buyagift Pamper Day for 2 at Bannatyne Spa Review

Reviewed by Louise Totton

I was lucky enough to be invited to go along to Bannatyne’s Spa on Chepstow Street in Manchester with my friend to review the facilities. The buyagift deal is for 2 people and  includes a facial, scalp massage and a choice of manicure or pedicure.

I travelled in on the train to Piccadilly, and my friend arrived via tram, also into Piccadilly. It was a short, simple walk from the station, and was just as simple to get to from the Oxford Road station in the city centre.

We were greeted by a very friendly receptionist who recorded our arrival and organised the spa bags that we decided to hire whilst we were there. It is always nice to be greeted by a friendly and cheerful face, and he really impressed us.

We were then shown down to the spa area, the gym, pool and Jacuzzi were pointed out to us before we arrived at the treatment area. This part of the building was really well presented, and the staff were lovely. They checked our details and talked through the treatment options with us – as we were each having a nail treatment, we were asked to choose a polish and were shown through to the treatment room.

We had an hour in total in the treatment room; the first half of this was spent having our nail treatments (I had a manicure, my friend a pedicure). The second half was spent having a lovely, relaxing facial and a head massage.

We were both asked about our skin types and aims from the facial, and given I have allergies, this was taken into account with the products used. The whole time in the treatment room was lovely and relaxing, and my skin felt lovely and soft afterwards.

We then returned to the changing area before spending a little while in the Jacuzzi and pool. The changing areas were clean, and there were ample lockers available. There were plenty of hair dryers and mirrors available for use. I did feel at this point that for the type of venue that Bannatyne’s is, I would have expected individual cubicles in the changing rooms rather than the open plan, communal space that we used.

The Jacuzzi and pool were lovely – the pool is compact and as someone who is used to swimming over a mile in a session, I found it a bit small. But in reality, it was more than acceptable for a dip after the gym, or a small swimming session.

Although we didn’t use the gym, it looked well-equipped and the machines looked modern.

We had a lovely day, it was a real treat. The staff at Bannatyne’s were all lovely. I do think it was a little overpriced for what it was – and I noticed as I was leaving the building, the nail polish on my manicure was already very chipped. I had to remove it once I got home as it needed to look nice for work the next day, which I thought was really disappointing.

I would give it a rating of 3/5 – I think would return if it were on a special offer, but did feel at the full price that it was a little overpriced for the facilities on offer and time spent in the treatment room.

Rating: 3/5

buyagift price: £109 (£54.50pp)

This pamper day package is for 2 people receiving 3 treatments each and is available at 33 Bannatyne’s Health Clubs across the UK. Along with the treatments you get get full access the club’s facilities: these include an indoor swimming pool, steam room and sauna, spa tub plus state-of-the-art air-conditioned gym. For more information or to buy your own pamper day package for you and a friend visit buyagift here.