 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
We had been hearing conflicting reports of Waterfall Spa in Leeds so we decided to check it out -- twice. On our first visit, no one knew that Sybaritic Spy was coming. Our second visit, a few days later, was by invitation. What did we find? A smart city-centre spa oasis with good treatments but a few cleaning issues...
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?
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?
Was it easy to book?
Yes. We booked by phone with no problems. A few days later, the spa rang back to arrange to change my treatment time by ten minutes.
First impressions?
On my first visit, I arrived at Waterfall in the early afternoon. There was no one on reception. I waited, and waited, looked around for a bell to ring and then banged on the door into the spa. Someone came and greeted me.
On my second visit, I arrived at 9.30am as we had heard complaints of long waits at the spa. However there was only one person in front of me, and I was checked in after about five minutes. There were two sets of two people waiting to check in after me.
How did they welcome you?
The person who greeted me took me through to the lockers. She showed me how to use the locker key-card system and began to explain about the spa. At this point, I suggested that she go back to reception and deal with the other people who were waiting. I said that I could get myself to the café area. You can see how a queue could build up if the same person has to check people in and show them how things work.
What happens next?
I sat in the café, had a drink and filled in a health form. Then a member of staff took me on a tour of the spa, told me to help myself to fresh towels and said that a therapist would come and find me when it was time for my treatment.
Which treatments did you have?
On my first visit, I booked for a Pampering facial (35 minutes, £53) and a pedicure (30 minutes, £35). On my second visit, I had a Little Facial (30 minutes, £35) and a Mud 'N' Scrub body cleansing treatment (65 minutes, £75).
What were the treatments like?
They were all good. My first facial was basic but effective, and my pedicure was very well done. The two lounge chairs for nail treatments are in a semi-circular area with a huge gold curtain around half of it. Behind the chairs is the corridor from the water area to the relaxation room, so people do go past while you are having a manicure or pedicure. Some people have complained about this but I don't find it off-putting or distracting. The area is wide enough so that no one bumps your chair and you are angled away from where people are passing.
While Jennifer tended to my toenails, I chose a colour from strips of card with nails glued to them. The range of colours at Waterfall is amazing and so too are the names of the colours. I chose a nail colour called 'I Only Drink Champagne since it's a motto I would like to live by. Oh, and I liked the sparkly creamy colour as well.
The Little Facial was rather more than a facial. My therapist was very confident and capable. She explained the treatment before she began. When she got to the bit about, "While the face mask is on I will give you a head massage..." I stopped her and explained that I didn't really want a head massage. She promptly offered a hand and arm massage instead.
She offered a bolster behind my knees, and an extra towel to keep me warm -- which I needed. This facial starts at the other end of your body, with firm holding of the feet, followed by hot towels to warm and clean them. A lovely idea. My therapist followed this with a double cleanse of my face, then some massage, a face-pack and an eye pillow. I had my hand and arm massage and then five minutes of being left "to relax". My therapist came back with the product details and explained what she had used. It was nicely done and didn't feel too pushy.
The mud treatment began with body brushing. My therapist, Leanne, then applied an exfoliant and removed it with towelling mitts, before painting on warm mud. The mud was deep green and felt silky-smooth. Leanne wrapped me in plastic and over-wrapped this with towels to let my body sweat. Again, she offered a head massage and I explained that I hated having my hair pulled. Leanne told me that she could do the massage without any pulling so I decided to let her. I am glad I did as it was a really good "holding" massage combined with some firm "walking" of the fingers over areas of my scalp. Leanne paid attention to the top of my neck where I tend to get really tight, and this loosened the area up very well.
After the head massage, Leanne unpeeled me from the plastic sheet, gave me some towelling mitts and told me to have a shower. I was doing a good job of getting all the mud off, but half way through the water ran cold. It was much harder to get clean while shivering! Later I compared notes with two other women who had this treatment and they told me the same thing happened to them.
How did you feel afterwards?
Cold, but with very lovely skin. The Waterfall own-brand products felt very good. They're not too strongly perfumed and each do the job they are intended for very well. The combination of the scrub and the final moisturise with the Maximum Conditioning Body Lotion left my skin feeling very soft and smooth and it stayed that way for days.
What happens afterwards?
My therapist took me back to the café area for lunch: some delicious tomato and basil soup, and salmon with "champ" potatoes. I also had a glass of champagne gaily decorated with a strawberry. The soup and the potatoes were very good. The salmon was well-cooked but the hollandaise tasted like a packet sauce... and you can buy better packet sauces than this one.
Long-term effects
Several days later, my skin still felt wonderful, so the scrub and mud treatment was quite long-lasting. My toes were still sparkling as well.
Was it worth it?
Here is the rub. Waterfall can be expensive. It's an inner city spa, and this means that it has less in the way of facilities than you could find at a dedicated retreat spa or at a hotel spa. There's no swimming pool at Waterfall -- just a hydrotherapy pool with three sections that offer small bubbles, large bubbles and swan pipes to jet water onto your neck and shoulders. Oddly enough, these three sections work one after the other, so that limits the numbers of people using them to about four at a time. If they all ran at the same time, you could get many more people using the pool at once, which might help on busy days.
There's also a steam room, a sauna, and an experience shower. It's not a lot to keep you occupied for the day, even when you add in a session in the relaxation area on the beds.
A day pass at Waterfall is £75 and does not include any treatments, while their Time to Revive day costs £150 and gives you 75 minutes of treatments plus a three-course lunch and a glass of champagne. We suggest looking out for Waterfall's regular special offers. We list them on our Hot Deals page, and they are also on lastminute.
What else could you have?
Waterfall offers a range of facials, body treatments, and treats for hands and feet. Their Heavenly Hands treatment promises to leave your mitts as soft as silk. We like the sound of the Rose, Raspberry and Cocoa facial, too, that uses cocoa beans to detoxify the skin.
There's a great range of treatments for mums-to-be: the 100 Pillows Massage sounds gorgeous - chill out on one of the stylish circular beds for a massage. The Luxury Foot and Lower Leg treatment will scrub, spritz and pamper your weary feet, and the Me and My Bump Gentle massage aims to relax both mum and baby alike.
There's also a range of beauty treatments, and signature treatments include a Seductive Hot Oil wrap and Hot Stone therapy.
What do you wish you'd known before you went?
That the spa would be so cold! There were convector heaters in the relaxation area and in the café. After my cold shower, I was quite shivery, and two women on the next table offered to swap with me as they were sitting by a heater.
Any special features?
The fact that Waterfall is for women only makes for a special atmosphere.
Who do you think would like it?
Women who want to spa alone. Anyone who wants to recharge. Gossipy pals who want to catch up. Spa virgins will find the relaxed atmosphere at Waterfall reassuring -- but if you want hushed luxury, you won't find it here.
Why did you give the spa this rating?
Waterfall keeps the 4 bubbles we awarded it last time. But only just.
When we first visited Waterfall, a couple of years ago, we said: "This is a smart, stylish city spa, with a 'paper' theme -- paper blinds, huge paper flower-sculptures, and wooden floors. Fantastic relaxation areas, with two circular beds and two semi-circular ones, surrounded by hanging curtains of metal chains that are distinctive, shielded and gave privacy."
All of that still holds true.
But we felt that there was a problem with the cleaning in places. We did some serious inspecting while we were there. (If you saw a robe-clad woman on her hands and knees inspecting each shower stall and scrubbing at any spots of mould, you saw a Good Spa Spy at work!)
On our first, unannounced, visit, there were some spots of mould in the showers. They weren't there on our second visit, but the area outside of the showers had dirt in the corners. The lovely gold curtain that surrounds the manicure and pedicure area has had some products spilt on it and these have left a couple of stains.
On our first visit, the rubbish bin in the manicure area were full to overflowing, and the nail colours were in a large plastic tray on the floor. My therapist had to crouch down and sort though all the colours to find the one she needed and the whole area looked pretty neglected.
The big, round beds in the relaxation area are great. There are two large ones and two small ones, each surrounded by a curtain of metal chains for privacy. On one visit, three people had wrapped themselves in the velour blankets and fallen asleep on one of the beds. All you could see were three pairs of feet poking out!
However, this relaxation area was not tidied often enough. Those huge beds are in much demand, and they need tidying more often. However, the towels and robes were all clean and soft, and the café area was clean. So it is four bubbles for Waterfall on a good day.
We think that Waterfall is a smart city-centre spa that's great when it's not too busy. There were 10 - 15 people in the spa on the days we visited. The spa manager told us that on Fridays and Saturdays, there are usually 25 people or so. It must be hard to keep treatments running on time and keep the spa clean and tidy when it is full, but that is the challenge any spa faces.
See more on how we rate the spas.
Would you go again?
Yes, but I would pick and choose my day and look for a special offer that made it more of a bargain.We visited Waterfall in February 2009
Like the sound of this? You're in luck.
Follow this link to book a special spa offer at Waterfall Spa with our partners lastminute.comSee also:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|