Champneys Reviews 

We stayed at Champneys Forest Mere earlier this year expecting a relaxing spa break, however unfortunately the experience fell well below expectations.

During our stay we experienced several issues including the room not being ready on arrival, missing items in the room (including a shower curtain which resulted in the bathroom floor becoming soaked), and a lack of follow-up from management after the issues were raised.

What has been most disappointing, however, has been the handling of the complaint afterwards. We first raised our concerns in early March and despite multiple follow-ups, escalations, and promises of responses, we are now in May and still have no resolution or meaningful communication.

This level of customer service has been extremely disappointing, particularly for a premium brand.

Very poor experience at Forest Mere in February. Facilities were as usual - we have stayed before, but again as usual there were sun bed hoggers and no outside pool in use, this was not mentioned anywhere on booking and a surprise on arrival. They had workmen in the corridors with tools laid out that we had to climb over and navigate every time we passed by. On the third day of our stay the workmen reached our corridor so we had to endure hammering and banging - really not acceptable when you are going to a Spa to relax. Dinner took 2 hours one evening, painfully slow with people queueing around our table as we ate. Booking the treatments is always a painful process with the App not allowing you to book some treatments and the web site tyring to charge you for an extra day. I've actually been trying to re-book a return voucher since February. I have emailed the Manager at Forest Mere, the Reception and even spoken to the main booking line but not one of them has been able to book my return trip. I finally give up. I have had three disappointing trips to Champneys and won't be putting myself through it again. I would add that it actually seems pretty pointless leaving this review as Champneys never respond to them, they don't appear to care at all about their customers, but hopefully it might give some insight as to the experience you are likely to have if you part with your hard earned funds for a relaxing weekend and come home more stressed than when you left.

We stayed at Tring and had a fabulous time. We were greeted by the lovely receptionist Cheree who made us feel very welcome. It seems that since we were there last they have improved some of the facilities. The Gym now, i in a much larger space with all the modern equipment you would expect. They have a separate Urban Gym and a a dedicated Peloton studio and yet another Spinning bike studio. Yes there are parts that still need a bit of TLC and in parts you can see the 100 years architectural strain since it became a Health Centre after being acquired by Stanley Lief, a pioneering naturopath, making Champneys the first and oldest health spa in England. And sometimes the oldest bits show through in the building. The large hydro pool is lovely but could do with some maintenance as not all the jest were working. But the sauna and the steam room are in very good order. The grounds are magnificent and especially in a hot day like we had making the experience all the better. The staff are really lovely from reception to the café -serving lovely cakes and nice cold and hot beverages that you can enjoy in the terraced space outdoors or in the lawn (it would be nice if they had paper plates for the lawn area, but if you sit inside or in terraced you have nice ceramic crockery) , and in the restaurant - serving delicious food: dinner being the best; lunch and breakfast could have better hot options but overall is decent.
It is not 5 stars but you can still have a great stay if you are open to accommodate its old charms. They have a great suite of treatments, library, beautiful drawing room, morning room, large indoor pool, classes, etc, etc. They have quite a lot on offer. Overall I recommend it and we look forward to going back

Dirty dirty dirty, luxury my back teeth. Paid for 2 rooms for 2 nights stay, what a waste of bloody money. NEVER EVER AGAIN.
Positive nice staff and decent food.
I will never come back or recommend this place (Springs), and from the reviews I wont be going to any of the other locations.
Mouldy, filthy, shabby worn out and yukk. I have stayed in much better Travelodge and Premier Inn hotels.
Its NOT a Spa, it's a shabby leisure centre, aqua aerobics classes whilst trying to relax - seriously?! Dirty whirlpool, the teeniest tiniest sauna and steam room, furniture that should be burnt it's so worn out, torn and filthy.
The company should be ashamed of themselves. This was once a very nice venue, I came 3 times in the past.
Upgrade and refurbish for the love of God.
There are so many Spa options that you cannot continue to rely on your previous reputation without considering your customers.

I visited Champneys Eastwell Manor to celebrate my 30th birthday, and the entire experience was truly memorable from start to finish.

The service was outstanding throughout the day. A special thank you to Sanju and Dawa at the bar, who were friendly, attentive, and made us feel so welcome. The cocktails were some of the best we’ve ever had — we especially loved the Eastwell Manor Sour and the Light and Stormy, both expertly made and absolutely delicious.

During lunch and dinner, Gayan, Amanoj, Malik, Will, Asman, and Louies all provided exceptional service — professional, warm, and genuinely attentive to every detail.

The highlight of the evening was at dinner, when the team surprised me with a special birthday dessert and singing. It was such a thoughtful and personal touch that made the celebration feel extra special and unforgettable.

Overall, the atmosphere, service, and attention to detail exceeded expectations. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate such an important milestone. Thank you to the entire team for making my 30th birthday so perfect — I’ll definitely be returning!

Staff always so helpful and welcoming especially Andrew on reception at Henlow and superb treatments from Nina. Henlow is my go to place for rest and pampering

St Albans Day Spa - Staff friendly and treatments good but booked two separate dates in April using vouchers and after my first visit I was not keen to go back because the place was so dirty. Even on arrival there was rubbish outside the front door which did not give a good impression. Toilets had no hand towels so had to use toilet roll. Soap dish filthy and floor not clean.
In the treatment room when I took my shoes off the floor was dirty with bits sticking to my feet. Common areas were dirty and emergency exit was filthy with debris all over floor. Second visit same issue in toilet and treatment room floor covered in a white powder. When I queried it with therapist she said just get on bed from other side. Obviously no one checks rooms between treatments or cares!! I have been a customer of Champneys for over 25 years but I have told the family not to buy me any more vouchers as the place is poorly managed and maintained.

The website is useless and nobody answers the phones! Have given up trying to book and will go elsewhere!

Tring Champneys. The number of guests was too many for a relaxing day, no free beds to relax on, a few deckchairs by the hot tub, broken handle into outdoor hottub ,Waterbeds broken, dirty floors, in chaging rooms no towels most of the day not a 5* experince and i can see why you are not getting great reviews on trustpilot as these issues are all there

Dirty dirty dirty. Whether it was in the spa itself or in the resturant toilets terrible.

Overbooked and staff stating they inform reservations regularly yet still do it.

Spa area rusty needs cleaning. Lockers broken so nowhere to store your things safely. Cold in cafe

Attitude to complaint on site managers too busy. Complaint to head office ‘we are aware of all these things’ yet still taking people’s money

Even offered us a return visit to inspect the upgrade in 6 months. We love 2 hours away and the return visit was for an evening spa….. a joke when we had paid £350 for an overnight stay etc that was a birthday present and was ruined.

Never pay your money for such a horrendous place

Here’s a question: can anyone explain why the staff at Champney’s Mottram Hall can’t be arsed picking up the phone?
This is an ongoing issue that they have completely ignored. When told about the inordinate waiting times before they finally answer the call, “ sorry about the wait we are exceedingly busy!” It’s BS and it’s totally unacceptable .

One night spa break at Tring. My husband and I are members at Henlow but decided to take an overnight stay at Tring. We have had a perfect time. Comfortable room, great spa and gym facilities and incredible food. Fantastic staff including Jess for my facial, and Charlotte, Leighton and Emilia in the restaurant. Thank you.

My daughter treated me to a day at Champneys Tring last Saturday. I had a 'Head in the Clouds' massage with IZZIE. She was amazing! I always have pain and tension in my neck and shoulders but after her massage I was completely pain free there and 6 days later I am still pain free! A big thank you to Izzie who was also a lovely person and very informative.
Barbara Smith x

Fantastic facial by a caring, talented and professional therapist. Stacey performed a facial of dreams. She is definitely worth visiting Henlow Grange for.

My wife and I have personal training with Richie Kiely at Tring. I had a knee injury which wasn't getting any better, and the next step seemed to be surgery, which I wasn't keen on. Richie did a comprehensive assessment, and we embarked on a programme to redress the imbalances that had accrued over the years. Each session is like a biomechanics lesson, surprisingly the exercises don't just focus on the knee but incorporate the whole body. For both of us, these sessions have resulted in increased mobility, weight loss and improvement in general well being.

Booking experience is confusing and unclear. Facilities were OK, but not the luxury experience I remember of old (before Henlow was taken over by Champneys). One of the first things you see on exiting the car park is the clock tower - which is in need of some TLC. Not a great first impression. Organisation of cafe was poor - dirty crockery and cutlery was lying by the serving area. I asked for a glass of wine, wasn't asked what size I wanted but was automatically given 250ml. I would have chosen a smaller glass, but the server confirmed it was £10.50 so I decided not to make a fuss. However, when I looked at the bill (stupidly too late after I got home!) I had actually been charged £16.25 plus a random tip of £1.05. Very cheeky. The evening meal was basic food masquerading as posh nosh. My friend had a mushroom paste with virtually no mushrooms in it! My chocolate pot pudding wasn't as good as a supermarket Gu (I suspect it wasn't made in the kitchen, but if it was, it wasn't a good reflection of the chef's skills). Overall a very poor facsimile of what you'd expect from a luxury spa. You'd be better off saving your pennies and booking Whittlebury Hall. At least they unashamedly go for a policy of pack 'em in cheap and don't pretend to offer bells and whistles.

I visited just over a week ago for a spa day, it was a stressful experience, totally overbooked you couldn't get into the sauna. Hydropool was shut, mouldy and dirty communal areas. Not a pleasant place to be. Left feeling more stressed than when I went in. Would have rather saved my money and had a bath at home.

We had the most memorable and relaxing experience at Champneys. The staff are fantastic especially Amir who went above and Beyond for us to make sure our stay was special. He made sure we always were happy and made us laugh all day long.

Thanks for a wonderful weekend!

On arrival we were greeted by a very friendly lady on reception who took our luggage to leave with her until the room was ready. She then directed us to the spa. The staff there were so friendly and helpful.
They showed us round and gave us a bag with flip flops, robe and towel. We then went to use the facilities and relax. We had lunch at the spa restaurant and the food was so tasty, the staff couldn't have done any more to help and made the experience extremely enjoyable.
We had a short spa treatment booked in for the afternoon. This is the only disappointing experience we had. It was only a 20 minute treatment anyway and I had a young lady called Geraldine. She came to get me late and finished early, only giving me a head massage for 8 minutes in total! The massage wasn't bad, as such, but very very short. The reason why I am not knocking off a star for this is due to the staff immediately rectifying it the following morning.
Once we expressed our disappointment they were so apologetic and gave us both a complimentary treatment for the full 20 minutes. The difference in the massage was huge. I had a lovely lady called Lee, she was Amazing! I would book every day with her if I could! Lee talked me through everything, was
so friendly and polite and was incredible at the head in the clouds massage that I had chosen, I left so rested and relaxed. The experience between the two ladies was worlds apart and made a huge difference.
The evening meal was also lovely, as was the breakfast. The food was good quality and cooked to perfection. The room we stayed in (suite) was spacious and comfortable. The beds were so comfy and we both slept like a log. We didn't want to leave and will definitely go back.

We had the WORST experience at Champneys Henlow and the way we have been dealt with by management has been appalling.
Main issues were:
• We were largely unable to use the spa facilities we had paid for due to there being no available seating or space in the pool, sauna, steam room, relaxation rooms or outdoor areas throughout the day.
• My sister’s treatment experience was extremely poor, leaving her distressed and in physical discomfort following the session.
• There were concerns regarding hygiene standards after being informed that shared blankets in the relaxation area were only washed every three days.
• Personal customer information (names, addresses, phone numbers, booking details and room numbers) was visibly left unattended on desks in an open office area, raising serious data protection concerns.
• Other guests were able to unlock our lockers with their wristbands meaning our belongings could be accessed by other people.
• Our complaint on the day was handled unprofessionally, including being asked to discuss sensitive issues in front of other guests and being told there was no private office available when one clearly existed.
• Despite raising concerns multiple times throughout the day, no practical assistance or resolution was offered and we ultimately left without having been able to use the facilities we had travelled two hours to visit.

Despite raising this with multiple managers, we have only been offered a 20% refund which I feel is not a fair suggestion given that we were unable to use ANY of the facilities and had such a poor experience. I'm now having to seek legal advice to try and get more money back.

Very disappointed. Would absolutely not recommend booking here at all.