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Blue Fish Spa at Oxleys at Ambleside - 4 bubbles
This day spa offers dreamy treatments with top-class customer service and fine facilities. We're not sure about the muzak and the salads, but taste is individual. An ideal spa for walkers, mums, and visitors to the Cumbrian fells looking for a little haven in the daily hike.
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?
Long-term effects
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?
Was it easy to book?
It was for us. Although the spa is attached to the Salutation Hotel, the spa has its own dedicated telephone number (015394 32385) so you don't have to go through voice menus. If you are travelling to Ambleside, we recommend that you book treatments in advance; during our spa day, we heard people at reception trying to book for the same or the next day and being disappointed.
First impressions?
On the phone, staff told us there was plenty of parking space round the back of the hotel, but at 9.30am guests were still checking out and there was no space when we arrived. And the rain was bucketing down. I went in through hotel reception to find help, but a queue of people waiting to pay obscured my view of the spa entrance. I nipped down some back stairs and found the pool area where a very helpful man was cleaning the pool. He took me back up the right set of stairs to the spa. The receptionist said that if there were no spaces at the back, I might have to park in Ambleside, which is about six pounds a day, and she gave me change for a £10 note. However, Pool Man went out to my daughter in the car and said he would move a staff car -- so we found space in the end.
We went back into the spa the proper way; the spa has its own front door at the front of the hotel, with a ramp for disabled access.
Inside, the spa was well maintained, bright and inviting.
How did they welcome you?
We were slightly frazzled by the parking experience but the spa receptionist was calm and reassuring. All the therapists had a smile for us. We sat with cups of peppermint tea to fill in brief consultation forms and choose from our lunch menu.
What happens next?
Everything was well explained, and staff gave us a thorough guided tour -- just as well, as the spa is in the labyrinthine depths of the hotel. The spa and the pool are not on the same level, so say in advance if you need help on the stairs.
The electronic key intrigued us. The key is a waterproof device that looks a bit like a computer memory stick, and serves as locker key, door opener, and start-up for the exercise equipment. The staff explained and demonstrated the key well.
We tried the gym first. The gym was a bit cramped and subterranean. The health club is open to local membership, so I would not like to be there at a busy time. The Techno-gym equipment was all new and some machines I hadn't seen before. All the cardio-gear had televisions and radio built-in, so I set off on the treadmill, watching Homes Under the Hammer. I liked that the key suggested the next equipment to move to -- a great improvement on the days when I used to carry an index card and tick off the exercises, one by one. One item of equipment I hadn't seen before was the Technogym Kinesis, a system of cables and pulleys to provide a whole range of resistance exercises.
There was plenty of water available everywhere.
Next, we went to the pool area: pool, sauna, steam rooms and Jacuzzi.Everything looked very new and clean, with no tiles out of place. The pool area is light and airy, the pool's about 15 metres long, rectangular so good for swimming up and down. No silly steps and no "deep end" -- 1.2 metres all through. The water was a bit chilly but we had just been in the sauna. There is plenty of space to move around the pool.
The sauna wood looked very new; we didn't have the sense that people had been sweating there for years. The sauna is spacious, not like some "cupboards" we have been in. We had plenty of room to lie down on two levels. The steam room is smaller and pokier, with tiled seating. As well as the indoor Jacuzzi, there is a Canadian hot tub outdoors -- not recommended if you have mobility problems, as it's tricky to get in and out. Curiously, the hot tub shares the garden with two life-size plastic camels.
The pool area is part of the hotel's leisure facilities so isn't exclusively for spa use. This meant that there were some small children splashing around with armbands and squealing. We don't mind, but if you come to a spa for peace and quiet, you might be disappointed. There are not many loungers or chairs around the pool. One hen party, and that would be pretty much it.
In the changing area, the three showers were clean but not greatly invigorating. Floors were clean and dry to start with but quite wet by the end of the day, so I got the turn-ups of my trousers wet.
The robes and towels were nice and fluffy, but one size of robe fits all, so mine was a little skimpy. Although my daughter is tall, the sleeves extended way beyond her hands!
We took lunch in a partitioned-off corner of the hotel restaurant, padding through from the spa in our robes. The corner wasn't a particularly inviting environment: rather dull carpets and a panoramic view of the car park. I had a starter of salmon and sour cream; my daughter had pate and melba toast, which were both nice and light. My tomato-and-mozzarella salad came curiously with a side salad with more tomato in it, plus potato salad and coleslaw, of which neither of us is very keen. We would have preferred a bigger plate of main salad. The spa day includes these two courses for lunch, but we noticed there were profiteroles and a lemon tart on the menu, so yes, we decided to pay extra for these. The desserts were yummy, especially the lemon tart which had a caramel crust like a crème brûlée.
After lunch, we retired to the Quiet Zone and the faux-fur-covered couches to catch up on magazines, which were bang up to date, nothing dog-eared left over from last March. More free peppermint tea. However, the Quiet Zone was far from quiet. In the loud background muzak, a man was almost growling. The Quiet Zone backed on to a main passage between treatment rooms, so we could hear the therapists walking up and down. Outside in the street, a still-wet Ambleside was busy with tourists.
Which treatments did you have?
Our therapists called us promptly for our treatments. I chose the Decléor back, neck and shoulder massage (30 minutes, £30) and an express facial (30 minutes, £30). My daughter had a Kodo back, neck and shoulder massage (30 minutes, £30) and a mini-pedicure, nail shape and polish (£16).
What were the treatments like?
My half-hour muscle-warming massage was deep and invigorating, with a main aroma of rosemary oil. My therapist, Lisa, found I had a lot of knots in my shoulders (I sit at a computer screen all day) and I didn't want this massage to stop.
The treatment rooms are cosy, not poky, with subdued lighting and warm red towels. There was a strange combination of sounds in the room, partly muzak from outside -- where, thankfully, the man had stopped growling -- and partly something vaguely aboriginal that sounded as though Rolf Harris might start singing at any minute. My treatments did not have an aboriginal theme but I quite liked this "Dreaming" music.
My facial (also with Lisa) started with a deep cleanse and then (my favourite bit) warm flannels. Lisa recommended Decléor's Neroli Serum Hydra Floral Moisturiser and Aroma Solutions Nourishing Lip Balm. My skin is very thirsty, and I could really feel these products working in deep. My skin felt slightly sticky afterwards, but well nourished. Lisa was cheerful and fun, and I really enjoyed my treatments.
Next door, my daughter had a half-hour Kodo massage of back, neck and shoulders. The brochure says: "Kodo means 'melody', a rhythmic body massage, inspired by traditional aboriginal healing techniques which tone and realign energy flow." The massage is part of the Li'Tya range of body treatments.
My daughter also had a mini-pedicure, nail shape and polish (£16). This was her first visit to a spa and she said that the therapists were very professional, and put her at ease. She liked that she was given options during the treatment and that the massage therapist was quiet but the pedicurist was chatty -- appropriate communication for each treatment.
We met up again in the not-so-quiet zone for more peppermint tea.
How did you feel afterwards?
My body was totally relaxed, but my head was still distracted by the noises in the treatment room. My daughter felt very relaxed and slightly drowsy. I didn't really want to hurry her as she was driving me home.
Long-term effects
We both slept like logs that night. My skin felt well-nourished and invigorated and my daughter's nail polish was still intact after more than three weeks.
Was it worth it?
For £75, the Blue Fish Spa Day was good value for two treatments and lunch.
What else could you have?
The Blue Fish spa offers the Decléor range of aromatic face and body treatments, and the Li'Tya range of treatments. Of particular interest for visitors to Ambleside is a Walkers' leg massage. We both liked the look of a Yanko Jinderlee, which sounds like a hot curry, but is, in fact, a "warm water message with native Australian oils, cleansing salt polishes and moisturising botanicals" (90 minutes, £71).
There is also a gentleman's grooming range of treatments that include Ultimate Shave MAN-icure, and even a chest or back wax.
One parent could splash around in the pool with a small child while the other had a treatment, but there is nothing else to amuse children, not even a ride on the plastic camels!
What do you wish you'd known before you went?
The car parking wasn't a brilliant start, but the spa staff resolved it quickly and efficiently. Maybe day spa visitors could be allocated space?
Who do you think would like it?
Our day at the Blue Fish Spa was certainly great as a mother-daughter experience, and would work for couples, too.
If you want a completely get-away-from-it-all spa experience, the Blue Fish Spa isn't it. But if you have come to the Lake District on holiday, this spa would be good for an alternative chill day in the middle of a walking holiday.
As Cumbria is prime walking country, we wondered if later opening at the spa might attract walkers coming in off the fells and wanting to warm up and relax aching legs.
Why did you give the spa this rating?
We gave the Blue Fish Spa at Oxleys at Ambleside 4 bubbles. The spa is of a high-standard with clean, new facilities. But nothing stood out as a wow! The space seemed a bit cramped and subterranean in the gym and changing rooms, and the Growling Man on the muzak freaked me out. However, we rated the customer service high, and the spa treatments were invigorating.
See more on how we rate the spas.
Would you go again?
We're not sure we would go for a whole day, but it would be good to try that Yanko Jinderlee.
We visited Blue Fish Spa in July 2010
See also:
* Contact details for Blue Fish Spa
* Do I have to take my own robe to a spa?
* Li'Tya products
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