandon. The atmosphere throughout is bustling rather than serene, with people enjoying what's on offer.
The lunch: Given the numbers of people using the day spa, you are given a timed slot to go to the Terrace Café for your lunch. Be on your marks, at the appointed hour, as a queue soon builds up in the wait to be shown to a table. Once you have a table, though, the food is sensibly yours to help yourself to in the form of a buffet. Helpings are generous and the variety should please all tastes, with potato salad, coleslaw, green leaves, quiche, ham and all sorts of cold meats and fish, and all manner of dressings and dips to go with. Something for everyone. The dessert was yogurt or a green apple, though. (Far too healthy for me.)
Which treatments did you have?
I was booked in for the The Day Spa Detox, a package which includes an ESPA detoxifying algae wrap, use of the heat and ice experience, and a two-course buffet lunch in the Terrace Café. My fellow spy was having the Whittlebury De-stress Day, which was just the same as the above, but with an Elemis skin-specific facial instead of the algae wrap.
What were the treatments like?
The ESPA detoxifying algae wrap was professionally and thoughtfully done. My therapist took care to make me feel comfortable at all times, which is no mean feat when she's asking you to wear paper knickers, smearing you with algae and wrapping you like a chicken. I was very happy throughout and very relaxed afterwards.
The Elemis skin-specific facial was equally good. My fellow spy reports: "I love hot and cold stone massage, and this facial uses the same techniques. It does wonders for the puffy skin around your eyes. It's a very results-focused as well as a relaxing facial. A great combination."
How did you feel afterwards?
Soothed and smooth.
What happens afterwards?
Depending on what time of day you have your treatment, any number of things! You could swim, chill out by the pool, go to the gym, indulge in more heat and ice...
There is also a varied schedule of classes in the exercise studio. We joined in a beginners' yoga class at the end of the day, which was pitched just right. About ten of us, so the instructor could give one-on-one attention to misaligned spines, and a gentle pace that helped us unwind and come to a calming close of the spa day.
Was it worth it?
Definitely. Whittlebury offers very good spa value for the money you pay. Check for deals as they have constantly refreshed special offers such as bring a friend, or stay the night for free.
What else could you have?
The treatments on offer include ESPA and Elemis face and body treatments, alternative therapies including rasul (a favourite of ours), Indian head massage and reflexology, plus treatments for men and mums-to-be. You can round off your new you with a manicure or pedicure, an appointment in the hair studio, make-up, waxing or a sun shower.
What do you wish you'd known before you went?
The class schedule is published outside the exercise studio in the morning. Take a look early on and sign up for any that appeal as numbers are limited.
Also be aware that while you get free use of the pool and gym as a hotel guest, there's an extra fee to pay if you want to make use of the heat and ice experience.
Any special features?
The heat and ice rooms are a full-on spa experience, as are the spa packages on offer to help you make the most of the facilities.
Who do you think would like it?
Whittlebury is a conference and management training centre as well as a hotel and spa. They have large, light and well equipped training rooms and there are opportunities for team-building pursuits in the grounds. So trainers (and trainees) and conference delegates would probably welcome a bit of r-and-r in the spa after all that exertion.
Whittlebury is deservedly popular with locals, too, who make the most of its daytime and twilight spa offers. They were many groups of friends when we were there, and Whittlebury specialises in keeping groups happy.
If you're a Formula One fan or widow, you could book ahead now for a stay package at the hotel in July 2008, and soothe away your excitement in the spa after a hard day at the track.
Why did you give the spa this rating?
We gave Whittlebury 4 bubbles for the experience. It does what it aims to do very well. It primarily provides a relaxing, sharing experience for friends with some professional treatments as the icing on the cake. If fun is what you're looking for in your spa day, you'll find it at Whittlebury.
The experience missed a bit round the edges for us because there were so many people there. We had to queue perhaps once too often - whether it was for lunch, or a space to become available in the hydrotherapy pool, or for people to slip off the two ceramic loungers so we could heat up. This isn't a spa experience where you can drift from one room to another barely bumping into a soul. But as long as you go knowing what sort of experience to expect, you'll have a great time.
See more on how we rate our spas.
Would you go again?
Certainly. With a friend or two. Or three.
We visited Whittlebury Hall in September 2007
Like the sound of this? You're in luck.
Follow this link to book a special spa offer at Whittlebury Hall with our partners lastminute.com
See also:
* Wraps
* Facials
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