Spa — Local services in London

While my fiancée and I had a magical and delightful stay at the Sofitel - St. James proper, the spa was very much a let down: especially considering the prices we paid.

My fiancée received a sixty minute deep massage treatment and seemed to like it a lot for the most part: at first. She had never received a massage before so that was definitely part of the equation. But what they did not do was focus on her areas of concern that she had listed on her form. Her feet, especially, had been killing her after days of walking around London and very little time was spent on there. She was told it would be done more during the pedicure the day after, but it was not and she (and hence I) were left disappointed. Sure she received some tea after the pedicure, but was left wondering why the girls on the other end of the table got pastries and triangular cakes while she simply got tea. I surmised the sixty and ninety minute sessions were treated very differently, but it was the first time we felt a class distinction between us and some of the other guests.

My sixty minute massage was scheduled during her pedicure. I have received massages before. My brother is an LMT in the States with his own business and he is very good. For well north of £100 the massage I received was piddling in comparison. My focus areas included the glutes and foot and she barely managed to touch the tension and sought little to no feedback from me during the process. Seemed she had a routine to follow and a timeframe to do it in and the form I filled in was more to placate my own expectations than to help me. She did do a fairly good job on my neck and hand but when she worked my upper arms she actually hurt me a bit by overstretching some of the fascia there. It was fine the next day but my arms were sore for the rest of the evening.

My fiancée and I both left feeling let down for over £400 worth of treatments and proceeded to have our first argument in London later that night, so the massages and pedicure definitely did not relax us. Extremely disappointed but I don’t know the standards of massage treatments abroad so perhaps my expectations were way too high: still, this was a five star hotel and the only reason we didn’t get massages at the Corinthia was their inability to call me back.

Despite the negative experiences we had at the spa, the rest of the Sofitel - St. James was absolutely incredible and I would...

Very pleasant to look at, and easy to park for a disabled person. Lovely receptionist and tea. However, we booked a spa day and were really looking forward to the jacuzzi. They didn't tell us it wasn't working until we arrived, which was very disappointing.

We are not unfamiliar with spa services and the steam room was UNBEARABLY hot! We kept having to open the door, and eventually the door to the hallway. It was so hot, it set off a sensor alarm. I had to go and ask reception if it could be turned down a tad. I was told they had no control over it and couldn't adjust it!! Never known that in a spa setting.

However.... The massage was AMAZING!! One of the best I've had. The masseuse was so petite, I thought she wouldn't have the strength for the pressure I needed. I was wrong!! I think her name could have been Jessica??? Whoever she was, she was the best thing that happened on the day, but still not enough to make me come back.

In summary, I can get better elsewhere and would not return as this spa is not accommodating to individual needs and should have notified us beforehand that it wasn't fully operational, so we could decide if we still...

It was my first time visiting the spa. My wife took us there as she is a regular customer and really likes it there. We booked a couples massage with jacuzzi and steam room services. Overall, I'd give it a 6 out of 10. I'll put it down to it being at the start of the year and they hadn't got in the groove yet. The setup for the couples massage was ok, not the best I've seen. We were welcomed into the massage room ahead of being shown to the changing room which was strange. We enjoyed our massages though. After the massage, the masseuse directed us to the relaxation room, but we still had our clothes in hand which wasn't convenient. We were able to negotiate to go to the changing room to drop our things off as we wouldn't be able to relax if we are carrying our things around with us thoughout the spa. After the massage, we went into the jacuzzi, which again was ok, but not great. The water was warmish to cold, but we made the best of...