Salon Ten Spa Day in Shropshire

So.....I was bitten by the Groupon bug back in September, I was more than a little excited when I searched for a Spa Day near Birmingham, only to find a quirky little place tucked away in the Shropshire countryside, Salon Ten in Much Wenlock were offering one of their full day spa packages (usually £110) for £35! Yeah - I know...  £35 quid!!! I had to read it twice too!

Needless to say the plastic was out before I even read the fine print (well, that's not strictly true, I read it thoroughly, this was the first time that I was using Groupon so I was a little apprehensive)

However everything was in order.  Shortly after making the purchase I received my coupon with details of how to book.

Obviously there were certain restrictions… you couldn’t book the spa day on a Saturday, over Christmas etc, but that was totally understandable considering the outstanding bargain.

Booking Process

I called Salon Ten the very next day after I made the purchase via Groupon.

I was hoping to have some pre Christmas pampering, I was very flexible with the dates I had available but I was told there were no appointments until January 2012! 4 months away was a little unreasonable but they explained that they had received a phenomenal response so again, kind of understandable.

I made the booking for February 2012.

What was included

Salon Ten Face and Body 'Wake Up' Full Spa Day

£110

Morning Refreshments

Use of the Spa Facilities

Light Lunch

Wake Up Exfoliation (A marine salts exfoliation with citrus and essential oils that leaves you feeling invigorated)

A seasonal Facial using the fabulous Sothys of Paris latest seasons treatment to match the mood of the season

Luxury Jessica Manicure to complete the whole effect using the latest technology (can be exchanged for a luxury pedicure)

End your day with afternoon tea and biscuits.

On The Day

We arrived at the Salon, after a beautiful drive through the Shropshire countryside we arrived in the little village of Much Wenlock.  I was a little surprised that I found a little quaint hair salon I couldn't see the 'spa - iness' (what was I expecting for £35, yes I know, that's what I told myself) so I stepped inside with an open mind and couldn't wait to relax.

We entered the front door which led us stright into the hair salon,  which looked great.

We were greeted by a friendly receptionist who took us to the second floor. 
No morning refreshments, no tour of the facilities etc....
We were then given baskets with Robes, Slippers and a towel, we were shown into a treatment room (together), told to take our clothes off and put our robes on.  First shock!...good thing we knew one anothe,  we had to get undressed in a cold and uninviting treatment room.  "oh well" we thought and just laughed about it and put it all down to the girly experience.  Hardly professional though.  I've been to enough spa's to know it's all about putting your clients at ease and this certainly wasn't the best start.

I was expecting crisp white robes and fluffy slippers, instead I had to climb into a grubby brown robe and slip my feet into fake tan stained, paper like slipper thingys. I think this was the point where I started to think ok, I get this was on the cheap, but come on - dirty slippers?....Hardly the luxury and I was expecting.

We sat in the room fiddling our thumbs waiting for someone to come and collect us, it didn't happen, so we peeked our heads out of the door to find the therapist waiting for us.  I was more than uncomfortable having to go out into a busy waiting area in a dressing gown and dirty slippers.

The Treatments

My friend was taken to a separate room and I was left in the changing room/treatment room.  The therapist told me to climb onto the bed make myself comfortable etc etc.  There was a vague attemp to make the room 'spa like' and slightly relaxing, with the red voile drapes and crazy whale noise music.  But the room felt (and was) cold and uninviting, there was a grubby, old fashioned looking shower in the corner of the room which I guess was practical buy hardly luxurious.

I had a hydrating facial which I must say was lovely, very moisturising and left my skin feeling beautiful, the therapist was very friendly and professional but to be honest I couldn't relax because it was SO cold in the room.

The Facilities

We were then escorted to the 'Relaxation Area'

It was basically a loft conversion with a few wicker loungers, grubby blankets and old copies of Cosmo!

Not quite the haven we were expecting.  Nevertheless we decided to take it for what it was, put our feet up and enjoy.

I've got to say I was pretty gobsmacked when we were shown the kitchenette in the relaxation area, we were told where the tea bags were andthat the milk was in the fridge!!! Now I am no snob, but I've go to say this was the first time I've been to a spa and I've had to make my own brew - original, I'll give them that.

We thought we would take advantage of the spa facilities. Swimming pool? Jacuzzi?... No. 

Ok, again what did we expect?  But, there was a sauna. We were shown to the sauna which was located in what I can only describe as the back yard! We had to walk outside to get to it.

We were then taken for our Luxury Jessica Manicure an hour or so later ( I had called the day before to swap my manicure for the pedicure, it said on the coupon that I could do this but I was told by the receptionist I could only have the mini pedicure - again no best pleased but I got over it )

Our manicure and pedicure was nice enough, until all my nails had smudged and full of air bubbles. My friends manicure was the same.

It was approx 2pm and we still hasn't been given our light lunch (which turned out to be two triangle sandwiches each on a bed of soggy iceberg and a packet of walkers ready salted crips to share) must admit my patience was wearing pretty thin at this time and it has occured to me if I'd have paid £110 I would have been complaining right about now!

We still has the exfoliating scrub to go but our experience was that unconfortable and quite franly - rubbish, we decided to leave three hours early and skip the main treatment.

Bad Points

The overall feel of the two floors of treatment rooms and spa were grubby, not very well maintained and certainly not at all relaxing.  All you could hear was the constant hum of hair dryers and chatting from the hair salon below.

 Good Points

The staff were friendly

The Sothy products (which were availble to try) seemed fab and I will be investing in some, had my experience been a more enjoyable one I would have most certainly returned to the salon for a treatment.

Good website and extensive treatment list, infact their brochure was impresive and I guess what with this and their excellent website was partly why I had such high expecations of this place.

Overall

To be fair the salon were bombarded with 'Grouponers' since the offer, not surprisingly really - over 800 according to one of the therapists.  I assume they were not expecting the kind of response they received. However it was my impression that companies such as Salon Ten do these special offers to attract new clients in the hope of repeat business. I certainly would have returned had I had a more enjoyable experience.  I can't help but think that Salon Ten gave the same treatment to all the 'Grouponers' because we'd got a cheapy!

I would love to go back and experience the Spa Day again, booked at the full price to see if the service differed, however the facilities alone do not come close to that of some high end spas where you can pay around £150 for a real spa and luxury (or even just someone to make you a brew!)

I wouldn't return to this spa, it was far from the relaxing day I thought...the facial I suppose was worth £35 pounds, you I guess you can’t really complain.

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