USP Ice cubes packed with extract of evening primrose plus red
micro-algae designed to boost radiance, tighten skin and get your face ready
for a fully made-up night out.
The effect lasts for five hours which could make hot date timing challenging -
you’d have to time your exit to avoid a sudden facial rush south as the
effects wear off. However, the spa sells the cubes, in boxes of eight, for
£39 plus £4.75 pp.
The cubes are by Anne Sémonin whose range is available only at Bodysgallen spa
(North Wales), Claridge’s and the Ritual Rooms in the UK.
AMBIENCE Laid back grandeur. Just arriving at Bodysgallen, with lambs
playing on either side of the steep and winding drive, smoothes away the
tensions and exhaustion of a working week. The air is clear, primroses stud
the grass, and the spa is nestled beside an exquisite walled garden which
produces flowers and vegetables for the dining room.
The spa has a pool, Jacuzzi, sauna, steam room and gym. The beauticians are
enthusiastic about all their treatments (which include Espa, Jessica, Caci
and St Tropez Airport Spray Tanning).
QUALITY OF EXPERIENCE My L’Experience Anne Sémonin Facial lasted nearly
one and a half hours and included a foot massage (although I could have
chosen a shoulder or head rub instead).
I lost track of all the potions and unction used by my therapist, Tina, but
they included an exfoliating peel masque; firming intensive complex for a
drainage massage; 100 per cent active contour serum for my eyes and – a new
one on me – the express radiance ice cubes (see above).
The process was lovely and so was the aftermath. My skin looked tightened and
refreshed…until I arrived back home, five hours later, and I began to
realise how Cinderella must have felt after the clock struck midnight
IN CROWD Plenty of local people as well as guests from as far away as
Australia, continental Europe and America.
FOOD Light lunches (salad, panini, sandwiches, jacket potatoes, fresh
juice, almond tart) is available in the spa from 9am-3pm. Prices start at
£5.
For a far more serious approach to food, Bodysgallen Hotel’s menu is excellent
with champagne as an optional extra to afternoon tea. A three-course Sunday
lunch starts at £27.
WALLET WATCH L’Experience Anne Sémonin Facial £85; Anne Sémonin Day,
£185, runs 9.30am to 4pm (approximately) and includes: use of all spa
facilities including sauna, steam room, spa bath and relaxation by the pool;
aromatic salt exfoliation; an ultra moisturising body scrub experience; deep
release massage with hot stones - heated basalt stones are used to massage
the whole body working to relieve stress and muscular aches and pains; lunch
with tea or coffee; Phyto aromatic facial; perfect hands treatment; soul
foot therapy.
NEED TO KNOW Bodysgallen Hall Hotel and Spa, Llandudno, North Wales
LL30 1RS (01492 584466; www.bodysgallen.com/spa/amenities.php)
E-mail: spa@bodysgallen.com
For more than 260 independent spa reviews click here: timesonline.co.uk/goodspaguide
