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The Retreat, Crosby - 3 bubbles
This small day spa in Crosby provides a soothing setting to lose some stress, or a quick beauty fix if you need a lift. There's a steam room and sauna, but no other heat experiences or pools. Make the most of your time with lunch, and look out for special offers. Plus chocolates! They know how to spa in Crosby.
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?
The Retreat invited Single Spy and Friend to visit, as we had had some comments on our spa listing that prompted us to set off and see what was going on.
First impressions?
The Retreat is a shop-fronted day spa and, on the day of our visit, there were two neat rosebushes in pots outside the door, which was a nice touch. Inside, the spa is larger than it looks. The dominant decorative note is brown, with two brown sofas either side of a table making a small relaxation or waiting area to the right of the door, and a wooden reception desk to the left. Mirrors, brown-and-gold print wallpaper and candles take you away from the day to day.
How did they welcome you?
With a smile. The therapists and staff were in smart black uniforms, some with red flowers in their hair, which looked very on trend.
What happens next?
Someone showed us to the sofas, where we filled in our consultation forms amongst tasselled cushions. Someone has taken care of the details at The Retreat, as no opportunity is missed for the placement of a vase of roses, a bowl of red and green apples, glass chandeliers, pebbles, or -- my favourite -- a bowl of chocolates. Chocolates! They know how to spa in Crosby. Other women in robes joined us, between treatments, reading some of the plenty of newspapers and magazines around.
Forms filled, our therapists, Nicky and Lindsay, took us upstairs to change and get ready for our treatments. I was initially puzzled as to why they were showing us into a treatment room, where there were two sets of brown robes and towels awaiting. Then it dawned on me that it was because The Retreat does not actually have a changing room. There is a set of lockers on the landing, a shower room, a loo, and then the treatment rooms. So you either have to go into a treatment room to change or hop up and down on the landing. I opted to find a treatment room of my very own to change in. Like the others, it was wooden floored, neat, clean and tidy.
Robes on, day clothes stashed in lockers, it was time for lunch. A member of staff showed us to one of the five or so dining tables that take up the rear part of the ground floor. The wooden table had a candle burning, and all was tidy and clean.
Our choices for starter were between potato salad soup and summer vegetable soup. How could I not have potato salad soup? I'd never heard of it before and wondered if it featured mayonnaise. I need not have worried: it was potatoes enlivened with dill. Dill and delicious. We then had a very imaginative tuna salad, packed with all sorts of nutritious ingredients, way beyond lettuce, which I enjoyed very much. Someone had put it together with an eye for colour: green spinach leaves, yellow pepper, red beetroot, white coleslaw and cous cous. Dessert arrived in the form of a black-enamelled cake stand bearing hazelnut bites (delicious, apparently) and mini chocolate eclairs.
For something to drink, we had a large jug of mixed fruit juice with plenty of ice. You could also have tea, coffee or hot chocolate with mallows. Chocolate with mallows! Have I mentioned that they know how to spa in Crosby?
While we were lunching, entertainment was offered by the four manicure tables behind the reception desk. Always interesting to note which colours are finding favour this season (and some very different colours they had, too).
After lunch, Nicky and Lindsay reappeared to take us back upstairs to the dual treatment room. I began by using the steam room and sauna, in a separate area just past the lockers. The heat facilities are small but functional, and there was a jug of iced water on a table: a good policy to rehydrate. The treatment room itself had obviously been converted from what was once a bedroom, as it had a cast-iron fireplace in the chimney breast, and a small sink in a corner; it was fitted out nicely with mirrors and shelves to give a gentler atmosphere.
Which treatments did you have?
We both had an individually prescribed facial using Skin Truth products, which meant I had a nourishing facial for dry skin (50 minutes, £26). We also both had a tension-release back, neck and shoulder massage (30 minutes, £18).
What were the treatments like?
I am not particularly a fan of shared treatments, I have to admit. I have had them often with my spouse, which I don't worry about so much because I know that if I fall asleep and snore, he will already be in the Land of Nod. With a friend you are in different territory. You have to overhear conversations about skin, for example. But, the room was dim, panpipe music played throughout, and our therapists did everything they could to match the treatments to our individual needs.
The massage was excellent in its strokes and pressure around my chronically knotted shoulders. The movements felt deeply relaxing and tension-relieving. However, I was more aware of the length of my therapist's fingernails than I would have liked.
After a while of lying in the same position, I was definitely uncomfortable. It felt like all the padding from the table had been removed from under a particular area of my spine. So much so that my therapist said, "Oh, is your back sore?" She said it so promptly that I wondered how many other people had reported sore backs to her mid-treatment. Some hints, even if you can't stretch to a motorised treatment bed: move people around more; put a cushion under their knees; use extra blankets.
The facial was also good, with some excellent acupressure techniques and lymphatic drainage throughout.
A final thought: I finished off the treatment lying face down. My friend's treatment had finished and she had gone to get dressed. My therapist left me alone for a while, but someone else came into the room to get something while I was lying there. Most odd.
How did you feel afterwards?
I must have been relaxed as I was amazed at how much time had passed. I was now ready to take on the world. Or, at least, the Mersey Tunnel.
What happens afterwards?
I got showered. The showers are a bit strange. There is one of those folding doors that slides back and forth and inside the room are two showers with plastic curtains. There is nowhere to leave your stuff, so I had to put it on the floor, and there's not much room to manoeuvre. There were various hair and wash products around, some from Nirvana Spa.
Was it worth it?
The Retreat offers very good value packages and treatments.
What else could you have?
A variety of facials for all skin types, using Skin Truth or MD Formulations, plus non-surgical anti-wrinkle treatments, and semi-permanent make-up. Body therapies include massages and scrubs, as well as reflexology. You can also have St Tropez tanning, waxing, brow and lash treatments, as well as manis, pedis and nail enhancements.
The Retreat's pamper days start with breakfast, include use of the sauna and steam room, an array of treatments and a three-course lunch. You can also hire the spa for an evening with friends, with a buffet supper, two treatments each, and departing at 11.30pm.
What do you wish you'd known before you went?
Bring your swimsuit. You won't need it for the pool as there isn't one, but you'll need to for the sauna and steam room. Also, bring your own flip-flops as these are not supplied.
Any special features?
No-one can put a cupboard somewhere in this spa without also putting some white plastic roses on it.
Who do you think would like it?
Locals looking to relax. Women we spoke to (and it was an all-women experience on the day of our visit) came to The Retreat "for a day for ourselves". So, if you need a day for yourself, this will fit the bill.
Why did you give the spa this rating?
We gave The Retreat 3 bubbles because it provides a low-key relaxing spa experience, obviously catering to its target customers, without too many frills. The treatments were good, the food was imaginative, and the ambience was friendly. The showers could do with some thought, and the lack of a private changing area means you can be hopping about on the landing trying to get your clothes back on. There are the sofas by the front door to relax on, but nowhere you could go and lie down and be in private to chill out after your treatment. Your only choice is to go back downstairs and sit by Reception or at a table.
The other thing The Retreat could look at is its treatment beds. They are definitely uncomfortable after a while. I am also not sure that having plastic, hospital-style curtains around the treatment beds provides the right spa touch.
See more on how we rate the spas.
Would you go again?
If I lived locally, I'd be a regular. If you're coming from further away, make time to visit Anthony Gormley's sculpture installation at Crosby beach, just at the end of the road!
We visited The Retreat in June 2010
See also:
* Contact details for The Retreat
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