Our day at the spa & treatments were a complimentary in exchange for an honest review.
WELLNESS AT ALPAMARE SPA, SCARBOROUGH: A SPA DAY BY THE SEASIDE.
Who would have thought that hidden upstairs, inside one of Scarborough’s busiest, most family orientated venues, would lie a wellness spa like no other? After you had queued up with all the big kids, gotten your robes from the check in desk and headed down to the joint changing facilities and straight up the wheelchair accessible lift, that all the commotion of the water slides and wave pools would be calmly left behind. After taking a trip with Lucy, Here’s my review of the Wellness at Alpamare Spa, Scarborough: A spa day by the Seaside!
Photos by Lucy Earnshaw
Wearing Bikini Top Missguided on ASOS | High-Waisted Bikini Bottoms Missguided on ASOS
As previously mentioned the entrance to spa is joint with that of the water park so I have to say that on my first, initial impression, it can seem a little chaotic with the long queues and loud noise, especially as there isn’t a separate check-in desk for the spa. However, I guess the beauty of this is for the families who want to go to the pools with their kids but then “Mum & Dad” can go sneak off upstairs and relax whilst they play on the slides, as someone who doesn’t have children a separate area would have been quite nice though.
Secondly, the changing rooms are shared with those are also going in to the water park so again, it’s loud and there’s lots of children running around – that means there’s a lot of water on the floor, but luckily there is an attendant that goes around with a machine that sucks up the water.
I have to say that everywhere is spotlessly clean and the electric wristband acting as your digital locker key and money tab is quite the ingenious way to do things!
As we made our way through the water park area you can either take the stairs or the lift upstairs (there is great accessibility throughout the whole spa!) we immediately entered a more harmonious area which would see us instantly relax.
Our welcome was lovely, we signed in (and out if you are heading back to the pool) for fire safety reasons, and had a tour around what is quite an expansive spa! The spa itself was pretty quiet, after all the commotion downstairs, there was only one other person that was in! I assume with it being a midweek morning it won’t attract as many spa-goers so we literally had the run of the place to ourselves for the most part, which was absolutely lovely.
On our arrival we had a chat with the therapists who kindly moved our massages around so they could fit us in a little earlier, so we managed to bump them to midday. That way we weren’t waiting for ages for our treatments which was very kind of them to do. Had it have been busy we would have understood that we would have had to have kept them as they were.
Included in our complimentary visit were each a 25 minute neck, back and shoulders massage. You can find the treatment lists here. I don’t know why I wasn’t setting the bar so high, maybe because the place is just starting out or because a few weeks ago a trip to one of my local spa’s I received a really rubbish facial that I just didn’t want to get my hopes up this time. Of course we filled out the obligatory forms asking if we have any health issues (I now proudly tick asthma!) and away I went in to the therapy rooms.
I needn’t have worried because my massage turned me in to a brand new woman!
Wellness at Alpamare use Elemis products for the massages, facials and more so you can be safe in the knowledge they use a well-known brand for their lotions and potions. I decided to go for a medium pressure massage as I usually ask for it to be quite gentle but I know I’ve been rather anxious and stressed this last week or so (namely down to the fact I’ve not been able to get to the gym this week due to an injured toe and it really is my stress relief.) so my body is very tense at the moment.
So, with that, the pressure was applied and boy am I glad I opted for it. The knots in my shoulders were suitably popped out, my spine felt so much more lose and I quite simply entered the perfect zen space.
I always mention to my masseuser that I’m quite touch sensitive, and at first my instant reaction was to tense up everytime that she touched my back. I soon explained it usually happens when both hands are off my body and go back on again, after that she made a concious effort to keep at least one hand on me to minimise my back from spasming out from the tensing.
It was the first massage I have ever thought to myself “surely my 25 minutes are up?” because usually they can be so quick and feel very “in and out” – I’m not sure if a few extras minutes were included with it being quite quiet, that or I had that many knots needing to be seen to that it took a lot longer! But I was not complaining at all.
As I left the room, I felt like I floated back down to the relaxation room to join Lucy before she went in for her massage… it was bliss.
Having been to another Yorkshire spa that has a ridiculous amount of facilities on site, I didn’t think I would find somewhere that would match it or at least come close and I have to say that the Wellness at Alpamare, Scarborough certainly gives it a bloody good go!
Boasting an impressive sea view sauna, this is home to the Aufguss Ceremonies that take place about 4 times a day. I’ve never experienced one before so I really didn’t know what to expect. Aufguss is a German word that translates to “infusion” – it is a wellness and purification ceremony performed in the sauna, by the “Aufgussmeister”. The ceremony itself involves pouring water over balls of ice that have been mixed with essential oils onto the hot stones of the sauna stove, then the Aufgussmeister starts to use a towel to move the scents and the heat around the sauna to create an intense and enjoyable multi-sensory experience.It gets extremely hot, so if you can’t hack the heat you are allowed to leave but you cannot re-enter. It lasts around 10-12 minutes and they recommend that once yit has finished that you head to the cold showers and have a glass of water.
Back indoors you will find the clay sauna which is set at 75 degrees Fahrenheit, so this one is a bit more bearable than the panoramic sauna. You’ll also find the experience showers and the hay bath room (which was definitely my favourite room!) – The hay bath room is filled with sterilized hay which means if you suffer with hayfever and allergies you can still enjoy this room (FYI for all my my fellow hayfever sufferers!) Sit back in one of the swing beds and slowly sway backwards and forwards in the dimly lit room – you’ll find it hard not to slowly drift off to sleep!
Head to Hammam area to find the herbal steam bath room, the soap steam bath room, the Rhassoul bath and centre-stage you’ll also find the warm centre stone to lie on. The temperature is so pleasant that again, you could like back on here and fall asleep pretty quickly if you allowed yourself to.
I was so suprised at the amount of facilities here that you can definitley stay for a good 6 hours (which is what is included in the entrance fee.) My only critism is that there isn’t a jacuzzi – and the outdoor terrace could really benefit from having one. However, as it was pointed out you can go downstairs to the heated, outdoor pool that has jacuzzi jets in it, but this isn’t seperate from the water park so children can also go in it too. Obviously as we visited in the summer holidays it was pretty busy, but Lucy took a little dip in it and said it was lovely!
You can also order from a spa menu where you can chill out and eat food in the relaxation room, settle back with a glass of fizz as well for the ultimate spa experience.
And if the spa wasn’t enough, the location is set right on the North Bay, my favourite beach in Scarborough. Afterwards you can head down to the beach for an ice cream which rounds off a perfect spa day by the seaside!
If I was going to rate this place, it would be a solid 8 out of 10, The pros are the location, the cleanliness and the standard of treatments a huge bonus among other things. The cons are that if it had had an outdoor Jacuzzi it would have taken it up a notch and during school holidays there will be a lot of children in the water park area.
I wouldn’t hesitate recommending Wellness at Alpamare, Scarborough though for a slightly unconventional spa day!
Bee
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