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St Moritz Hotel (Cowshed spa), Wadebridge - 3 bubbles
A Good Spa Guide Spy and Friend were invited to sample the spa at the stunning new resort development that is St Moritz. The hotel, on the wildly beautiful north Cornish coast, is stylish and swish. The Cowshed Spa treatments rooms deliver a range of efficient quick-fix beauty and well-being services that will appeal to yummy mummies locally or down for the summer. However, you'll be disappointed if you're looking for a lounge-around spa day.
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?
The St Moritz hotel is like some white Art Deco dream, rising up like a shining ocean liner over the Cornish coastal path just by Trebetherick, near Rock, looking down onto rocky Daymer Bay below. It's a stunning hotel, which opened in February 2008 after a massive rebuilding programme, so we were visiting during its first summer season.
How did they welcome you?
Efficiently and in a friendly way. We parked outside the main building with its circular entrance, and hadn't really got the hang of the geography, so let me explain: The central building at St Moritz contains the reception area, the pool, the spa, the gym and, upstairs, a bar and restaurant. All of the bedrooms are in a separate building. So, a young man took our cases over to our apartment. Yes, apartment! We crossed the car park and used an electronic card to get in through the entrance and up the stairs to our rooms -- all very secure.
The rooms at this hotel have been designed with the needs of families in mind. There is a large and bright main room, with adjoining bedroom and bathroom, and a fully equipped kitchen. And I mean fully equipped: washing machine, dishwasher, kettle, toaster, all the pans, plates, cutlery and glasses you could need to prepare a feast, and a fridge/freezer containing fresh milk. You can eat in the hotel restaurant, but having your own kitchen gives you a choice. If my children were still small, I'd appreciate the flexibility this arrangement provides. I could give them breakfast in the apartment rather than having to tote them across the car park and beseech them to sit straight and eat nicely.
The apartment has a dining table and chairs, sofa, TV, even some games tucked under the table for rainy days. Ours was elegant, stylish, and spotlessly clean throughout. I could have happily moved in. Especially when I discovered that the bathroom was generously stocked with Cowshed products. Quirky touches include a scattering of original 1950s Penguin novels alongside your flat-screen TV and iPod docking station. Each apartment has a large balcony with chairs, loungers and fabulous views of the sea and the coast.
In addition to the main apartment, there are two smaller separate bedrooms, each with their own front door, and these are suitable for children and nannies. So you have your children safely nearby but not actually in the same room. Smart.
What happens next?
After a quick relax on the balcony, we went to explore the spa and swimming pools in the main building.
The pool and heat facilities: There are two adjoining pools, one for serious swimmers and one for splashing about and children. The pool is nicely tiled with turquoise and blue mosaics, but it is shared amongst the hotel guests and those staying in the holiday cottages on the site, so it's often busy. At 8am when it opens, there's a bit of a first crush. When I lazed over at around 8.45am, everyone who thought they'd get a good swim in first thing had done their lengths and gone for breakfast, and the small children had not yet arrived. So I had a very serene paddle up and down. For most of the day, though, it was a family fun pool; not a spa pool.
In a separate area next to the pool, you can find a large steam room and a large wooden-benched sauna, both nicely hot, but I could find no water dispenser in the area enabling you to cool down between hot spells.
The changing rooms: These are functional and basic, suited to the needs of families.
The gym: This is a reasonable size, not huge, but not a cupboard, either. There are a few machines to use, and free weights, so you can stay fit with workouts during your stay.
The Cowshed Spa: The spa is a small set of treatment rooms, separate from the pool and heat areas, and divided from the main hotel reception by a beaded curtain, which signals a change of atmosphere. Behind the curtain is a blue leather sofa and a couple of chairs, and a machine that (in Friend's estimation) delivers the best coffee in Cornwall. There are six treatment rooms and a manicure and pedicure area; this is beautifully finished in cream leather and wood.
Which treatments did you have?
My friend and I both had the Sun and Sea Signature treatment (£95 for 2 hours).
What were the treatments like?
Sun and Sea Signature treatment No 1: My therapist, Sara, took me through to a quite small and narrow treatment room, finished in dark wood. We hadn't changed into robes or anything, so I took off my clothes down to my underwear, put them on a chair, and hopped onto the treatment couch. I started face down, as instructed, but was slightly confused to find that while there was a face holder, it was covered with towels so I couldn't actually put my face in it.
Sara began the treatment with brisk body brushing then exfoliation with sea salt in oil. After I had showered this off, she wrapped me up in detoxifying ingredients and gave me a facial and a very relaxing massage. I love the Cowshed products; they always feel and smell so fresh, so I enjoyed this part of the treatment very much. The towels covering the face-holder had now gone, so I was able to position myself more comfortably. Sara had a good massage touch: firm without being painful, and unknotting my neck wonderfully.
When the treatment was over, Sara brought me some water, then I dressed and went to rendezvous with Friend.
Sun and Sea Signature treatment No 2: Friend reports: "My massage was okay. It was not the most attentive or personalised I've ever had, and I did feel like I was on a bit of a production line. I could hear someone talking in the next treatment room, and my therapist kept sneezing and coughing."
How did you feel afterwards?
Ready for the rockpools.
What happens afterwards?
There is no dedicated relaxation room at the Cowshed Spa. We went back to the blue leather sofa, drank some more of the delicious coffee, and made our way back to the apartment in our own time.
Then we really did go down and look at the rockpools. The coastal path runs just beneath the hotel, so we had a brisk and refreshing walk before dinner.
The food: No review of St Moritz could be complete without a mention of the food in the light and airy restaurant. Our dinner was exceptional. We had a table close to the open kitchen so could watch the chefs at work, preparing each dish freshly and individually. The menu is traditional British with predominantly Cornish ingredients and lots of locally caught fresh fish. There is a special menu for kids (bangers and mash; fish, chips and mushy peas), and we could observe several enjoying it.
At breakfast the next morning, there was a small buffet to choose from, but each of the ingredients was of the highest quality, and hot breakfasts are freshly cooked to order.
Long-term effects
I slept very well that night, after a refreshing walk, in the most gorgeously soft bedding. I didn't want to leave!
Was it worth it?
The treatment prices in the Cowshed are slightly more than you might pay at other Cornish spas. If you're here with your family, though, being able to pop over the road and spend an hour spent being massaged is probably well worth it.
What else could you have?
One of our favourite Cowshed treatments is the Cowgroom: it starts with a rose-petal soak and peppermint scrub for your feet, then two therapists work on you at the same time carrying out your chosen options of manicure, pedicure, eye treatments and so on. All very efficient! It's available here at £65 for 30 minutes and £95 for 60 minutes.
You can also have various scrubs and massages, facials, St Tropez tanning, waxing, hand and feet beautification, and lash and brow tinting. There are packages, too, for a half-day, day, or a weekend package for two.
If you're after outdoor fun, the hotel can arrange a wealth of outdoor sports, and there are wellies and raincoats in reception if you need to borrow them for a "summer" walk.
What do you wish you'd known before you went?
To take a pound coin for the swimming pool locker and a plastic bag to cart my sodden cossie back to the apartment in.
Also, the hotel's name comes from the original owner; he was so impressed by the standards of service and attention to detail he discovered on a visit to St Moritz in the 1940s, he decided to name his hotel after the Swiss town. There's no skiing involved, at all.
Any special features?
The hotel's location is a pretty special feature, as is the design of the apartments. They were building an outdoor swimming pool when we were there, just beyond the designer gardens, and that's going to be pretty special when it's finished.
Who do you think would like it?
The spa is available to residents and non-residents, so will appeal to all refugees from the bucket-and-spade brigade. It would also suit Cornishwomen with an eye to the Babington House lifestyle, and London lovelies who can't bear to be parted from their Cowshed goodies for long.
Why did you give the spa this rating?
We gave The Cowshed Spa 3 bubbles because it is a perfectly fine treatment rooms in this location and for this price. If you're after a treatment and nothing else, Cowshed will suffice.
It's a very self-contained treatment rooms next to a large semi-public swimming pool and gym, though, so opportunities for wafting around in a robe and meditative peace are limited. A true spa-day experience is not on offer.
See more on how we rate the spas
Would you go again?
St Moritz is situated in a beautiful part of the north Cornish coast and has easy access to the Cornish Coastal Way. For those reasons alone, we'd be back. But we'd also return because of the fabulous holiday opportunities that the St Moritz hotel offers for families. Our apartment was truly first-class and the facilities on offer will keep kids of all ages happy for days. However, visit outside the school holidays, unless you have children of your own, as families dominate in vacation time.
We visited the Cowshed spa at St Moritz in July 2008
See also:
* Contact Details for St Moritz
* Body treatments
* Facials
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