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We were invited to revisit this Thai-themed spa in the New Forest to sample their new range of organic products. The hydrotherapy facilities are impressive, as are the high-quality treatments, though the tranquillity was spread a little thin this time. But one of our favourite spas retains its 5-bubble status.
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?
Yes. I was booked to stay at the hotel with my husband and they sent us each a personalised printed schedule of our check-in time, treatment times and meal times in advance, so we always knew where we were supposed to be. There was also an "Art of Spa" leaflet, which aims to answer all your questions about what to do and what to expect. All very efficient.
First impressions?
It's not a hugely impressive sight from the A337, especially as you've been looking at the highly impressive New Forest National Park for the last bit of the drive. The first things you see are Blaireau's Brasserie and a car park. If you're visiting the spa for the day, drive round to the left, to the back of the building, where you can park outside the entrance to the spa. We were staying, so drove round to the right, up to the main manor house door. The manor looks a little more inviting, like a mellow Tudor mansion set among trees.
A friendly porter came out and advised us that we might be better off parking in the main car park at the back of the hotel, which would be nearer most of the rooms (there are 80 in total but only a few in the manor part of the hotel). So he advised that we should come in and check first. So we went in and checked. Turned out, we had a room in the manor, so someone whisked our luggage out of the boot, parked the car, and deposited the key back with us in our room a bit later.
How did they welcome you?
In a friendly fashion. It was a cold Spring day, so the fire in the traditional country-house reception was very welcome. The duty manager showed us up to our room, up the creaky staircase, and explained about the complimentary mineral water, the TV, the restaurant menus, and the tea-making facilities. The four-poster bed was fairly self-explanatory. It was a comfortable room, with a pristinely clean bathroom.
What happens next?
We went looking for the spa. You can reach this through the hotel, so can go down in the bathrobe provided in your room, if you like. You go along some corridors, and through a set of carved wooden doors designed to mark a boundary between the hotel and the spa. You come into the spa part of the building on the first floor where you find the changing rooms, gym and relaxation area. Downstairs is the reception area and the entrance to the pool and other watery and heat facilities.
The spa: The Reception area states the theme of the spa from the start, with red sofas, Thai art on the walls, and a carved elephant on a table. There is a shop, where you can buy Thai clothes, swimwear, sandals, and the products used in SenSpa. I reported for duty at the Reception area, and the receptionist gave me a health form to fill in. She also issued me with a token for my locker and a credit card look-alike. You need this to gain access to the hydrotherapy facilities and the relaxation room, which are off limits to non-spa-break hotel guests (who need to pay extra for use of these facilities) and to health club members. Someone -- all the staff waft around in black-and-red uniforms -- brought me a cup of green tea, which was very welcome.
The changing rooms: These are upstairs from the spa reception. There's an ante-room with hairdryers and mirrors, then the main locker area, three private changing cubicles, and the showers (one was out of action when we were there). The changing room isn't huge for the number of people who are sometimes in it, and the showers are fairly basic. There are no spa products around, just anonymous dispensers for shower gel and shampoo. It very much feels like a health-club changing room (which it is) rather than a spa changing room. There's no moisturiser, for example.
The pool: The main pool is quite large and bright, with windows overlooking a patio at one end. There is also a window in the ceiling surrounded by tiny star-like lights, which twinkle at you as you do your backstroke up and down. There are a few wicker loungers around the pool, though there are sometimes more people than loungers. When we first went for a swim, around 5pm on the day we arrived, the pool was quite busy, with people popping in after work.
At the side of the pool are a small steam room and sauna, and also a Jacuzzi, but these pale into insignificance when you go through the door into the World of Hydrotherapy...
The hydrotherapy area: Swipe your little card through the door at the side of the pool, and you'll find the hydrotherapy and thermal treatment part of the spa. This is an impressive area, over two floors. On the ground floor is a large hydrotherapy pool which has several different areas, including submerged loungers with underwater jets, two swan pipes for your back, neck and shoulders, and various other strategically placed underwater jets to target and invigorate different muscle groups. Each "station" has a black button to press to switch the jets on. There is also a circular area within the pool that has such a strong current, you fear you'll be swept out to sea.
Also on the ground floor, you'll find a good-size and nicely hot sauna and steam room, an ice room, where you could cool yourself down with cold water from a bucket, and the "Experience Showers". These include a Tropical Storm with thunder and lightning effects, which is great fun.
Although SenSpa advertises itself as "a temple to tranquillity", it didn't feel like that on our first day. Just as we arrived in the hydrotherapy area, so did a group of six or seven women, perhaps there on a Twilight spa package. They shrieked so loudly in the Experience Showers that we guessed they had never seen the like before. Or possibly even running water.
Searching for a bit of tranquillity, we went upstairs to the laconium (a cooler version of the traditional Finnish sauna with a heated floor), and the tepidarium (a warm Roman-inspired room with heated ceramic loungers). But the group came after us, as if practising stalking behaviour, so we decided to go back to lounging by the pool.
Something to eat: We then went back to our room and changed for dinner, which we ate in the two-AA-rosette Manor Restaurant. This is quite a formal experience, with organic food and some highlighted local produce, which we were happy to sample. I loved their "cheese menu", which describes all the cheeses you can choose from.
You can also eat in Blaireau's bar and brasserie (French) or The Zen Garden restaurant (Thai). If you're on a spa break, The Zen Garden is also where you'll eat a very healthy breakfast. There's a buffet of cereals and fruit, and you can also order something more substantial in the way of a cooked breakfast, including porridge, eggs benedict, and poached haddock with a poached egg. The room was lovely and sunny when we ate breakfast. Later, we had our lunch there. On offer are various salads and also chicken or vegetable Thai noodles. The Zen Garden is open throughout the day for snacks and smoothies, too. People eat in bathrobes and there's a very relaxed atmosphere.
I was glad, what with all this eating, that SenSpa also has a gym.
The gym: This is a small but equipment-packed room where you can have your workout running, cycling or cross-training. There's also a Swiss ball and plenty of free weights.
The studio: I signed up for one of the studio classes, Mind, Body and Spirit, which comprised a mix of Tai Chi, yoga, balance and stretching. This involved wearing some "classic Thai pyjamas" which the spa receptionist will give you. I can only think that these are designed to give you extra motivation to work out. The class was ideally suited to a range of levels, with everyone carefully guided through the moves. Beginners could try things out and more experienced yoga aficionados could show off. I think doing a class is a great addition to a spa break, as it gives you the opportunity to try something new and varies the day. Recommended.
Which treatments did you have?
I had Kasui, a hydrating facial using the new SenSpa products, and a four-hands massage. My husband had a Sen Fusion signature massage.
What were the treatments like?
For your treatments, your therapist will take you through into the treatment rooms area, which is very quiet and peaceful. The rooms all have names such as "Willow" or "Jasmine", and the therapist can choose the music you listen to, and also the volume.
My Kasui facial was lovely. My therapist, Tina, used the new SenSpa Organic Therapy range; organic, and made locally in the New Forest. The manuka honey mask, in particular, had a gorgeous smell and felt very kind to my skin while doing it some antiseptic good. There was exfoliation, cleansing, some relaxing massage while the ingredients did their good work, and even a touch of lip balm at the end so I was moisturised in my entirety. When the treatment was over, Tina asked me whether I had any questions -- the products were so new she couldn't issue me with the usual prescription form recommending appropriate products. Naturally, I wanted to know all about everything, it was so delicious.
The four-hands massage was seamless. My two Thai therapists met me, showed me to the treatment room, and started off the massage with me lying on my front. The moves they used were very rhythmical and flowing, the pressure not too firm (this was meant to be a relaxing massage) and the oil not too overpowering. When I turned onto my front, they covered my eyes with soothing eye-pads, so I still couldn't see who was doing what. It doesn't matter, though. When you have a treatment as relaxing as this, all you can do is close your eyes and enjoy.
Spouse reports that his Sen Fusion signature massage was very relaxing and strangely uplifting. I checked his prescription card later and his therapist, Morn, had indeed used the uplifting massage oil. She had also recommended the SenSpa organic face mist, but the idea of my spouse spraying his face several times a day with a mixture of witch-hazel and calendula oil remains a little ambitious.
How did you feel afterwards?
In all cases, very relaxed.
What happens afterwards?
To prolong the bliss, you can go upstairs to the relaxation room (swipe your card to get in). This is thoughtfully divided into two: the main area, which has soft seats and sofas, and a smaller, more serious relaxation area through a door, where you're asked to remain silent while people recover from their treatments on loungers. In the relaxation room, you can help yourself to green tea, and leaf through the glossy magazines provided.
Was it worth it?
Yes. The treatments are high quality, and I enjoyed the organic SenSpa products very much.
What else could you have?
You can choose from a range of spa breaks and spa days, most with various treatments and treats included in the price. For example, the SenSpa Escape, which I tried, includes your overnight accommodation, dinner, breakfast and lunch, one-and-a-half hours of treatment time, the mind/body class, use of all the hydrotherapy facilities, and as much green tea as you can drink. There are also some imaginative "after-work" options, such as the Twilight Spa. Here, you turn up at 5pm, enjoy all the spa facilities, have a half-hour treatment, and finish with a three-course dinner and a glass of wine.
When it comes to individual treatments, there are various facials and massages, rhassoul mud treatments, wraps and polishes, manicures and pedicures, treatments for men, and specific treatments if you're pregnant.
What do you wish you'd known before you went?
We were there on a spa break, so use of the hydrotherapy facilities was part of our package, but if you're just staying into the hotel, you need to pay a supplement to venture beyond the pool and gym and use the hydrotherapy facilities. (This was £40 per person per day in April 2008.) Children under 16 are not allowed in either the health club or the hydrotherapy areas.
Any special features?
All the therapists are trained in Thai massage and treatments and many of the staff are from Thailand. The Thai theme sets SenSpa apart from other spas, as does the hydrotherapy complex.
Who do you think would like it?
Anyone who has neither the time nor the budget to actually go to Thailand. SenSpa at Carey's Manor is also a good place to go if you're going with someone who'll enjoy using the facilities but is not so interested in treatments, as it offers plenty to occupy you for the day.
Why did you give the spa this rating?
Carey's Manor is definitely a hotel with a good spa, rather than a spa retreat. The hotel itself, though friendly and comfortable, doesn't have the "wow!" factor of some country-house hotels; it feels like the four-star hotel that it is. But the spa clings on to its 5 bubbles. The treatment standards are high, the facilities impressive, and the staff are helpful at all times. The Zen Garden restaurant provides perfect spa eating from breakfast to lunch to snacks.
It wasn't quite the temple of tranquillity I was looking for. There were times when I felt there were more people than facilities, particularly in the changing rooms. I had to queue for a free shower (and I was less than impressed with the local custom of dumping your personal effects in a private changing cubicle, then going for a shower, effectively blocking them from use by other people). Your welcome letter does warn you that: "You may wish to change in the comfort of your room before going to the spa as the changing rooms can sometimes be busy". Wise advice. I also found the hydrotherapy areas noisy rather than peaceful, and a bit bedecked with abandoned towels late in the day. If only SenSpa could train its guests in correct spa etiquette... The spa and staff were great; on reflection; it was the other guests I was objecting to!
See more on how we rate the spas.
Would you go again?
Yes. The treatments are excellent and the hydrotherapy area is very enjoyable.
We visited SenSpa in April 2008
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