A spa day may seem like one of life’s little luxuries that you treat yourself to when you need a well deserved break. For many the price tag of a day spa package with all the works is, unfortunately, not a regular occurrence but with so many leisure venues vying for business its becoming increasingly accessible for the masses.
Third-party spa deal websites have a host of offers that can be booked relatively easily and you can compare prices for your price range without fuss. The big question is, for such low prices can these spa deals really deliver a quality experience? We decided to road test a budget spa package and reveal if you can truly get a full spa experience on a budget in the North West.
Bagging a Deal
The first step was to scour the internet and compare the deals out there. Of course, we had to hone in on our essential criteria – north west venue, package for two, includes all core spa facilities.
Interestingly, it seems to be an achilles heel of the leisure industry in general that many top hotel and spa chains seem to have awful booking systems on their sites. Far too many have no options to book online, don’t provide specific details of their spa facilities and don’t integrate the hotel booking system to their spa. This left us with third-party deal vendors to browse, additionally offering the benefit of being able to compare multiple venues at once.
Using these spa sites also wasn’t without error as we struggled to browse filtered results without suffering the impact of glitchy site setups. After minor inconvenience our labour resulted in a list of potential venues based in the north west of England, all under our max budget of £40. A few venues only offer limited spa access for this price, usually 2-4 hours of jacuzzi, saunas and pools but little else. When further diluting this by treatments and spa access there were few options, although options nonetheless. The star offer appeared to be a £35 deal at the Mollington Banastre Hotel in Chester. For the low price of £35 they’re offering tea and scones, spa access and a 25 minute treatment (massage, facial or other).
The booking was made through Spa Seekers, who promoted the ease of booking without having to go through the hotel directly. The site allows you to see availability for your chosen date(s) and make a reservation, although after reserving you are expected to contact the spa yourself to confirm times of treatments and any other activity.
The Spa Day
One thing that could have been better communicated was the details of our visit. After receiving our confirmation through Spa Seekers, we didn’t receive any information on timings of the spa or when to arrive, we had to contact the hotel multiple times to get the right person to provide this information. Booking in the fist instant was super easy and convenient but the subsequent steps could be improved for a better customer experience to connect the dots between the third-party site and their spa providers.
It would be handy to not have to ring a venue in 2022 to get information which could be passed through email.
We’d had the foresight of googling the spa before committing to booking so knew somewhat what to expect of our venue, a top tip we’d recommend by the way. After a short drive down the M56 we reached our destination and the hotel itself was exactly as expected from images. The exterior was quaint and rural with a decent volume of parking for guests. The spa parking was closed off but this wasn’t much of an inconvenience as it’s easy enough to walk through the main hotel for access.
After a friendly greeting by reception staff we were escorted to the spa area. The spa followed the theme set by the hotel and was somewhat dated in design but for £35 it was hardly surprising. There was a good sized jacuzzi available which was fine, albeit not the prettiest thing. The pool was an odd shape and fairly shallow at 1.2m deep, so wasn’t ideal for exercise but was a good temperature for a nice leisurely swim.
Some facilities were out of use on the day, rendering the steam room off limits. The biggest bonus of this deal was how quiet the entire place was. Most of the time we had all the facilities to ourselves and our deal offered no limit on the time you could spend across the leisure facilities. You can expect to find a deal like this during quiet periods, so if you have the luxury of taking time off work it’s worth it to take full advantage.
One downside to the gap in communication was that nobody informed us to bring our own padlocks for the lockers, which meant keeping bags poolside for peace of mind. There was also a fully equipped gym in the spa area which was included in our deal, maximising the value of this offer even more (another win).
The spa treatments of choice were the 25 minute massages, provided by a masseuse who had to spin multiple plates by taking guest orders and manning the reception desk. The treatments did run late but this was no bother as we had the whole day to enjoy our package deal. The treatments again were fine, probably not the best you could get but on a budget it was great value.
After treatments we were served cream tea consisting of four scones with cream and jam plus a pot of tea for two. This was a nice little extra that sold us on this deal and although our masseuse-come-waitress accidentally brought coffee at first the error was quickly rectified and ended up being quite the treat.
Was it Worth it?
For an impulse booking at short notice and on a budget we’d say this deal was definitely worth the price. If you set your expectations realistically you won’t be disappointed, be prepared to get what you pay for. We were able to book this just a few days before our visit and besides some minor blips and dated decor, the overall experience was a positive one.
Some tips for bagging your budget break
- Do your research before committing
- If you haven’t got all the information you need contact the venue
- Compare the details of each offer – look at time in the spa, types of treatments to choose from and full-day versus half-day breaks
- Learn how to filter your searches – breakdown your searches by location or category
- Be prepared to go on a quiet day – you’ll actually get a better experience if you have flexibility to go at off-peak times
- Google your venue before booking – don’t just rely on your booking website and make use of Google reviews and customer photos to set your expectations
