The Guide to London Spas and Massage from Pearl Escapes 2016

By Pearl Howie

Normally my guides feature just one spa, one hotel, one sight, one restaurant... because when I used to get really burnt out in my old job I couldn't handle checking out all the options and booking everything. I just wanted someone to give me the answers. So that's what my guides normally do...

However I live in London, and as it is one of the most multicultural environments in the world, with an incredible selection of spas and places to relax and get a massage (including the fish spa) as well as home to some of the finest spas in the whole world, well this guide had to include more than one.

Every spa in this guide comes with my personal recommendation, and if they're not quite perfect I'll tell you about that too so you can pick the spa that's right for you, right now.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Aug 6, 2016
• ISBN: 9781326756796

Book preview

The Guide to London Spas and Massage from Pearl Escapes 2016

The Guide to London Spas and Massage from Pearl Escapes 2016

By Pearl Howie

Copyright © Pearl Howie 2016

All rights reserved

ISBN 978-1-326-75679-6

The moral right of the author has been asserted

Introduction

Hi there, I'm Pearl Howie (aka Pearl Escapes) and this is my guide to London spas.  I've also included a couple that are reachable from London for a day trip (although Lifehouse is a bit of a stretch from South West London!)  As you'll see from the prices, I've been able to get some extraordinary deals in London, but often just heading an hour out of town will get you a lot more value and even some outdoor space, which I adore when I need some healing.

I am blessed to live in London as it is one of the most multicultural environments and has many of the world's best spas.  Although the prices may also reflect that, I've since discovered that London can be an absolute bargain compared with cities such as New York and Miami when it comes to spa time, and the advantage of living here is that you can make the most of occasional offers.  (If you want to get a quick look through current offers I recommend using the Spa Breaks website and they also get the thumbs up from me because they have special support for anyone who has suffered from cancer looking to visit a spa – definitely check out what they are offering in this regard as I think they even have specific offers for people recovering from cancer.)

You can also check out my other guides for more escapes in the UK and around the world (some of them free).  Most of my guides include a hotel, spa, sight and restaurant.  This is because I used to get extremely burned out in my old job and so, when I did take time off I couldn't even handle finding and booking a hotel and flight or finding what to do.  So, I thought wouldn't it be awesome if someone would write a guide that just gave you one perfect escape; the perfect hotel, spa, flight and restaurant.  So that's what I did.

I also realised, as I dipped my toe into spas, that there was so much confusing information online about massages and treatments.  I started writing my own guide, researching each experience personally, travelling around the world.  I can now say that I am one of the world's top spa experts and my book The Guide to Massage, Spa Treatments and Healing from Pearl Escapes 2016 is the most accurate resource in the world to my knowledge.

This year (2016) I experienced such a profound healing in a native American spa that I had to come home and write a self-help book free Feeling Real Emotions Everyday - a full colour photographic book which is out now.  I'll soon be touring; talking about the book and researching more incredible experiences around the world.

So many times I talk to people about spas and travel, often they are called to a particular area, and I say Oh yes, I've got all the details of the hotel, spa, restaurant and everything in my massive books about escapes and spas… but they really want just the bullet – just the retreat or escape in a box that I started creating in 2010.  So I'll be releasing all of these guides just as fast as I can (the older ones will be free ebooks!) so I hope you'll check to see if there's a guide for your next trip too.  (For the regions and escapes included in my full guide please look through the list at the end of this book.)

I have been so blessed to visit so many incredible places around the world and experience healing masters at work and I'd very much like to share that wisdom with you.

Spa – Spa London – Bethnal Green, London, England

Lie back on the spacious cream and turquoise surfaces of the main hammam and you’ll understand why so many people are in here.  The gentle warming from beneath is so inviting that I very nearly fell asleep (and this was not the only room where it would be easy to doze off).

There are the three marble Turkish Baths, each of a slightly increasing heat, which are lovely places to lie back and succumb to the relaxing music playing gently in the background.

Two dimly lit intense aromatic steam rooms beckon, (although I didn’t notice any particular fragrances) where you can soak up the heat, until the ice plunge pool, ice crystals and even the refreshing bucket of cold water on a rope or Kouble Douche (which you pull over your head!) seem like a very good idea.

Step into the monsoon shower if you can’t make up your mind, and press either hot or cold to suit your mood... and you can always dry off, if you like, in the searing heat of the sauna.

When you need to relax from all the relaxing, step into the lounge area, where you can lie back on a cushioned lounger in your towelling robe and sip a glass of lemon or apple scented water, and get ready to take the plunge again.

With towels, plastic flip-flops, towelling robe, water and occasional light refreshments on hand, all you need is your swimwear (compulsory for all).

On a women only day (when I went) the atmosphere is giggly and very friendly.  Every little group of women wanted to adopt me and make sure I was okay.  People here are so down to earth, perhaps because it’s in the East End?  If you really want quiet you can either move to a different room (there’s a lot of choice) or go to a mixed session; apparently the guys are a lot quieter.

With uniformed attendants on hand and very well kept decor, this really is a luxurious spa break for a bargain price.

Although you can’t use products in the spa, which is a shame, you can use them in the changing room showers afterwards, so I went for The Sanctuary Warming Charcoal Body Mask, followed by my own extra virgin olive oil all over to get the full spa experience.

Unfortunately once you leave the spa the surrounding area isn’t so great, so it was straight back on the tube afterwards, and I did just about manage to stay awake all the way home.

Booking is recommended.  The reception is very helpful and, although they normally charge if you cancel less than 24 hours in advance, they reorganised my visit for free because the Northern Line was down one weekend.

Don’t worry if you mix up your dressing gown and towel, everyone does it.  Although, as it was their 3rd birthday party when I visited, and there were special birthday refreshments, I soon solved the problem; my dressing gown was the one with chocolate cake on the sleeve!

As at Summer 2010: see end of review for pricing

August 2012 Update

Visiting the spa on a weekday morning is a little quieter.  Once again my friend and I left it too late to book massages, but one treatment we could indulge in was dry flotation as this doesn't require an attendant, apart from tucking you in.  The dry flotation room is opposite the steam rooms with a hospital style curtain to protect your privacy.  You lie on a flat bed and are tucked in with a heated blanket, plugged into headphones with relaxing music and left to float.  The best bit is when the water surges in, lifting you up and giving that great weightless feeling.  My friend who had lower back problems had half an hour and didn't feel it was enough.  I had booked an hour and, although it felt good, I wasn't enjoying it as much as I had enjoyed lying in the hammam, so after 50 minutes I squeezed the release button, unlocked my treatment room and headed back out into the spa.  On this occasion the ice pool wasn't very cold (which some people complained about) but it was just about the perfect temperature for me to enjoy a quick float in.

March 2013 Update

I organised a spa day for a group of ladies here on a Tuesday (one of the ladies only days) and finally got to try out their massage treatments (which are nearly always booked up in advance). 

The good news is that all of the massages were exceptional and I couldn't believe how much more relaxed I was after just a 15 minute back massage - truly world class!  The wrap treatments had a slightly less positive response from the ladies but it was wonderful to see everyone leaving with a new air of relaxation - and these ladies deserve every second of pampering as they all do so much for everyone else!

The bad news is that the spa has stopped serving food and you're lucky to even be able to order a coffee or tea (herbal tea is always on hand for free).  When fruit is put out it is snapped up immediately and we were relieved we had smuggled in snack bars.  (Sitting eating them in our dressing gowns we felt like naughty ladies at an old school health farm.)  Some other guests were blatantly eating crisps in the hammam, which is not really the vibe we were looking for.

The other negative is that although the reception team are efficient at dealing with email requests and were fab with our bookings, it proved impossible to contact them by phone, which would be a major problem for most of my ladies as many of them do not use email.  On the upside some of the ladies have already been back to the spa, opting to use the heat treatment rooms, but they would have loved to have been able to book treatments in advance too.

Also there were some discrepancies between the online menu and the printed massage menu and they also had additional treatments that I found out about via email - which makes it hard for anyone not online to make the most of this spa.

2010 Professional Beauty Awards Day Spa of the Year

3 hour entry £24 (this is plenty of time and you may be allowed to stay for longer if it’s not busy) includes robe, towel and flip-flops, or £23.50 for an annual card £3.50 and cardholder's entry £20.  As at March 2013.

Dry flotation is £20 for half an hour and £35 for an hour.

Discounts are available with membership only, which is £3.50 standard, £1.80 concessionary and rates go swiftly down to as little as £8.00 - but only until 4.30pm Monday to Thursday and 2.30pm Friday/Saturday

For more details visit http://www.spa-london.org/subpage.asp?id=208&mainid=63

Spa – Lagoon – Wimbledon, London, England

Lagoon looks at a first glance like a normal nail salon (it’s not really a day spa as such) until you notice the big tanks of fish underneath each chair.

Although its slightly antiseptic vibe wouldn’t be my first choice for a relaxing spa, considering the controversy surrounding fish spas (see Garra Rufa Fish in my sister guide The Guide to Massage, Spa Treatments and Healing from Pearl Escapes 2016) I found it quite reassuring.  The ladies here were extremely friendly, helpful and when I said I was just having a look and might come back later there was no pressure at all.  So I