Dont want to offend

[BABSann]

Hi,I am in a bit of a dilemma and need advice please.

The thing is my mum has decided she wants to treat me and has booked us a weekend in Champneys.Now I am pleased that she wants to treat me but.....

TBH I can think of far better places for her to spend her hard earned cash.I have loads of clients that have nothing but negative remarks made about Champneys.I.e rushed treatments by inexperienced therapists,cost cutting,and generally rubbish treatments.

I know not all the therapists are the same,and I am not trying to be nasty if any of you work in Champneys,but this is the general feeling I have from clients and friends I know who have been there.

I went to college while doing my level 3 with a lady who worked there and she was so fed up with working there because of the way they cut all their treatment times down and the fact that they were thrown in at the deep end that she made the decision to stop beauty therapy altogether.She said if she ever did another facial again she would scream.She left level 3 half way through the course.

Anyway,I dont know how to break the news that there are much better places to go,should I just swallow hard and try to enjoy????I dont mean to sound ungrateful it's just when you are in the know it's a bit difficult to put up and shut up.

 

[bombini]

Ive not been myself but I know people that have & they weren't that impressed !

The problems they seemed to have is that its VERY expensive but the quality of treatments weren't (in there opinion) at the standard they should be for such an expensive treatment.

It seems that you are paying for the 'Champneys' name if i was in your position i would suggest a local hotel/day spa or Center Parcs Aqua Sana, ive heard they are brilliant & i believe they have won a few awards.

One of the things i don't understand about spas is that they employ lots of students (not a bad thing, ive been there) but charge top notch prices & pay minimum wage.

 

[Good Skin Day]

Hi,I am in a bit of a dilemma and need advice please.

The thing is my mum has decided she wants to treat me and has booked us a weekend in Champneys.Now I am pleased that she wants to treat me but.....

TBH I can think of far better places for her to spend her hard earned cash.I have loads of clients that have nothing but negative remarks made about Champneys.I.e rushed treatments by inexperienced therapists,cost cutting,and generally rubbish treatments.

I know not all the therapists are the same,and I am not trying to be nasty if any of you work in Champneys,but this is the general feeling I have from clients and friends I know who have been there.

I went to college while doing my level 3 with a lady who worked there and she was so fed up with working there because of the way they cut all their treatment times down and the fact that they were thrown in at the deep end that she made the decision to stop beauty therapy altogether.She said if she ever did another facial again she would scream.She left level 3 half way through the course.

Anyway,I dont know how to break the news that there are much better places to go,should I just swallow hard and try to enjoy????I dont mean to sound ungrateful it's just when you are in the know it's a bit difficult to put up and shut up.

Aw hun, it's sweet of you to not want to offend your mum :hug:

I would say as she has already booked it, it looks like you are going to have to put up and shut up! Even if they are a bit below standard (well a bit below our standards!), I can think of worse things to do than be pampered for the weekend. Even if the treatments are below par and you fancy saying to the therapist halfway through "Look, you lie on the couch and I'll show you how to do it", most Champneys resorts are in beautiful surroundings, so you can go for a nice relaxing walk after to chill out :green:

If your mum had just said she was thinking about booking a spa weekend for a treat for you and her, then obviously you could have pointed her in the right direction and gone to a good independent spa, or whatever comes highly recommended in your area. But seeing as she's already booked, I would just smile and go along with it.

Do you know which Champneys she's booked?

 

[BABSann]

Yes thats exactly what I have been told,rushed treatments at an extortionate price.Nothing to write home about either.

I just dont want my mum wasting her money,its a lovely idea of hers but she could spend a lot less for much better from what I have heard.

Think I will have to do as you suggested Amy,may even take you up on idea and show her how its done,lol.

Not sure which one she's booked,was totally gobsmacked when she announced it.

 

[Good Skin Day]

Yes thats exactly what I have been told,rushed treatments at an extortionate price.Nothing to write home about either.

I just dont want my mum wasting her money,its a lovely idea of hers but she could spend a lot less for much better from what I have heard.

Think I will have to do as you suggested Amy,may even take you up on idea and show her how its done,lol. I think you should Babs, I've told you before....I wouldn't mess with someone who could fix a car with boobs like yours :green:

Not sure which one she's booked,was totally gobsmacked when she announced it.

If she can get a full refund, I would say come clean and tell her what you think of Champneys.

The reason I opted for answer b) 'put up and shut up' was because more often than not, once you've booked with these kinda places it can be hard to cancel without losing a bit of money.

However, if you do your homework and see if you can cancel without your mum losing anything (obviously do your homework on the sly!), then I would say explain to your mum how you've explained to us....you don't want her wasting her money when you could get better treatments for (probably) less elsewhere :hug:

 

[girlie]

Ifshe booked it from home,legally i beleive she can cancel by using the "14 day cool down period" which covers anything brought from home.HTH xx

 

[littlepinkfairy]

i used to work in a spa, not champneys, and they also employed newly qualified therapists and charge high prices, but i want to stress that not every single therapist is newly qualified and inexperianced, also that some of the young girls i worked with were actually better than a few of the more experianced therapists when it came to client care and treatment times.

All i'm saying is if you do end up going, you could be pleasantly suprised!

 

[blossom]

I think it's lovely of your Mum to want to treat you and to go to the lengths of finding out about Champneys (which she probably thought was a top notch place to go - as I did before reading this thread! :lol: ).and actually booking it to surprise you! Her heart was in it wasn't it? I imagine she thought you would be over the moon and couldn't wait to tell you!

But you never know, you may be pleasantly surprised, and in any case the surroundings will be beautiful and you will be looked after, so I think I would be inclined to just go and make the best of it, speak as you find, and let us all know if it was as bad as all that!

 

[LisaD_uk]

I have not been to Champneys but have been plenty of times to a day spa in my local area, I really do love the atmosphere of this place and always have a relaxing day with lovely food BUT the treatments although nice are rushed. On one occasion i was on the bed for 22mins for a facial. I refuse to book treatments now and just have the basic day. Hopefully the place you are going will have lovely food and good atmosphere too. I don't think its the therapists that do a bad job just the pressure to hit targets in these big places, you know one in one door while someones going out another.
Hope you have a good time though.
Lisa
xxxx

 

[littlepinkfairy]

I have not been to Champneys but have been plenty of times to a day spa in my local area, I really do love the atmosphere of this place and always have a relaxing day with lovely food BUT the treatments although nice are rushed. On one occasion i was on the bed for 22mins for a facial. I refuse to book treatments now and just have the basic day. Hopefully the place you are going will have lovely food and good atmosphere too. I don't think its the therapists that do a bad job just the pressure to hit targets in these big places, you know one in one door while someones going out another.
Hope you have a good time though.
Lisa
xxxx

you're not wrong there!! The spa i worked at was like a convayerbelt (sorry not sure how to spell it!:o ) of clients!! The cheapest and most popular facial was 20 mins long, same for back massage and you would often have up to 10 of these booked in a row, not easy. I have to say that i wouldn't work in a spa again!!

 

[BABSann]

I have not been to Champneys but have been plenty of times to a day spa in my local area, I really do love the atmosphere of this place and always have a relaxing day with lovely food BUT the treatments although nice are rushed. On one occasion i was on the bed for 22mins for a facial. I refuse to book treatments now and just have the basic day. Hopefully the place you are going will have lovely food and good atmosphere too. I don't think its the therapists that do a bad job just the pressure to hit targets in these big places, you know one in one door while someones going out another.
Hope you have a good time though.
Lisa
xxxx

This is the sort of thing I have heard about Champneys and it will really bug me if it happens, given the fact my mum has used her money to spoil us.

I know that it will probably be in beautiful surroundings and we will probably feel as though we are being really spoilt but I am worried after what I have been told,i.e get em in and out as quick as possible,shortened treatments and made to feel like a number not a person.

Havn't been told this by just by one or two people but quite a lot,and an actual therapist,as I mentioned earlier who worked in the one I think we are going to(which is the most local one to us)

I am grateful,and dont want to appear otherwise it's just as I have said.I think I will keep quiet and hope for the best.

I may be pleasantly surprised,and nothing would make me happier,but I wish to goodness that my mum had mentioned things to me before booking so I could've gone through the options.

Anyway,it's done now,lets hope I dont get shortened treatments at double the usual price.

Thanks everyone for your advice,and cheers Amy,lol.xx

 

[Vetty]

Hi Babs,

I've been to Chamneys (Forest Mere and Springs) and although I'm not a Beauty Therapist, so don't know what I'm talking about when it comes to the nitty gritty of treatments, but I had a lovely time. The settings are beautiful, my room was lovely, the food was delicious.

I enjoyed my treatments - I had a massage and a facial that was included in the price of my weekend. The faiclities are nice, I did Yoga before breakfast and a relaxation class in the afternoon..... The pool is nice too.

Without wishing to sound negative, I notice most of the comments on this thread are from people who 'never been there but have heard'...... How would we like it if people ran our business down without a personal experience?

I went to Champneys in 2002 and 2004, so haven't been for a while but when I was there I had a lovely relaxing time in a gorgeous place.

hth's

 

[Nail creations]

You can always say in conversation that you are a therapist yourself.
They wouldnt dare cut corners they would be doing everything by the book.

 

[Kim Lawless]

If she's already booked then smile and enjoy it. If she hasn't, just tell her in a chatty way what you've heard about the place and guide her into suggesting another place to go. Whatever.............enjoy. xxxx

 

[BABSann]

Hi Babs,

I've been to Chamneys (Forest Mere and Springs) and although I'm not a Beauty Therapist, so don't know what I'm talking about when it comes to the nitty gritty of treatments, but I had a lovely time. The settings are beautiful, my room was lovely, the food was delicious.

I enjoyed my treatments - I had a massage and a facial that was included in the price of my weekend. The faiclities are nice, I did Yoga before breakfast and a relaxation class in the afternoon..... The pool is nice too.

Without wishing to sound negative, I notice most of the comments on this thread are from people who 'never been there but have heard'...... How would we like it if people ran our business down without a personal experience?

I went to Champneys in 2002 and 2004, so haven't been for a while but when I was there I had a lovely relaxing time in a gorgeous place.

hth's

Unfortunately Yvette,that is exactly how word gets round,i.e from other people having bad experiences and passing on the info.

It might not be nice but who's fault is that????

The fact is people spend a lot of money on going there and I for one would not like not to be told as I am sure many others would feel the same

It is Forest mere that my mum has booked and this is the place that the therapist I did my level 3 with complained about and where my clients and friends had had bad experiences.

However,given that it has already been booked and I am not ungrateful I will not say anything as I dont want to hurt my mum's feelings,you never know I might be pleasantly surprised.I will let everyone know either way,here's hoping

Thanks for the feed back though Vetty.xx

 

[blossom]

Just dragging this one back up - did you go Babsann? How was it? Something reminded me of you and this place and I wondered how you'd got on!

(Sorry to be nosey :smack: )

 

[BABSann]

Just dragging this one back up - did you go Babsann? How was it? Something reminded me of you and this place and I wondered how you'd got on!

(Sorry to be nosey :smack: )

Yes we did go, thankyou for asking.

In all honesty it was set in beautiful grounds and I did have a lovely relaxing weekend but the treatments were very short.We did feel a little bit like we were just a couple of numbers but it was a treat from my mum and I didn't want to moan to my mum.

The therapists were lovely but everything was shortened down in timings to what I do and how we were all taught.But it was enjoyable.:lol:

 

[littlepinkfairy]

Yes we did go, thankyou for asking.

In all honesty it was set in beautiful grounds and I did have a lovely relaxing weekend but the treatments were very short.We did feel a little bit like we were just a couple of numbers but it was a treat from my mum and I didn't want to moan to my mum.

The therapists were lovely but everything was shortened down in timings to what I do and how we were all taught.But it was enjoyable.:lol:

I know what you mean, the spa I used to work in had 20 minute back massages and a 20 minute facial aswell, it's so they can fit in more people making more £££. Makes you sick doesn't it?!!

 

[BABSann]

I know what you mean, the spa I used to work in had 20 minute back massages and a 20 minute facial aswell, it's so they can fit in more people making more £££. Makes you sick doesn't it?!!

It does because you pay through the nose for these treatments and they are sub standard,dosn't inspire you to go back does it?That personal touch just wasn't there...unfortuantely.Must be disheartening for the therapists(well the ones who care)

 

[estherlou]

its a shame because people can get put off having these treatments after paying so much for so little. x some express treatments serve a purpose but must be advertised as such, if i booked in for a facial somewhere and got 20 mins i would not be a happy bunny! x