Expert review of Clarice House Day Spa at Colchester

The weather may have tried to dampen my spirits when I went to visit the lovely Clarice House in Colchester, but all it succeeded in doing was stopping me from exploring the beautiful grounds. The rest of my Deluxe Pamper Day made up for it though.

Clarice House is a group of three spas in East Anglia, in Colchester, Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich.  The Colchester spa and Ipswich spas are just for spa days but Burt St Edmunds is a residential spa.

My first impressions of Clarice House were that everyone had arrived at once and it was very busy! The staff have obviously got used to the morning rush now, and have solved the problem admirably by ushering guests into the restaurant on arrival to fill in all the paperwork and choose their lunch.

Once that's done, if you're a newbie, you get a tour of the spa before being left to...well...do your spa thing. The first thing I did was head straight for the gorgeous pool for a few lengths, before hitting the hydrotherapy pool for a good pounding from the water jets. The hydrotherapy pool as gorgeously warm and ultra-relaxing and I could have happily stayed there all morning.

Thermal Suite

The thermal suite at Clarice House consists of a sauna, a steam room and an aromatherapy room. I sampled the aromatherapy room, supremely relaxing with pretty twinkling lights and a gorgeous, not-too-intense scent. The heat is gentler than in a sauna or steam room, so it's perfect if you find their heat too overwhelming.  

Massage and Facial

The Deluxe Pamper Day includes four treatments, and I was booked in for a Germaine de Cappuccini mini-facial and a full body massage before lunch. This, I have to say, was nothing short of heavenly. All of my treatments were carried out expertly by Beauty Manager Vicki, and the hour and a half facial and massage were sublime. I felt as if I'd been there for hours as Vicki worked on my aching muscles, and I drifted off into a kind of hallway house between being awake and asleep until she whispered that it was time to turn over.

The massage seemed to morph seamlessly into the facial, and with a double cleanse, tone, exfoliation and moisturise - plus a face, neck and scalp massage, all with the absolutely lovely Germaine de Cappuccini beauty range, I was in sensory heaven. To add to the experience, by coincidence, my favourite piece of classical music was playing as I was having the facial - one of the Chopin Nocturnes that always gives me the shivers.  Could a spa treatment get more perfect? I think not.

The treatment list at Clarice House is top-notch. As well as Germaine de Cappuccini you can opt for beauty treatments using Espa, St Tropez tanning and OPI Nails.

The Food

I went straight to lunch after my treatments, in a blissed-out state, and again, everything was super-efficient. The advantages of choosing lunch at 9am were obvious when I arrived hungry at 1.30, and my duck, plum and orange salad was presented almost immediately. It was delicious, as was my main course, the totally decadent beer-battered cod with chips and minted mushy peas.  I couldn't possibly squeeze in a dessert. The menu at Clarice House is in no way restrictive - it features delicious salads and soups, sandwiches, as well as steak, pork belly and fish and chips. There's a bar where you can order anything from saintly herbal teas to a fine whiskey, and if you don't feel like carrying cash around all day you can set up a tab before you start and settle up when you leave.

The Rest of the Spa

The lounge and bar areas are relaxing and comfortable, and I was fascinated by the artwork that complemented the décor - the pictures looked like pages from old Vogue magazines, very classy.

The terrace area is lovely for relaxing with a coffee, pastry or whatever takes your fancy. Saying that, as soon as I went outside it started to rain so I didn't get the full effect, but that's the Great British Summer for you!

I would have liked to have had a nosey around the gym, but it's not open to non-members. The classes all looked fun, I noticed a spinning class and what looked like a Zumba class going on too. I chatted with one lady who had a membership and liked to relax in the spa after work, either chilling in the lounge, swimming in the pools or working out in the gym. She said that her daughter had treated her to a spa day for a birthday present but one visit wasn't enough and she was hooked.

The second part of my treatment was a manicure and pedicure, again with Vicki. You can tell she really loves her job, and she also has the balance just right, keeping quiet during the massage and then switching to friendly, chatty mode during the manicure. We swapped spa notes, discussed our favourite treatments and OPI nail colours, talked gel nails and Gelish nails, and I left with hands and feet looking pretty perfection.

My spa day at Clarice House went too fast - and I'd thoroughly recommend a pamper day there.

To book Clarice House Day Spa at Colchester call 0845 555 8 555 or buy online. Buy monetary spa vouchers for this spa.

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