Athenaeum Spa 4.4 67 reviews

Went as a party of four for 2 mix&match treatments; some trouble booking, as the time we had booked with Wahanda turned out not to be available. At the spa little flexibility in the sequence of therapies. Changing room tiny, hot tubs also tiny but great, steam room ditto.

The venue is really nice, fancy hotel nice. The spa unfortunatley only has two hot tubs (not terribly large ones), a steam room, and a sauna. No pool. Spa reception was rather dipsy and kept asking for the same info, but was otherwise reasonalbe friendly. Therapists really nice and thorough.

I took my mother for treatments and to relax for a couple of hours. We purchased a 2 for 1 deal on Wahanda, and were looking forward to it due to some good reviews.

Booking: easy. I emailed through, and it was quite simple and availability no problem as we had a weekday voucher.

Location: easy to get to, friendly hotel staff directed us to the spa

Reception staff: welcoming but not particularly helpful when I asked for the options we could choose from (i.e types of facials/body massage/body wraps/ body scrubs). She replied, you can choose two of the four options. When I asked if there were different types, she repeated her answer, so I left it, assuming we would be able to choose once in the therapy room.

Changing facilities: 1 shower, 1 toilet, a bench for 2 people and 6 lockers. Fine on a quiet morning. There was a bit of a wait for using each thing. Nice robes, thick towels, and good finish to the actual changing rooms though.

Therapists: A complete joke.
1. Did not give us options, just told us to lie down and they would apply the wrap first then give a facial whilst the wrap is working. When asked what options there were for each, we were robotically 'told' we were having a detoxifying and moisturising wrap and facial. I was too embarassed to make a fuss, given it was meant to be a 'treat' for my mother, and I didn't want to start off our 'relaxing' morning with a confrontation. The products used were just simple REN products, nothing else.

2. Therapist 'slapped' on the COLD cream on my back. I yelped, and her response was 'it will warm up, don't worry'. Yes it will, ON ME! Ridiculous. The facial was the laziest effort for a therapist I have ever encountered, and hardly touched any part of my face except my chin, sighed throughout the facial and kept 'patting' her hands dry on the towel my head was rested on. They didn't hide the fact they wanted to be somewhere else. After about 10 mins, we were informed they would leave us in the room to 'relax' and left the room with the heating on, although it felt colder once they left. On returning, we had our facials washed off with cold cotton pads. If she was going to attempt to remove the body wrap with the same, it would have been the last straw. Fortunately for them, they advised us to 'go and wash it all off in a nice hot shower'. The worst facial and body wrap I have ever come across. If this is because we came with a voucher, then I strongly suggest avoid purchasing vouchers. I tend to use them to be able to trial a new venue, to see if it's worth while. This venue was a clear fail.

Relaxation rooms and facilities: hot tub and steam room was great. Seating area was relaxing, up to date magazines available. Beverages were disappointing - a few bottles of luke warm water/sparkling water/juice. Dirty glasses only - with lip stick marks all over them. No hot drink facilities.

Overall would I recommend? Not at all.

I gave a low rating because I was disappointed with my HD Brows treatment - I've had HD Brows done numerous times elsewhere and I've always been really happy with the results. However, I felt like corners were being cut on my treatment here. It's supposed to be a seven-step procedure but my therapist skipped most of the steps entirely! I basically just had my eyebrows waxed, and she did not even apply any eyebrow make up at the end. If I want to just get an eyebrow wax, I'd pay a lot less and go elsewhere! So whilst the spa itself is quite pleasant, I felt like I was on a conveyor belt and wouldn't visit again.

Me and my mum went for a facial and massage, it was so good and relaxing. I would definitely recommend both, especially the facial. Also the staff were very friendly.

Amazing. I have never had such long lashes before apart from when wearing false ones. The procedure for the lash lift and myscara took about an hour and half and it was a bit uncomfortable at times. However, the therapist I had was great and reassured you me during the whole procedure (it was my first time). She was lovely and made sure to explain what was happening and that I was comfy. I hope it last a while and am looking to book another appointment.

I bought Wahanda's offer for a Lash Lift for my sister, as she has really straight lashes that refuse to lift - she's tried perming, curling, Myscara ... all sorts, with no success. This is the first treatment she's had that's actually lifted and curled her lashes, and results lasted a good few weeks.

Her therapist was great, explaining the procedure and always managing her expectations (the therapist had never seen such droopy lashes either!). A lot of people can get lifted lashes for a number of weeks from this treatment, so it really does work. My sister has had a second treatment since as she hopes her lashes will be 'trained' by having the list every so often, and it does seem to be working. Well worth the money as the treatment gave her a great result and her lashes looked fab.

This is my second lash lift, it lasted 6 weeks, good results overall, therapist was very attentive. Will go again only on Wahanda deal, but not worth full price. Good location.

Semi Permanent Mascara was supposed to last 4 weeks, but it starts to flake and fade after 2 weeks, not much left by end of week 3. Its good while it lasts, just lower expectation to 2.5 weeks.

The LVL lash lift is very much a results driven treatment. It's not relaxing or pampering but the results are great and last for up to ten weeks.

The therapists at Athenaeum are highly skilled and aftercare advice is really useful.

The only slight draw back is that the eye and lash treatments take place on a bed in the spa waiting room. The shields used during the treatment do make you keep your eyes shut so It's a bit unnerving when there are other people in the waiting room - you can feel a little self-conscious. Overall though, the results are more than worth a few minutes of discomfort.