Review of Chelsea Club Escape Spa, London

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Chelsea Club Escape Spa, London - 5 bubbles

Part of the Chelsea Football Club complex, The Escape Spa is a hidden London spa gem. Our Spy loved the large pool and gym, the thoughtful design touches, her soft skin after her facial, and the satisfying sense of space. Ideal for some gentle me-time, but perfect for a sociable spa day, too. You'll need to buy a day-pass to make the most of what's on offer, but you're worth it.

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?

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 Chelsea Club is part of the Chelsea Football Club stadium complex. To find it, you have to walk around the outside of the stadium, past entrances to the stands, some pie vans, and the bins. When I visited, Chelsea were playing Barcelona, so I had to run the gauntlet of the major European TV channels' reporters, vans, and juggernauts, too.

I didn't know what to expect from a spa that was part of a football ground. Would they make me change ends on the couch halfway through the facial? Would there only be quartered oranges to eat? Would everything have Chelsea FC branding? As I entered the Chelsea Club through the large, revolving glass doors, my mind was put at rest, on the last count anyway. The reception area was spacious, modern, and tastefully decked out in neutrals and dark wood. No blue and white to be seen.

How did they welcome you?

The friendly receptionist asked me to sign in. The Chelsea Club health club is for members only so there is a strict door policy. Anyone can use the Escape Spa, though.

What happens next?

Once I was through the Chelsea Club's glass turnstile, the Club's PR person, Serena, gave me a tour. The ground floor of the building contains the reception, Escape Spa and a spacious dining area. You have to walk through this inviting cafe area to get to the spa. This is no mere health-club snack bar. It's more of a cross between a formal restaurant, and a relaxed bar. You can choose to dine at a table, or lounge on a comfy chair, with lovely views of the swimming pool on the floor below. I resisted the lure of the paninis and smoothies and went up to the first floor, to check out the gym. The gym: Wow. The Chelsea Club's gym is huge. It's almost painfully well-designed, with stylish Japanese paper windows letting in soft daylight, and plenty of space. There is a cardio-vascular room, a resistance room, and one for Kinesis, all with state-of-the-art TechnoGym equipment. Some of the equipment had so many flashing panels and computerised read-outs that they could probably launch you into space. They take fitness very seriously here, and inexperienced gym-goers might find the Chelsea Club gym a bit intimidating.

The Club also has a fully-equipped Pilates room, and a newly-installed golf simulator, where you can play your way around some of the world's top golf courses without leaving the building.

After admiring the gym, we went down to the lower ground floor, to the changing rooms and the pool.

The pool: This is a 25-metre beauty, with plenty of stylish wooden loungers dotted around the edge. The pool area is flooded with natural daylight, and never seemed to be busy. The well-toned muscle man sitting in a lounger, reading his novel, looked impossibly perfect!

The changing rooms: Enormous. The entire population of a Suffolk village could move in here and there'd still be enough room to use the hairdryers properly. There was plenty of seating, lots of lockers, and a sense of space that's very rare in London spa changing rooms! The changing rooms were bright, clean and immaculate, just like everywhere at The Chelsea Club. You could take time out from marvelling at the size and general loveliness of everything by enjoying the good-sized sauna, plunge pool and Jacuzzi, located at one end of the changing rooms. I liked the generous amount of fluffy, white towels on offer, neatly rolled up on shelves near the door.

Serena finished the tour and took me back up to the spa. The Escape Spa has its own reception desk. As you step over the threshold, the atmosphere changes from the smart, bright neutrals of the restaurant to a dimly-lit and hushed World of Spa. My therapist, Amy, cheerfully welcomed me at spa reception, and asked if I wanted a glass of water. She took me down the corridor to a small seating area while she got me my drink. En-route, I managed to kick a display of slate pebbles half way across the corridor but no-one seemed to mind too much.

The bijou seating area with low table looked like the perfect spot to fill in a health consultation form but no-one gave me one. Perhaps they could tell by looking that I wasn't the allergic type. But if you're pregnant, or allergic to anything, do pipe up before your treatment begins.

Amy returned with a chilled glass of water, fancied up with a slice of lime and a straw. I sat and enjoyed this, while admiring the Escape Spa's very pleasant dark-wood-and-turquoise colour scheme. After a few minutes, Amy returned and took me to one of the Escape Spa's four treatment rooms.

Which treatments did you have?

I had booked an ONLY YOURx Moisture Boost facial (£60, 60 minutes) and a pedicure (£35, 60 minutes).

What were the treatments like?

Excellent. The treatment room was dimly-lit, quite small (but not too small) and cosy. Dark wood cabinets lined one wall, and there was a smart grey-tiled shower in one corner of the room. There was a mysterious door in one of the other walls. Amy told me that it opened straight into the relaxation room, so you wouldn't have to go back out into the corridor after your treatment. This secret entrance would save you ooh... about a twenty-second walk, but I really liked this thoughtful touch.

Amy began with the ONLY YOURx facial. ONLY YOURx wasn't a brand that I'd heard of before. Amy explained that it is popular in the USA. She loved working with the products because they are easily customisable to each client's individual skin type, and her customers loved the brand because it gives visible results.

I'd booked a Moisture Boost facial, but after examining my neglected skin, Amy correctly diagnosed that I hadn't exfoliated for about three months. She recommended that I had a Papaya Purifying Peel to remove dead skin cells and brighten my skin. I have very sensitive skin, so was a little nervous at the idea of a peel, but Amy put me at my ease. She said that the papaya peel was the gentlest peel treatment that the Escape Spa offered, and that she'd given it to people with incredibly sensitive skin with great results. I gave in, and put myself in her capable hands.

This was a lovely facial. The papaya purifying peel tingled a little, but felt very refreshing and cooling. Amy mixed up a custom peel solution for me. I could see her tipping different powders and liquids into a little bowl beside me; it's nice to know that a skincare potion has been mixed just for you. After the peel, I enjoyed very hot flannels, soothing moisturisers, something that smelt deliciously of pineapple, and lots of great facial massage.

Amy also treated me to a firm neck and shoulder massage while the pineapple-y thing was working its magic. I really appreciated this.

I wasn't too keen on the music that suddenly came on half way through the treatment, though. The silence was suddenly broken by someone who sounded a bit like Natalie Imbruglia trilling on about having a dream. Thirty minutes into the treatment, it jolted me out of my pineapple-scented reverie.

Amy finished the ONLY YOURx facial with an application of SPF 30 cream. She explained that immediately after a peel, skin is more prone to sun damage, even on a grey London day.

Amy followed the facial with a carefully executed pedicure. I chose a dark blue OPI polish (Russian Navy, to be precise), and Amy smoothed, filed and coloured my toes to perfection. I particularly liked the nifty electronic file, which whizzed away hard skin like a mini-sander.

After the treatment, Amy opened up the secret door to the relaxation room. It was properly relaxing, with two comfy wooden loungers, a large infra-red sauna, and some fancy illuminated twigs. There were little blue lights recessed in the floor, and everything was dark wood and very peaceful. Could have done with some magazines, though. There's only a certain amount of time that you can sit and look at twigs, even if they are lit up.

How did you feel afterwards?

Wonderful! My skin felt really soft and plumped up, and I loved my Russian Navy toes.

What happens afterwards?

I relaxed in the restaurant area and enjoyed another glass of water, while watching a solitary swimmer arch his way through the clear blue water of the swimming pool.

Was it worth it?

Very much so. The ONLY YOURx facial was especially good. I'll be looking out for this brand in the future.

What else could you have?

ONLY YOUR facials and peels. The peels are very popular here, ranging from the gentle Papaya one that I enjoyed, all the way up to a mighty 35% glycolic acid Ultra Cellular Sweep. You can also try an Elemis Advanced Anti-Ageing facial, or an Elemis wrap or massage. The Escape Spa offers an Endermologie anti-cellulite treatment, which uses a "CelluM6 Key Module" massager, no less, to roll away your wobbly bits "using a mild suction". There are also manis, pedis, and the beauty treatments you'd expect to see on the menu at a good spa.

Spa Days include the £145 Holiday Heaven package, which gives you all you need to be beach beautiful: a Fake Bake tan, bikini wax, eyebrow shape and tint, manicure and pedicure. The £205 Nourishing Ritual includes three and a half hours of spa bliss, including a wrap, massage, and custom facial.

There was a great deal on offer for groups of six or more, too: for £150 per person you could enjoy a night in Chelsea's on-site four-star hotel, a day pass to the Chelsea Club, a full-body massage in the Escape Spa, dinner at Marco Pierre White's restaurant MARCO and entry into a nightclub to round off the evening...

Now here's the rub: the Chelsea Club gym and pool are only available to members. If you spend more than £50 at the Escape Spa, then you can buy a gym day pass for £25. If you don't, you can only use the treatment rooms, relaxation room and restaurant area. Fine for a couple of treatments but if you want to make more of a day of it, you'll need to buy that pass.

Any special features?

There is an elevated 200-metre running track circling the building on the first floor. There can't be many places where you can jog along the roof, taking in views of a cemetery, railway line, and major football ground.

There also aren't very many good spas situated within striking distance of a pie van, either.

Who do you think would like it?

Football widows. Well-heeled Chelsea-ites. Anyone looking for a top-notch spa experience in central London. The Escape Spa and Chelsea Club aren't girly in the slightest, so spa-going men will feel right at home here. The health club is also popular with local ladies who lunch, who like to come to the gym, meet their personal trainers, and watch a bit of TV, apparently.

Why did you give the spa this rating?

We gave the Escape Spa 5 bubbles. You might assume that a spa attached to a football club is only fit for footballers' wives, but that certainly isn't the case here. The Escape Spa is smart, classy and very appealing (unlike many WAGS).

Everything in the spa was immaculate, well-designed, and well-thought through. There were a few small details that irked; for example, I could hear noise in the corridor during my treatments, and the music suddenly intruding into my spa peace wasn't welcome at all. Also, the Chelsea Club's location means that your spa bubble can start to deflate within seconds of leaving through those revolving glass doors. There's nothing like a crowd of football fans and a walk past some bins to bring you back to reality.

Because the Chelsea Club limits the number of memberships on offer, you get a real sense of space and exclusivity: this is no mere leisure club. If you buy a day pass with your treatments, you could happily spend the day lolling around in a robe, drifting from lunch, to pool, to treatment in a seamless spa haze. There is a proper relaxation room for quiet contemplation, and plenty of seats elsewhere for chats and smoothies: perfect for a sociable spa day. See more on how we rate the spas.

Would you go again?

I'd love to. Book me the five-and-a-half-hour Escape package next time! We visited the Escape Spa in May 2009