The Retreat Spa, Reviewed

CROSBY isn’t a place you’d usually correlate with luxury. Stolen radios? Maybe. Teenage pregnancy? Perhaps. Anthony Gormley? If you’re lucky. However, Crosby’s Retreat spa is one of those places that demands to be associated with phrases such as ‘hidden gem’, ‘off the beaten track’ and ‘diamond in the rough’.

This truly is the perfect mother-daughter gift. No more Angel perfume, no more Thorntons chocolates.

Its unassuming exterior materialises into a crafty trick, for when entering the building, as though entering Mary Poppins’ carpet bag, it is not only unexpectedly lavish, but also three times the size it appeared from outside. You wonder how on earth they fitted everything in.

Established for over ten years now, The Retreat offers pamper days, evenings and of course, individual treatments. I pre-booked an all-out pamper day for my mother’s birthday, hoping to throw in some quality bonding time along the way, which has been sadly neglected due to a London-Liverpool divide. Serene, soothing and sumptuous, The Retreat did not let me down by any means and as we sat down for our welcome breakfast, I couldn’t help but bear a smug smile.

The Retreat Treatment Room

The reception room has a decorative fleur de lis wallpaper, with two chocolate brown sofas in the far corner, complete with gold tasseled cushions. These snuggly guard a table filled with toffee treats, which made waiting for treatments just as indulgent as the treatments themselves.

Huge gilt mirrors, aromatherapy candles, vases of roses, bowls of fresh fruit, glass chandeliers, even pebbles – you could almost be in a showroom. This truly is the perfect mother-daughter gift. No more Angel perfume, no more Thorntons chocolates, finally something I’ve tried to find every birthday, Christmas and Mother’s Day for pretty much my entire life.

To give you an idea of what your pamper day includes, here’s an overview:

- Arrive 9.30am
Continental Breakfast

- Sauna and steam rooms
Relax and unwind for as long as you like in our spa facilities

- Back, neck and shoulder massage to relieve all your aches and pains 20mins.

- Facial
Cleanse, tone, exfoliate, treatment masque, facial massage and moisturise, 35mins

- Three course lunch

- Manicure
File and contouring of cuticles, hand and arm massage and enamel of your choice, 25mins

- Pedicure
File and contouring of cuticles, hand and arm massage and enamel of your choice, 25mins

Overall, I was very impressed with the facilities and value for money. The sauna and steam room are a little on the small side, but there is only ever two people using them at a time. The manicure and pedicure were both highly professional, which is no surprise as The Retreat also runs training courses for aspiring beauticians. The massage and facial were also excellent and felt deeply relaxing and stress relieving.

The Retreat

I do have a few little criticisms, however. Firstly, there are no changing rooms in the building, and you have to change in the treatment room or when you come out of the shower, in front of people. Secondly, the massages and facials are conducted in a dual treatment room, yet rather than us both having our treatments at the same time, we waited, lying in the same position, for the other’s treatment to finish so ours could begin.

The Retreat did pull it back on their lunch options though. Our starter was a delicious vegetable soup with a fresh roll and for lunch, a choice between cheese, tuna or ham salad, each packed with ingredients that extended way beyond lettuce. Think spinach leaves, yellow pepper, red beetroot, cucumber, juicy tomato, coleslaw, cous cous and potato salad.

Dessert was a choice between a fruit bowl or toffee cheesecake. We both opted for the cheesecake, which was everything we had hoped for it to be. To drink, we had a large jug of homemade mixed fruit juice with plenty of ice and fresh fruit pieces, and tea, coffee or hot chocolate with marshmallows was constantly on offer throughout the day.

The Retreat Dining Area

I would definitely recommend a Retreat pamper day. I noticed several other mother-daughter guests who had the same idea as we did, and despite a few little niggles with the treatment, we really had a lovely experience and the rare chance to spend some much-needed quality time together.

Laughter and light-hearted conversation filled the air as friends and families talked over their pedicures or joked with a warm cup of hot chocolate in the reception area.

If it’s an individual treatment you’re looking for, The Retreat also offers a variety of facials for all skin types, using Skin Truth or MD Formulations. Other treatments include non-surgical anti-wrinkle treatments, semi-permanent make-up, reflexology, St Tropez tanning, waxing, brow and lash treatments, as well as the usual manis, pedis and nail extensions.

Be sure to take your swimsuit for the sauna and steam room and a pair of flip-flops for walking around the building. All towels and robes are supplied.

The Retreat
61 Coronation Road
Crosby
Liverpool L23 5RE

0151 931 1991

www.pamper-day.co.uk