I'm never one to refuse an invitation to Afternoon Tea, the quintessentially British tradition involving the eating of sandwiches, scones, cakes and of course, drinking lashings of tea. Combine a delicious afternoon tea with friends, a few beauty treatments and relaxation in sumptuous surroundings and the word heaven comes to mind.
Verbena Spa at the Feversham Arms Hotel
Helmsley, YO62 5AG
T: 01439 772930 - F: 01439 770346
Verbena Spa at the Feversham Arms Hotel
Helmsley, YO62 5AG
T: 01439 772930 - F: 01439 770346
A Day at the Spa
Bathrobes and slippers are provided but not swimwear. The changing rooms are small for the size of spa and could be congested at busy times but otherwise have plenty of toiletries, cotton wools, buds, hairdryers and drench showers.
Allow plenty of time for the lavish heat experience that includes an aromatherapy room, saunarium, salt vapour room which can easily eat up a few hours of relaxation time and that's before you step outside. The spa garden houses an outdoor heated pool - which from experience I can tell you is possible to use on even the coldest snow-bound day - and a hot tub, that's another hour gone.
Visiting with girlfriends demands lots of time to chill out and for this Verbena Spa have created the ultimate girl-friendly space (of course, men are also welcome) a large room chock full of squishy, squashy sofas, a host of reading matter should words run out (hardly), a bar and a small and discreet beauty products shop.
An then there's the beauty treatments. Elemis and Anne Sémonin are the products of choice and from top-to-toe there's not a bit that can't be buffed, rubbed, scrubbed or polished.
Allow plenty of time for the lavish heat experience that includes an aromatherapy room, saunarium, salt vapour room which can easily eat up a few hours of relaxation time and that's before you step outside. The spa garden houses an outdoor heated pool - which from experience I can tell you is possible to use on even the coldest snow-bound day - and a hot tub, that's another hour gone.
Visiting with girlfriends demands lots of time to chill out and for this Verbena Spa have created the ultimate girl-friendly space (of course, men are also welcome) a large room chock full of squishy, squashy sofas, a host of reading matter should words run out (hardly), a bar and a small and discreet beauty products shop.
An then there's the beauty treatments. Elemis and Anne Sémonin are the products of choice and from top-to-toe there's not a bit that can't be buffed, rubbed, scrubbed or polished.
Food at the Spa
Afternoon Tea isn't the only food on offer at Verbena Spa, there are drinks and patisserie served all day and a range of savoury dishes at lunchtime. Water , iced teas, smoothies and juices are also available from the bar in the relaxation area.
My Experience
Inclement weather meant my spa day started a little later than originally planned and had I known what treats were in store, I would have come earlier, perhaps even the night before. There are a few formalities - questionnaires, medical stuff and a guided tour - on arrival which I didn't know about and also frustratingly bit into the day. Had I taken the time to read the small print of the spa I would have known about this in advance. Lesson learned.
The staff are attentive and it seems that nothing is too much trouble for them. The day of my visit was the coldest of the winter and nine inches of snow covered the outside garden and deck yet a request to remove the pool and hot tub covers met no resistance whatsoever - I suspect that it was amusing to the staff that anyone would be daft enough to jump in the pool, which we did and thoroughly enjoyed it. Getting out of a heated pool on such a cold day is challenging but again the staff to the rescue with hot coffees all round.
The bad weather meant the spa was quiet and that we had the Heat Experience to ourselves. I came in with the remnants of a heavy cold and two sessions in the salt vapour room and I left a new woman. Amazing.
The treatment rooms are to the same exacting standards all-round attention as the rest of the spa. I was offered verbena tea to sip whilst my beautician combined phials of aromatic complexes and serums for my prescription Anne Semonin facial. I can tell you little else after I lay down except I awoke to a decidedly sparkling, plumped up skin and prayed I hadn't been snoring too loudly.
The staff are attentive and it seems that nothing is too much trouble for them. The day of my visit was the coldest of the winter and nine inches of snow covered the outside garden and deck yet a request to remove the pool and hot tub covers met no resistance whatsoever - I suspect that it was amusing to the staff that anyone would be daft enough to jump in the pool, which we did and thoroughly enjoyed it. Getting out of a heated pool on such a cold day is challenging but again the staff to the rescue with hot coffees all round.
The bad weather meant the spa was quiet and that we had the Heat Experience to ourselves. I came in with the remnants of a heavy cold and two sessions in the salt vapour room and I left a new woman. Amazing.
The treatment rooms are to the same exacting standards all-round attention as the rest of the spa. I was offered verbena tea to sip whilst my beautician combined phials of aromatic complexes and serums for my prescription Anne Semonin facial. I can tell you little else after I lay down except I awoke to a decidedly sparkling, plumped up skin and prayed I hadn't been snoring too loudly.
The Afternoon Tea
Photo © Feversham Arms
After all the pampering, there was the highlight of the day still to come, the afternoon tea. We were offered tea on the hotel or in the spa but the chance to sink in to the squashy sofa, dressed only in bathrobes and all scrubbed, polished and glowing was irresistible.
Tiny smoked salmon, egg and ham sandwiches, denude of crust made up the top layer of Afternoon tea. Light airy scones with fruity jam and clotted cream and assortment of delicious home-made cakes and tarts were received with relish and disappeared embarrassingly quickly. Two teapots of tea later and we knew we were coming perilously close to ending the day and neither of us was in any rush to move, and the staff seemed equally at ease with us being there.
We'll be back though.
Tiny smoked salmon, egg and ham sandwiches, denude of crust made up the top layer of Afternoon tea. Light airy scones with fruity jam and clotted cream and assortment of delicious home-made cakes and tarts were received with relish and disappeared embarrassingly quickly. Two teapots of tea later and we knew we were coming perilously close to ending the day and neither of us was in any rush to move, and the staff seemed equally at ease with us being there.
We'll be back though.
As is common in the travel industry, the writer was provided with complimentary services for review purposes. While it has not influenced this review, About.com believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest. For more information, see our Ethics Policy.
