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Thornton Hall Hotel and Spa, Wirral - 4 bubbles
This long-standing favourite of the WAGs of Cheshire has recently opened The Lodge Clinical Spa, where privacy reigns. Our Spy was invited to check it out, and also the fun to be had in the main spa and health club. Thornton Hall has a lot to offer. No wonder it's a finalist in the British Beauty Awards for the destination spa of the year.
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?
Who do you think would like it?
Why did you give the spa this rating?
Would you go again?
First impressions?
Thornton Hall, a four-star hotel in Cheshire, is just off the M53, and easily found as it's well signed from the motorway. I'm afraid the hotel doesn't win any prizes for attractiveness from the outside, as the main building is lost in a car park.
Arriving in the actual village of Thornton, though, is a refreshing change for most of us, with Tudor-style houses nestling round a village green. If you're a spa refugee from Liverpool or Manchester, you feel you've really arrived for a day in the country, without having to drive too far. It makes a psychological cut-off difference.
The hotel reception is in the main house in the middle. The health club is to the right, with its own separate entrance, and there is an unprepossessing wing of bedrooms curving around to the left. The Lodge, where the private treatments are, is further round with its own car park.
How did they welcome you?
Amazingly politely, considering I was late, having had an unplanned detour in the summer rain to Warrington. The doorman in the hotel pointed me in the direction of The Lodge, at the bottom of the hotel car park. The Lodge is a recent addition to the hotel's spa menu. It used to be a privately owned house in the hotel grounds but, when it came up for sale, the hotel bought it.
The Lodge is now a place where you can check in for treatments discreetly, or leave from a massage with pink hair mud still plastered all over your scalp with no-one any the wiser. I followed the doorman's directions straight to The Lodge where they were expecting me.
What happens next?
The receptionist in The Lodge welcomed me, took me through to a small waiting area and offered me a glass of water while I was filling in my health consultation form. The room is small, and has four seats around a low table and a pretend "fire". Even though it was July, the weather was cold and wet, so the flames gave a warming touch.
I wasn't so enamoured of the screen playing DVDs of "women's" movies, a background noise I've never seen in a spa before. A girl can hardly follow the plot of a Mel Gibson weepie while choosing her nail colour, you know.
Which treatments did you have?
I had the Elemis Brilliance facial (£65 for 75 minutes). This treatment is an anti-ageing facial that promises to instantly firm, rejuvenate and plump up the skin, "whilst reducing dark circles from around the eye contour". (I secretly wanted almost everything else The Lodge had to offer, by the way, but doing battle with those dark circles seemed like a good start.)
What were the treatments like?
Julie, my therapist, took me upstairs to a treatment room with a picture of a large pink flower on the wall. Julie asked me to take off everything down to my underwear, and then hop on the treatment couch under the white towel. She said I could keep my jeans on if I liked -- but why, when you're relaxing? -- and could also keep my bra on if I wanted, as long as I took down the shoulder straps so she could massage my shoulders properly. I flung everything off and hopped as instructed.
The Elemis Visible Brilliance facial was a relaxing and soothing experience. It included a great deal of shoulder, scalp and arm massage, which Julie carried out sympathetically and expertly. There was much soothing and smoothing of rose-petal cleansers and ginseng toners, and a lovely cold exotic cream moisturising mask, with A, C and E vitamins, which felt deliciously refreshing; the mask peeled off afterwards in one go. The various scents of the lotions and potions made a gorgeous aroma.
It would have been easy to drift away to dreamland for part of the treatment -- and I think I did. What lulled me back to reality was the sound of passing cars on the nearby road and, once, some people coming up the stairs chatting away.
How did you feel afterwards?
Extremely refreshed. My skin looked clear and glowing and I had completely got over the Warrington detour. My hair looked a little suspect. Julie had asked whether she should use frangipani oil in the scalp massage -- she could have done it without -- but what sane person is going to refuse frangipani oil when it's on offer? Besides, if you're just having a treatment at The Lodge, you could drive away afterwards in your frangipani cocoon, and no-one would spot you looking like a witch.
What happens afterwards?
Julie handed me a glass of water, left me in privacy to get dressed again, and asked if I wanted some tea when I got back downstairs. I did. What sort -- ordinary or herbal? Um, herbal. It turned out to be strawberry and mango, which was fine.
Downstairs, there were people wafting fingers around recovering from a taxing manicure and others waiting to go up for theirs. There were magazines to read, and a Hugh Grant movie was now playing, but this space is a functional area, rather than a relaxation room, so I wasn't tempted to linger.
I was doing the Thornton Hall experience the wrong way round, as most people there for a spa day would visit the main spa first before coming down to The Lodge for their treatments. I decided not to visit the pool after my treatment, wanting to let all the lovely Elemis unguents continue to do their good work on my skin, so I went to my room (where my robe and slippers were waiting for me on my bed!) and postponed my swim until the next day.
After a buffet breakfast, I went off to explore all the other spa facilities that Thornton Hall offers, some of which are shared with health-club members. The gym: This is a great size and very popular (with a waiting list) so you can start your spa day with a healthy workout should you wish..
The changing rooms: They are not the last word in luxury, but are large and more lavishly appointed than most health-club changing rooms. There is shampoo and conditioner in the showers, large illuminated mirrors to check your make-up, and several hairdryers.
The pool and heat facilities: In the health club, there is a 20-metre pool. The walls are tiled and there are columns along the edges that give a Roman-style feel to the area. The pool is large enough for a proper swim, and there are a few loungers at the top end, where there is a bay that looks out onto the gardens. (Don't sit in the one right next to the door, as you'll be in a constant draught of air from people opening and closing the door to get to the hot tubs.) I am fairly certain I swam past Coleen...
There is a nicely hot and good-sized sauna and steam room, a Jacuzzi, and, in the gardens, two outdoor hot tubs. On sunny days, you can lounge in the gardens, too. There can be a bit of a lounger crush when the garden option is not available.
To pep you up after your gym, steam, sauna, and swim, The Times café in the health club serves salads, snacks, drinks and pasta dishes.
Was it worth it?
The treatment prices are extremely good value. Hen days that include a massage, mini facial, express mani or pedi, lunch and use of all the facilities cost just £70 per person when we visited. No wonder you have to book well in advance!
What else could you have?
Treatments on offer at Thornton Hall include a wide range of massages and facials, as well as manis and pedis, tanning treatments, waxing, tinting, and electrolysis.
In the Lodge, you can have more clinical treatments, such as hair or red vein removal, microdermabrasion, facial injections, semi-permanent make-up and colonic hydrotherapy, as well as several Elemis treatments and non-surgical facelifts.
What do you wish you'd known before you went?
That I should have brought someone with me; Thornton Hall is a spa best enjoyed with a friend.
Who do you think would like it?
Hotel guests. Wedding guests. WAGs obviously like it, and so would any group of girls. So, too, would anyone new to spa-ing who wants to spa at a reasonable price in a non-intimidating atmosphere.
Why did you give the spa this rating?
We gave Thornton Hall 4 bubbles because it offers great value spa days and stay, an eclectic range of treatments, and friendly and professional therapists.
Thornton Hall is a finalist in the British Beauty awards for the destination spa of the year, and it's easy to see why: it is a spa that's thought about which people it wants to please, and sets out to please them.
What held Thornton Hall back from 5-bubble perfection? The interface between The Lodge and the main spa can make the experience feel a little disjointed -- it's a strange sight to see women in robes and slippers battling their way across the car park in the rain to get to their Elemis facials -- but if you confine your experience to one building or the other, you will have a more coherent visit.
Also The Lodge would benefit from a relaxation area where you can recover after your treatments in a bit more privacy.
The pool and café area will be busy at times as the health club is very popular (and has a waiting list for membership), but if you time your swimming to avoid the children and the crush, you'll have a chilled-out day.
See more on how we rate the spas
Would you go again?
Yes. You can find pretty much everything you need here -- a health club, a pool, a spa, a hair salon, and a separate clinic offering a little more privacy -- and at good-value prices.
If I am visiting my family, Thornton Hall makes a great stop. And if I were still living in Liverpool, I'd escape the spa desert of Merseyside here.
We visited Thornton Hall in July 2008
See also:
* Contact Details for Thornton Hall
* Facials
* Massage
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