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Sybaritic Spy (and Spouse) enjoyed their stay at Thoresby Hall, near Newark in Nottinghamshire. It's a stunning building in huge grounds, but think "budget" rather than "hushed luxury" when it comes to the spa. Some small touches could do with improvement, but Thoresby Hall offers good value spa-ing at sensible prices.
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?
Long-term effects
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?
Thoresby Hall is a grand hall in acres of parkland. There's a long drive through the grounds to a circular dropping off point. The car park was crowded on our visit - not surprising as the hotel was full.
How did they welcome you?
Efficiently. We were shown to our room in the main house. There is a wide choice of room styles from the rather grand room that we had at the front of the main house, to "executive" modern rooms in an extension to the side.
What happens next?
We went down to the spa. The reception area at Thoresby Hall serves the health club and the spa, which causes some queues at crunch times. There is seating in the reception area and you can order drinks at the reception desk, too. Once we were checked off on a list, we were sent down the corridor to the spa.
In the spa, the spa hostess met us and directed us to the changing rooms. The changing room was very much like a health-club locker room with 40-plus lockers and some narrow benches to change on.
Once we were in our robes and slippers, the hostess gave us a tour of the spa. The tour is much needed as the spa has a very confusing layout. The hydrotherapy pool is at one end of the spa. Along a short corridor is a steam room and shower. Next to this is the relaxation room. To reach the pool, you have to go back along the main corridor, and the sanarium is reached through the relaxation room. There are treatment rooms off the relaxation room and along the corridor.
This was the second time we had been invited to Thoresby Hall. Last time we visited, the spa hostess was nowhere to be seen and we found it hard to work out just what was where. This time, it was much easier. However, I would have liked a map to consult during the day.
At the centre of the spa experience is the hydrotherapy pool. It is warm and bubbly with water jets to massage your back and your neck. It is quite deep in the middle and has several underwater steps, so the plan pinned to the wall is a useful warning that the level varies.
There are two footbaths with bubbles and two reclining tiled benches to relax on. About 8-10 people can use the pool at once, though you'd have to be feeling friendly.
The steam room was very hot -- too hot for me but several people were enjoying the roasting. Perversely, I liked the ice cave; you have to go right inside the cave to find the stack of ice, which I rubbed on my arms and legs to cool me down.
The aromacave along the corridor is a "not too hot" steam room, with aromatherapy essences added. It's quite small and very popular. We grabbed a seat when we could and enjoyed the warmth, then popped out to use the experience shower next door.
Go through the relaxation room to the sanarium -- a sort of sauna for wimps at 50-60 degrees C and with medium humidity. It was ideal for me; 10-15 minutes in there allowed the heat to soak through into my bones.
The good sized (18 metre) pool has a glass roof; you can swim along looking out at the rooftops of the old house with its chimneys and gable ends. If Hogwarts had a swimming pool, this is what Harry Potter and his friends would see during a swimming lesson.
Beyond the pool is a large steam room and sauna with a cold bucket shower for the brave, and a huge "proper" shower with warm water for the rest of us. This area is tiled in black slate and is spacious and modern.
We went along to the bistro restaurant for lunch. Converted from the old cellars with wonderful brick vaulted ceilings, the restaurant has several small sections; all the robe-clad spa-goers were seated in one section, so we didn't feel foolish eating our lunch in our robes.
The food was simple but adequate with a choice of hot and cold food, juices or drinks from the bar. We felt healthy, so had a salad and some cold meats followed by a very good fresh fruit salad.
After lunch, we rested in the very impressive relaxation room. Built between two wings of the building, the relaxation room has a flagstone floor, a glass roof and a glass wall at one end, which makes it light and bright. There are five water-beds at one end of the room and plenty of recliners and upright chairs. In the middle of the room is a free standing aquarium where delicate fish swam lazily. I felt my blood pressure dropping as I laid back and stared at them.
There is a water machine, and bowls of apples, and magazines. We snoozed on the recliners, then headed back to the hydrotherapy pool. The spa was much more crowded in the afternoon with people waiting to use the pool, so it is worth using the main spa area in the morning and booking treatments for later in the day.
Which treatments did you have?
The Rejuvenate Me ESPA holistic back, face and scalp treatment (£69
for 1 hour 25 minutes); my best beloved had a back. neck and scalp massage (£55 for 55 minutes, using conditioning hair and scalp mud combined with ESPA Body Oil).
What were the treatments like?
Charlene, my therapist, was perceptive and interested. She listened to the answers to the questions she asked and began the treatment by asking me to smell the products, telling me that my body would choose what I needed. She was right. I instinctively went for the energising oil and the rose moisturiser.
Once I was on the bed, Charlene put an inhalation bowl on the floor, so that I had a fragrant steam to inhale.
My back massage was good, though to be fair the knots in my neck and shoulders needed more than one massage to really unloosen them.
My facial was excellent, with plenty of tightly focused massage to help firm and lift my jowly jaws.
The treatment room was pleasant, decorated in soft browns and purples, with wooden blinds and a wooden floor. The table was firm and wide. Sadly, the noise from next door was distracting. I could clearly hear the therapist in the other room talking to her client and the discussion that ensued when the client explained she was taking warfarin. Later in the treatment, I was jerked out of a quiet relaxation by the sound of rushing water. Charlene explained that there were bedrooms above us; someone had flushed the loo and it sounded as if the water was going to come cascading down on top of me.
How did you feel afterwards?
My skin looked great: lighter and firmer. My neck and shoulders were much more flexible and I felt very relaxed.
What happens afterwards?
My therapist escorted me to the relaxation room and offered me a drink of water. In the relaxation room, I met up with my husband who had returned from his massage. His therapist was very willing to omit the facial element of his treatment and focus for much longer on his neck and shoulders. And she was able to deliver a firm deep massage, which was very effective.
Long-term effects
A day relaxing with my husband was a rare treat. We both travel a great deal on business so the chance to slow down and relax was welcome. The massage helped us unwind and we pottered around the heat experiences and just caught up. So in terms of investing in ourselves, the spa day was worthwhile.
Was it worth it?
Thoresby Hall, despite its grand exterior, is a budget hotel with a spa; it is not luxurious. If you want a budget break or spa day, then Thoresby Hall is good value for money.
What else could you have?
There is a rhassoul mud therapy room suitable for two to four people. The treatments on offer include ESPA facials, massages, and envelopments; Jessica manicures and pedicures, beauty treatments, St Tropez spray-tan sessions and men's spa treatments. Thoresby Hall also offers I-Health which is "a state of the art revolutionary facial treatment", originally designed for astronauts to regain their body's balance and energy; they are the only spa in the UK to offer this treatment (so far).
What do you wish you'd known before you went?
That the spa at Thoresby Hall is much more crowded in the afternoon, with people waiting to use the hydrotherapy pool; it is worth using the hydrotherapy area in the morning and booking treatments for later in the day.
Any special features?
Thoresby Hall itself is dramatic. Built in Victorian times, it's a pastiche of various styles. There is a lofty medieval-feel library and an ornate Victorian dining room called the Blue Room after the blue silk wall-coverings, which were rewoven from a tiny scrap of fabric salvaged after a fire. Supper here is quite an event and worth the extra cost over the basic b&b rate.
Who do you think would like it?
Thoresby Hall tends to attract people of middle age and beyond, as children are not allowed. Warners, who own Thoresby, often appeal to older couples, and they offer very good value breaks with daily entertainment in the large bar. The spa is more varied in age appeal with younger couples and groups of women of all ages. This spa is probably not ideal for single spa goers.
Why did you give the spa this rating?
On our last visit, we gave Thoresby Hall 3 bubbles as it was undergoing some refurbishment; it was all a bit chaotic, and we couldn't find a spa hostess. This time, there were several spa hostesses who helped people work out the layout and supplied fresh robes and towels as needed. The tour helped us work out what was where. Last time, the robes were rather grey and jaded. This time, most were fine, though mine was badly stained inside from a tanning treatment.
The facilities at Thoresby Hall are worth a good 4 bubbles and so, too, are the treatments, but little things let this spa experience down. A map would help with the rather confused layout, and the health club and spa reception is looking a bit dated.
One of the large laundry baskets for used robes had mould in the bottom and the changing area could do with some seats to supplement the very narrow benches under the lockers. The interface between the reception and the spa is not perfect. We talked to three lively ladies from Leicester who had waited for an hour to begin their spa day and missed a treatment because of lost paperwork.
We think Thoresby Hall just merits 4 bubbles. But please throw away that mouldy laundry basket and buy some new robes!
See more on how we rate the spas.
Would you go again?
Yes. If I wanted a budget spa break, I would go back to Thoresby Hall. I would go early in the day, though.
We visited Thoresby Hall in November 2008
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