A couple of weeks back I went to the Claretys Spa in the landmark Hilton Hotel in Manchester city centre. My Mum had gotten us both vouchers for an hour long treatment session at the Spa. This included 3 treatments of our choice, one lasting half an hour and the other two 15 minutes each.
We went through a couple of quick medical forms and then we got to pick our treatments. After this we were guided into a room with two massage tables to lie down on, which were comfortable. The staff seemed friendly and both masseuses offered us water and then left us to get undressed and ready for our treatments.
For my half an hour treatment I opted for the hot stone massage back massage and OH MY GOSH this was definitely the right choice, it was between that and a regular back massage and I'm so happy that I went with the hot stones. Something about them just takes a back massage to a whole new level. To me it almost felt like something liquid being run over my back rather than a stone, it was that smooth. If you've never had one and you feel like treating yourself to a nice pamper treatment this gets my seal of approval. I would say though one small niggle throughout these treatments the cd with their spa music on would occasionally skip which is slightly jarring when you feel yourself melting away into the table.
Following straight on from this I had an arm massage, my Mum opted for a head massage which she said was good but at times a little too rough for her but I guess the pressure is all down to preference as I know that I enjoy quite a firm massage. My arm massage was lovely, not quite on the same level as the superrrrr relaxing hot stone back massage but very pleasant all the while.
Then for my final treatment I opted for the pedicure because I'd never had one before. It's not exactly sandal season yet but I was just curious about getting one and I thought it would give me a little taster in case I wanted to get one again separately to the package. However, I wasn't too impressed with this part. I opted for a gel pedicure, again I've never tried gel polish so I was curious. The selection wasn't the best, the colour I chose was a beautiful shimmery mermaid dark green but I was slightly disappointment to not be given any non shimmer options. There were about 6 gel colours to choose from and all were shimmer. I also didn't expect to have the pedicure lying down on the masseuse chair, I found this kind of took away from the relaxation aspect as I had to bend my knees up for the lady to be able to do the pedicure which took away from the relaxation element. Due to it being done in the same room too with the same dim lighting the lady did a slightly messy job too, the polish on one of the nails had bubbled up and on another it hadn't been filed down properly. I guess both of these were due to poor lighting and probably time restraints. I'd be interested to know how long a stand alone pedicure would usually take at a salon. However, my Mum again enjoyed her 15 minute treatment of choice which was a facial that left her skin feeling super smooth and fresh looking.
The other 15 minute treatments available as far as I can remember were a manicure and a foot massage. I'm sure judging from the arm massage the foot massage would have been a lovely choice too.
Overall I enjoyed my treatments, I'd get the hot stone massage again and the arm massage was good. However, I wouldn't recommend the pedicure and although the gel has lasted pretty well for the last couple of weeks and it's a pretty colour, it wasn't quite as perfect with the application as I'd hoped. The staff and venue were both lovely, I'd just say if you're thinking about going to pick some treatments over others.
If I were to rate the experience I'd probably go with 7/10.
No comments:
Post a Comment