Bannatyne Health Club & Spa - (Near Buckinghamshire, UK)

1 /5 Aja Clarke: Visited with my daughter today and was gobsmacked at the poor conditions. The walk down to the spa, cracked steps, peeling flooring which had been painted over rather than repaired. Old filthy pond. We had lunch included, this consisted of three options, a jacket potato, sandwich or a toastie. We both had the ham and cheese toasties, and they were abysmal, my daughter wouldn’t touch hers. Thin cheap bread and the most basic ham you can imagine. The pool looked unclean and the ceiling tiles were pealing throughout the facility, the dressing room was clean enough but since we both couldn’t enter the water (people regularly going from sauna / steam into the pool before showering) we didn’t make much use of these. You’ll pay £20 each for use of a robe, towel, flip flops and locker. All of which should be given as standard for a day at the spa, and £10 each will be refunded - at some point. Parking outside is £8.50 for a few hours… The facial was okay, super basic but against the other aspects of the day the best thing. Please avoid, there are much better places to spend a day at the spa. Bannentyne should be embarrassed to have his name above the door.

1 /5 Anonymous B: My boyfriend and I booked a spa day here and were so disappointed that we left before even having our prepaid treatments. The food was genuinely awful. It looked carelessly thrown onto the plate, and the lettuce was visibly dirty, with black fluff and grime stuck to it — completely unacceptable. As for the “spa” itself, it’s essentially a glorified gym. There’s one medium-sized pool, one hot tub that was constantly full so we didn’t even get to use it, one steam room, and one sauna. We were bored within an hour. There was nothing luxurious about it at all. The facilities felt tired and unclean, with water-stained ceilings and filthy changing rooms. The final straw was walking past the massage rooms. The staff behind the desk gave us dirty looks — no greeting, no smile, no acknowledgment whatsoever. It made me feel extremely uncomfortable, so we decided to leave immediately and not go ahead with our treatments. Overall, this was a complete waste of money and time. This place falls very far short of being a luxury spa, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

1 /5 Suzanne Deaves: Some friends and I attended for a spa day with treatments and lunch. We started our day at half 6 arriving at the facilities at half 9, on arrival there was road closure signs making getting to them very difficult, we called for some directions which they were unable to give and started the call being unaware of the event. When arriving out the front we discovered they dont offer parking, so you park in pay and display which is expensive (£2.50 for 1st hour then £2.00 for every hour after). When entering the building, it was beautiful with all the the trees flowers and fish pond on the way to the spa. Throughout the day there was a number of times customer service and hospitality needed to be improved for example, being reminded we paid for lunch, not bringing coffee out, blunt with one word answers or no communication, whispering about customers infront of other customers. This caused us to feel apprehensive while waiting for our pre-paid and booked treatments. We made the beatucian aware we were there for out treatments and was asked to wait in the cold corridor, a relaxatio room would have been better and more relaxing. When going into the treatment room the floor was very gritty ( felt like sand under foot) and again lack of communication, was almost like the beauticians didnt want to be there including yawning during a treamtent, when trying to turn a friends head side ways during back massage there was no communication so she resisted slightly, there was then force used to turn her head. The treamtents were also inconsistant. The massage preasure its self was very good, this was also not checked at any point during the treatments. In one of the changing cubicles there was a broken mirror and ceiling panel, that could have come down at any time, we feel this cubical should of been closed preventing people from going in due to being unsafe. All of the above led to us leaving early, we have paid for car park until 16:00, if we hadnt already paid for lunch we would have left 13:00.

3 /5 Vladimir Marcisin: To be honest, this place needs a serious hygienic refresh, especially the facilities. The stairs to the jacuzzi and many other areas, such as the tiles in the sauna, are in poor condition. I also saw a man who came in with a huge, fresh wound on his shoulder—at least 8 inches long, red and bleeding. No one stopped him from entering the swimming pool. That was 100% illegal and disgusting. On top of that, no one seems to care that people go directly from the sauna, completely soaked in sweat, straight into the jacuzzi or swimming pool. Another important point is that this country is very multicultural, and many people come here without understanding how a sauna or spa/wellness center is supposed to work. A sauna is a silent place—even more so than a library. It is not a place to hang out, shout, or laugh like in a pub. Yet every time I go there, I see people doing exactly that—shouting, screaming, and talking nonsense. Some even wear huge metal necklaces and chains, which are not allowed in saunas in other countries due to serious safety risks. This is also partly the company’s fault because there should be clear signs at the entrance. The standards here are far behind those of real spas and wellness centers in EU countries. And please, unless you have actually spent holidays in saunas in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, or similar countries, don’t try to judge this review. I have spent my whole childhood and much of my life in saunas. Another very important issue is in the gym. For example, when doing cardio, you want to relax. Instead, there is a TV right in front of you on the treadmill, constantly playing BBC news full of problems and politics like Donald Trump and other negativity. I come here to rest, not to be surrounded by the same stressful content I see every day. At least play some relaxing documentaries about wildlife or something appropriate. This company has big potential, but the standards are very low. I would recommend that management visit real spas and wellness centers in the EU and then consider modernisation. Now about the massages: in reality, there are no proper massages available here. A classic massage—such as a relaxing massage or deep tissue massage by hand—does not exist at all. Instead, they offer “massage with bamboo.” But massage is about feeling the muscle under your hands and applying pressure to the right places. If you don’t understand that, you don’t understand what massage means. There is also a complete absence of reflexology (palms, feet, head, and shoulders). And charging that price for 45 minutes of bamboo sticks instead of real massage by hand is simply too much. I give 3 stars for one reason only: the price. For £50 per month, unlimited entry is very good. You will never find something like that in the EU, and that’s probably why this business still works. I would be more than happy to come back and give more stars if I see that this feedback was taken seriously and real improvements are made. The garden and the lady who take care about it is just amazing.

1 /5 Dawid Gorski: My girlfriend and I recently visited this spa to see if it would be suitable for a family Christmas gift, and unfortunately the experience fell well below expectations. From the moment we entered the massage room, cleanliness was an obvious issue. The floor was dirty, and after removing my shoes and walking only a few steps, my feet were covered in sand and grime. We also later realised that towels, robes and slippers were supposed to be included in our booking, yet we were still charged for them, which raises concerns about customer service and transparency. The Swedish massage itself was equally disappointing. While my therapist applied decent pressure on my shoulders, the use of her elbow on my sides was sharp and painful rather than relaxing. My girlfriend’s massage was even worse; the therapist seemed to focus almost entirely on one side of her body, barely applying any pressure on the other. Excessive force on her shoulders left them swollen afterwards, which should never happen with a properly delivered Swedish massage. The spa facilities didn’t redeem the experience. Although the steam room was relaxing, the jacuzzi and surrounding pool area felt unhygienic and poorly maintained. We are not germaphobes, but the condition of the spa pool area left us uncomfortable enough that we both took long showers as soon as we got home. The space clearly needs a deep clean and general refurbishment to meet the standards expected from a modern spa. Overall, we are relieved that we tested this spa before booking a full spa day for our family. The lack of cleanliness, inconsistent massage quality, and outdated pool facilities mean we will not be returning and cannot recommend this place based on our visit. Would give negative stars if I could.