What We Thought of Newcastle's Hidden Luxury Spa
In the hustle and bustle of the city lies a hidden oasis of calm...
The Turkish Baths at Newcastle City Baths, set in a stunning Grade II-listed building, have recently been restored and are at the heart of the brand new spa experience which opened this summer. We head along to check it out.
Admittedly spas have not featured heavily in my life up until this point, but a recent visit to the newly opened spa in The City Baths, Newcastle has converted me for life. Escaping the (unusually) scorching weather outside, my friend and I enter the Baths and are greeted by a friendly member of staff who directs us down the stairs to the changing rooms, before making our way into a warm and spacious room with private relaxation booths separated by ornate wooden dividers where we are walked through what the spa has to offer and helped to pick out the muds and an exfoliator for our upcoming mud chamber treatment.
After some serious deliberation, we opt for a salt scrub as an exfoliator, the alpine mud for our legs, and a fig and honey mud for our face and body. Happy with our selections, we settle in to our booth (with a cool glass of green tea each) and quickly plan our route through the spa.
We start with the heat, and the steam room – it’s just what the doctor ordered. The room is spacious and although there are other guests enjoying a day at the spa, it’s never crowded. After sweating it out for a while, we seek a change of scenery in the laconium and caldarium where the dry heat is divine. Wanting to cool off before our mud treatment, we venture into the cold plunge shower which is a welcome (if intense) relief. There are other showers here too if you don’t fancy the cold.
For our joint mud treatment we are taken into a private mud chamber (designed for two) with relaxing mood lighting and our selection of muds and scrubs. We quickly shower off and buff ourselves to a near shine with the salt scrub before another rinse, and then it’s time for the mud. Both are wonderfully soothing on the skin (although on the wise advice of the staff, the alpine mud stayed well away from our faces), and soon the mud chamber begins to gently steam. We sit and relax as the mud works its magic, until the overhead showers suddenly kick in and it’s time for a final rinse. As someone with sensitive skin, I’d been worried that the scrub and mud combo might have been a step too far but I’m thrilled to find that post-treatment my skin is soft and glowy.
We head back to the first warm room for another glass of tea and spend the remainder of our spa session blissed out and relaxing on the beds. The low lighting of the room helps keep the mood relaxed and the screens between the booths ensure our visit is as private as possible. Sadly, soon our visit is at an end, and it’s time to face the light of day again.
