Review of Nirvana Spa, Wokingham

Nirvana Spa, Wokingham - 4 bubbles

The Good Spa Spies fluttered off in a flock to Nirvana, the dedicated day spa. They had a wonderful day out, a celestial float and some lovely lounging. Spa heaven indeed. There's so much to do that you should definitely plan to spend a whole day in Nirvana, to make the most of the pools, the gym, and the heat facilities. And the cake.

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 in for a Nirvana Day Spa Experience each, which includes a "light meal" for lunch and a "celestial float" in Nirvana's floatation pool. Before our visit, a Welcome Pack arrived in the post; this contained our itinerary and a DVD which explained the ins and outs and general coolness of Nirvana.

The Welcome Pack explained clearly what we would need to bring (two swimming costumes, poolside footwear, a £1 coin to operate the locker). It also tells you about what's on offer at Nirvana, includes your medical questionnaire, and spells out the do's and don'ts. Very handy.

First impressions?

We pulled in to a very large, quite full car park with an enormous building in the centre. This can't just be Nirvana Spa! Surely this must be a hotel, too? No; it was all spa! The day-spa entrance is at the back of the building. There is plenty of space to park, and we were soon up the steps and into the reception area.

How did they welcome you?

The receptionist greeted us convivially and asked if we had been before. One of our group had, and two of us hadn't. The receptionist acknowledged this and went on to inform us about our day ahead.

She told us where the changing rooms were, and asked us to get changed into our cossies and go to the restaurant for our "welcome meeting". She gave us a bundle of two towels, spa-friendly footwear covers, and a robe each, and we set off to find the large changing room.

What happens next?

The changing rooms: There were plenty of lockers, and I'd remembered my £1 coin as requested in the useful Welcome Pack. There were seating stations and mirrors, and body lotion at various intervals about the room, as well as hairdryers. There were a few changing cubicles for the more private of ladies. Toilets were outside of the changing room on one side and showers were out through another door. There are very few signs or directions around Nirvana Spa. We were a little confused as to how to get anywhere, as were other spa-goers we came across. A fair amount of guesswork is required if you're a first-time visitor. Your map - given to you at your induction - will most certainly be your saviour!

We made our way through the maze-like spa, past various interesting looking pools, along a corridor, into a massive pool area, and beyond to the relaxation room. This room is very large with high ceilings and flooded with natural daylight from the large arched windows lining one side of the room. We headed to the large, adjoining Garden Cafe where we met our hostess, sat down, ordered a tea, then listened as she told us what was on offer at Nirvana. She showed us various places to check out on the map. As we took on board the sheer size of the place, it all seemed a bit daunting. Our hostess told us about Nirvana's six pure, natural spring-fed pools, and about the Pulse 8 health club, across the car park. You can take various classes there, including yoga, aerobics and badminton. The hostess told us that there would be a "sparkling reception" at 3.30pm and that, if we were passing, to stop by for a glass of bubbly. She also told us that there would be product talks throughout the day. I was hoping to go to one of these while my fellow spies went to the gym. Sadly, the Rep told me that the therapist who would be giving the talks would not be there until 1.30pm. She couldn't give me a definite start time. If we were in the area around 1.30pm onwards, then the therapist would wander about to round-up small groups. I couldn't tell if Nirvana were being laid back spa-style or a wee bit flimsy. The hostess dutifully informed us that all soft hot and cold drinks would be free of charge and gave us a card to carry around clipped to our robe pockets. This would need to be swiped by a member of staff every time that we had a drink. Alcoholic drinks and any other extras are charged to your swipe card and you settle the bill at the end of the day. You have to check out of Nirvana at 5pm if you're on a day package. If you check out after this time, you pay a surcharge of £15 per hour. Our hour-long treatments had been booked at 3.45pm so we were a bit concerned. I spoke to our hostess about this and she reassured us that if we didn't make it out by then, they wouldn't charge us. Phew. We imagined a 4.55pm scrum of ladies wrestling each other in the changing rooms, hell bent on not being charged!

My friends wanted to work up a sweat in the gym, but I preferred to go for a wander, so I could get my bearings and have a good nosey about. I saw some solariums in a corridor to the left of the gym and wondered if I could go in or if I had to book. As if by magic, a guy appeared and kindly asked if I was OK, and could he help at all? I mentioned the solariums and he apologised that they were no longer in use. Oh well. I decided to pop myself onto one of the many, many loungers to the side of the main Relaxation pool. There were plenty of magazines to pick and choose from - great. Nirvana is so big (have I instilled this enough yet?) that this area did not feel crowded. It felt quite calm.

My friends reported back from the gym. The gym is large for a spa, with a wealth of machines: steps, running machines, cross-trainers and free weights. The many windows make the gym light and pleasant. There was a trainer on hand for any questions and plenty of water to quench your post-workout thirst. All plus points.

Our lunch was scheduled in The Garden Café for a specific time to avoid queues. A member of staff gave us a menu and a food token as we were seated. However, be aware the dishes on the menu are not included in your day-spa package. If you order them, you will pay extra. This happened the last time a Good Spa Spy visited Nirvana, and we still think that it's naughty. What is actually included is a salad-bar lunch. You can choose from a selection of cold meats and fish, and a good variety of salads. Everything was fresh and filling. I loaded up my plate! After lunch, it was time to hit Nirvana Spa's water and heat facilities.

In the Ocean Room, the powerful water and air jets deliciously tenderised my weary, aching muscles, from pummelling my lower back to tickling my sensitive calves. This was great fun and very therapeutic. There are two plunge pools to one side, should you feel the need. On entering the very large Tepidarium, I knew that I wanted to stay in there for a good stretch of time. This was reinforced by a few snores emanating from some of the relaxed spa-goers stretched out on loungers. The Tepidarium was dimly lit, and housed 32 ceramic heated loungers, with a water feature and lovely scented candles taking centre stage. Most places were filled and the ones that weren't were due to the heating cycle of the loungers warming up to a blissful 34 degrees, then cooling down again. I managed to bag a hot seat and felt my stresses and strains alleviate very rapidly. If you can stay awake, this is a good place to read your book or a magazine.

We checked out the Aroma Steam Room which was menthol-infused, with twinkling colour-changing stars. There were also Monsoon showers, in which you could choose hot or cold - or, I should say, freezing. The treatment rooms at Nirvana Spa were relatively small but comfy-looking and candle-lit. There was also a fitness pool (with only one person in it), a Jacuzzi, a peaceful and spacious members' pool, along with male-only and female-only steam rooms and saunas. Is there anything at Nirvana that you can't have?

Which treatments did you have?

We all had a 60-minute Celestial Float in the Celestial Pool.

Our zealous young instructor told us that Nirvana's round floatation pool was filled with replicated Dead Sea water, containing 100 tonnes of salt and 21 Dead Sea minerals. Our instructor advised us to relax completely during our treatment, and said that people often fall asleep during their float.

We had a 15-minute induction in the Ocean Pool where our therapist directed us on how to enter the floatation pool, what to expect and how to safely manoeuvre about the pool by using the least effort.

The water in the pool was lovely, warm and bath-like. This was already winning me over! The therapist advised us not to splash about and what to do if we splashed ourselves in the eye or mouth. As if on cue, I got some water in my mouth and had to have a rinse out! Ugh. Note to self: listen to your therapist.

After a few minutes of trying out different positions, it was time to head to the adjoining Celestial Pool room.

The room was large with a huge, domed roof, painted black with twinkling lights. We all gasped as we entered this warm, calm room. Our guide told us that a current of water would gently take us around the pool in an anti-clockwise direction. She also told us that there were supposed to be five of us in this session but the other two had failed to turn up - Bonus!

What were the treatments like?

The Celestial Float was dreamy. It took a fair amount of time for me to relax totally, because it was just so strange and unlike anything I'd experienced before. I found that floating towards the centre of the pool ensured I was least likely to bump in to my friend. At one point I felt like I was nearing the edge of the pool so grabbed hold and pushed away, only to discover it was my friend's toe.

Our therapist had offered us ear-plugs and I was very pleased to have accepted, as my friend still had a water-in-the-head feeling the following day.

How did you feel afterwards?

Blissed out and happy that I'd managed to relax for the last 15 or 20 minutes.

We all commented that three of us in the pool was the perfect amount in the session. Any more than four people would have felt crowded.

What happens afterwards?

The dim lights in the room slowly came back to normal, and we realised that our time was up. The instructor directed us to the showers and gave us each a handful of softening salt-scrub slush for our bodies. After turning off the showers, the draining water was very loud and disconcerting, and yes, a dampening reality jolt. It just didn't want to stop, well... draining. Once scrubbed, our instructor gave us all a dollop of silky, creamy brown mud for conditioning our hair. She told us to leave this on for half an hour to maximise its benefits. We all enthused about the feel of our hair once we'd washed it out. After checking out Nirvana's own very reasonably priced product lines (I almost ate the Crème Brulee body moisturiser, £3.50, after my saliva glands went crazy), we decided to head to the Garden Café for a cuppa. Cake cost extra but we weren't going to deny ourselves and there is a good, fresh range to deliberate over.

Long-term effects

We felt relaxed until the M25. Who wouldn't?

Was it worth it?

Yes. Nirvana is a very good-value day spa. The Day Spa Experience that we had costs £105.70, Monday to Thursday, or £126.26 Friday - Sunday. This includes use of all of Nirvana Spa's facilities, a 60 minute floatation treatment, and lunch.

What else could you have?

Try a Celestial facial with "pure colloidal gold" moisturiser, or a manicure, pedicure, or reflexology. There's a good range of massages and body treatments, including a Head in the Clouds scalp massage or a Full-Body Refiner body polish.

What do you wish you'd known before you went?

That there would be no hair conditioner in the changing rooms. There's only one dispenser per shower with no label; was this hair and body wash all-in-one?

If you forget your flip-flops, you will have to pay a tenner for some at reception.

Also, that it would not be wise to drive straight home after a floatation treatment. You really need a bit of me-time to come back down to earth.

Any special features?

Nirvana's unique Floatation Therapy pool. Very relaxing.

Who do you think would like it?

Nirvana is a great spa for people living in the local area, and for its members, because you get everything you need under one, very large, roof. The spa is man-friendly and there were a fair number of couples. Small groups of ladies, too. Nirvana limits groups to a maximum of six to maintain a sense of spa hush.

Why did you give the spa this rating?

We give Nirvana Spa 4 bubbles. It was very fresh, clean and functional but lacked some of the soft touches we associate with spa. Nirvana is more like a good health club with great facilities. I'd like to have shampoo, conditioner and shower gel in the showers rather than one-size-fits-all "wash". This popped a bubble for us. There were enough staff on hand, and they were always friendly, attentive and cheerful at all times. Nirvana is a wonderful day out with friends, partners or on your own, and there's so much to do that you most definitely need to spend a whole day there.

See more on how we rate the spas