Champneys Reviews 

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.

I visit champneys Forest Mere quite often and although i love it, it has gone down hill recently. The staff are always amazing.....they work really hard, especially the restaurant staff and the housekeeping staff. I stayed on a Saturday and sunday night on my last visit. The Saturday was way too busy, not relaxing at all for a spa and actually a bit stressful! The restaurant was packed and too many tables crammed in. I may as well have been sitting on the lap of the man at the table next to us! The restaurent staff had way too much to do and there wasn't enough of them. Also, I still can't believe that you charge £3.50 for an ice bucket on a £300 a night room! The hotel is set in beautiful surroundings, it's wonderful in spring with the baby ducks etc! But I'd recommend you don't go on a Friday or Saturday....they charge more and you get way worse service!

I would give a rating of zero if possible. I haven’t even got past the booking stage yet and do not want to visit now.
We were given a day day spa voucher as a wedding gift. I followed the instructions in the to be valid anymore, line is dead…same number given on their website. I emailed reservations, on Monday for a booking on Friday, got an auto response reply. Got a reply from the team two days later. I forwarded the details they requested to make the booking and have heard nothing since, apart from an auto response to say they’d received my email. My husband rang the location directly….left on a recorded loop for over 10 mins with no answer. I telephoned again the next day, the line rang continuously without an answer until I gave up, 5 minutes later.
Appalling service, they obviously could not care less. we will not waste time nor money with this company.

Avoid — hugely disappointing experience and unresolved complaint.

What should have been a relaxing spa day at Champneys Tring turned into a stressful and frustrating experience from the moment we arrived. Our pre-booked facials were not honoured because the spa was “fully booked”, leaving us without a key part of the visit that had been confirmed in advance.

The spa itself was cold, overcrowded and far too busy to feel relaxing, with the sauna also out of order. When we raised concerns, the spa manager was rude and dismissive, repeatedly shrugging off the situation and making us feel like an inconvenience rather than valued guests.

Following the visit, Agnes in Guest Services promised a full refund for one of our days due to the treatments not being provided. Despite multiple follow-ups, this has never been honoured and our emails have largely been ignored or dismissed.

The lack of accountability afterwards has been more disappointing than the visit itself. We had hoped this would be resolved fairly, but unfortunately that has not been the case.

Emails and calls ignored and dismissed! Appalling company and customer service! AVOID AVOID AVOID at all cost!! Champneys Tring you should be ashamed!

I have tried to use my £600 gift voucher online and despite applying it to my purchase, the following page asks me to pay the full amount! Impossible to speak to someone at Champneys, both at Mottram Hall and in the central reservations team - I have been on hold for over 20mins on several occasions without anyone answering !!

I would really appreciate someone contacted me to book my stay.

My daughter and I went to visit Champneys Spa facility to speak about work shadowing.
The staff were so welcoming and made Patricia feel at ease and not nervous.
The Spar looked very fresh and the Laura from Elemis and Amy from Clarins explained their product range really well and there range was really extensive.
Thank you Chloe Hill and Kirsty Jackson.

My husband and I just got back from a lovely stay at Champneys Springs. The place absolutely stunning. Great customer service from staff members. Big shout out to Catrina, Massimo ( at the restaurant) They made us feel so welcome and we enjoyed chatting with them., And Rob at the check in desk. Rob is such an incredible friendly and helpful guy.
I only gave a 4* as we were disappointed that the lunch buffet served the same meals for the 4 days we there. We hoped for atleast something new . Also, I think the rooms are due for an upgrade. Especially the carpets .

We had 3 days of spa treatments, and omg, absolutely recommended!! All in all, we will be returning for sure!

Had an overnight stay at Champneys in Tring with my daughter on Feb 11th. We had a great experience and the spa staff were so good. I had really bad sinusitis and explained this to Nicola who worked on my pressure points in my facial. I was able to breathe so much better afterwards. Amelia did my lava shell massage the next day and also really took care of me. Food was delicious, room good and all areas clean. Would definitely return especially when they have an offer on.

Beware of the "complimentary" treatments at the Tring spa. For a birthday gift, I purchased two treatments for my girlfriend. One was a foot massage. As it was her birthday, the therapist suggested "complimentary" hand and face mask, which she accepted. What she didn't know, if that she would be charged £10 each for them when she left. The original treatment was 50 mins, and a hand rub and face rub (post masks) was included in the 50 mins, so not "complimentary" at all. Nothing was compliementary at all.

We booked a day at Tring. Was so disappointing to find the guest changing rooms dirty, showers broken and had mould growing. Toweling robe was stained.
Standing room only for sauna, steam room and queues for the plunge pool. Way too many people booked in for the facilities available. Was looking forward to relaxing with a book - but there was nowhere to sit down. All looks very tired and in need of updating. Money needs to be spent on adding to the facilities.
We were booked in until 6pm - but left at 2:30. £352 was not value for money.
Emailed my feedback and was offered 50% off my next visit. Would not go back and spend any more money there.
Have emailed for a refund or partial refund and have not had a response.
Awful experience and don't try to contact them via the phone - impossible

Dont expect a peaceful relaxing experiance! Apart from during treatments. No beds after 10am near pool areas or communal areas to unwind and relax. Note left under door during the night saying maybe for extra £30 can extend room checkout from 11 am till we leave at 4pm. So called reception at 6am to be told. 'No too busy' what was point of dropping note through door?.... food fabulous... perfectly healthy options, great choices aswell. However dinner process took over 2 hours. Waited a long time! Treatment facial and staff were wonderful... what a treat. Helpful. Professional and accomodating. Way too busy in pool areas, Saunas, Steam rooms.... 2 day stay and 24 hours in still havent been able to get in after 3 tries..... wish there was options for residents only quiet pool sessions.... have to say at 6.30 am we went in hydropool... which was fabulous.... PS champneys products in shop are more expensive than if you shop at boots or other online shops. Overall opinion.... lot of money to spend to not be able to use facilities or have somewhere to relax or go to ( eg own room. During a horrible wet day) for 7 hours of our stay.... people put towels on beds at 9am... then didnt return for over 4/5 hours? Where did they go? ..... We ended up going home 3 hours early in the end. It was very frustrating....our stay was booked as a gift after a traumatic hospital stay to recouperate and try ro relax.. Reception staff were not interested in the slightest when we tried to speak to 2 different staff members about room extention not being available even though theyd put note through our door asking us to call them to see if we wanted to. And also another staff member about no seating in spa area.... both staff members talked over us. Didnt even acknowledge what we were saying.... or try to help. Rude and unhelpful. Totally ignored what we werr saying.... i wasnt well enough or had the energy to show them how angry and disappointed i was at thw time.... Would Not recommend this place

Dirty, dated, overcrowded. Poor customer service. Complained and almost two weeks later I am awaiting a response.

On arrival difficulty finding a parking space. Queue on check in only one Person on reception but eventually a nice man checked us in, due to high numbers a brief introduction was given, but would suggest a way of explaining things when busy, a leaflet? Some areas were pleasant but the actual hotel is very tired. The rooms are big but things are broken, the safe, hair drier, water marks in the bathroom. Not as you would have expected. The hydro pool areas always busy and looked tired, not sure of cleanliness as I came out with someone's bit of skin attached to me!!!!! However the staff were very helpful even under pressure due to numbers. The treatment areas were lovely and staff great especially Casey. The restaurant was excellent and food wonderful. The cafe area is far to small and needed more staff, who were under pressure but need a reward as they kept smiling and were polite, not sure management were that helpful to them. The outside area was nice and views from the room was lovely. It's a shame as it could be amazing it's halfway there but has been neglected.

former employer review of Champneys Henlow….
Champneys Henlow; the place where one of the spa managers, Charlotte Richards, calls guests the C word on a regular basis & constantly gossips about guests in a shocking manner.
Most Spa therapists often discuss private, personal matters in the staff room about guests; conversations you as clients believed and trusted to be confidential - meanwhile these staff room catch-ups are being completely AUDIBLE to the guests in the waiting area directly outside of the staff room.
Managers are just as bad as most staff, they all gossip, and yes, although some will say in all work environments people will gossip, but the vulgar, unacceptable, unprofessional language I have heard from most but not all staff at Champneys Henlow is none like I’ve ever heard before. I’m deeply ashamed to say I ever worked there. I never participated in any of this disgusting behaviour because it doesn’t align with my morals or values and I consider my working ethic to be at a much higher standard.
Hence my reason for leaving.
I actually have respect and empathy towards my clients and that’s the reputation I would like to maintain, something I feel wouldn’t be possible had I stayed here much longer.
I am glad to say I’m now in a much kinder environment where staff and guests are respected equally. A place where staff are listened to and heard. A place where I don’t feel like I’m lowering my standards to match others.

Here at Champneys Henlow, We work with no reward, we are set unreachable, unrealistic incentives that are made to be so impossible to achieve it doesn’t even feel like it was worth it; so nobody bothers. All therapists lost their passion due to this companies obsession with money. They work us (on a low pay) until we are physically ill just so they earn a few extra pennies. Everywhere except the spa looks like it’s about to collapse; it’s dated, mouldy, and lacking life because nobody at this company cares; and it shows.

Now, about the food, It seems it’s not only guests getting food poisoning here, but staff also, with the staff canteen frequently providing food a whole WEEK past its USE BY DATE.
Therapists often had to pause mid-treatment to go and be ill, but always had to return to not only finish the treatment but extend it, because we were not allowed to be ill, god forbid if you as a guest have a bad experience here and decide to complain, you’ll just be called a “C U Next Tuesday” by Charlotte Richards.
How sweet x

At Champneys we are treated like a number not a human, while we spend weeks learning different treatments to have a nice variety in our day and broaden our capabilities; unfortunately, the least favourite staff members get a day full of back to back massage, while the favourite staff members (usually the apprentices) get all the nice treatments and are always put first on the list for training dates. Most treatments now are apprentice only, where the fully qualified staff are not allowed to learn the new treatments… why? Who knows. I gave up asking after the 4th time.
(Just before leaving Champneys it seemed all fully qualified staff were dropping like flies, disappearing without a word and instantly being replaced by more apprentices) - which just goes to show, never put your life on the line for a job that will find your replacement by the following week.
If you’re unwell, stay home and rest
If you’re in a rush, still drive at your usual pace.
Just don’t think about a job that doesn’t think about you.

They offer 1 to 1 meetings here to supposedly listen to your opinions, help you with any of your concerns and try to meet your requests. However it’s a complete waste of time, they don’t listen, they don’t even consider what you’re asking for. You may as well talk to a brick wall.
After years of meetings, years of persistence, years of the ‘team’ all requesting the same things, we all got completely ignored, and overtime we felt a lot less valued and extremely unappreciated. I think the spa therapists are a very large asset / attribute to this company and I really believe Champneys should think long and hard about showing their therapists more respect, care and consideration.
As for the Managers / general staff, a bit of advice to conclude this review: LISTEN, learn, respect, take note, improve, better yourselves if not for you then for others. And if you can’t do any of that, Be useful some place else that isn’t working in a business where you’re meant to IMPROVE one’s mental health, rather than losing all your staff and your customers all while further tarnishing your reputation.
-final note- since leaving I am not up to date with all current employees, however, I have no doubt the same behaviour still persists.

We visited Forest Mere on Saturday 14th February for the day. Luckily we had booked through Vitality so got a significant discount
The facilities are dated, tired and underwhelming. For instance the steam room is tiny and can only seat 4 people - if you leant back again the wall one person is directly over the steam vent and another would lean on the emergency button and the door doesnt close properly.
The sauna is larger but has 2 doors and an area of wall with no seating so it can seat 8. With the number of guests it was full most of the time and the doors dont shut properly either.
There is nowhere near enough seating and if you get a seat around the pool you have to move your legs to the side every time someone walks past as it is quite narrow.
There was a mix up with our booking and the gym 1-1 and classes hadnt been booked but we had paid for it. They werent able to sort it on the day we had to contact them on a working day. Trying to get hold of them is impossible in total i was on hold for over 1.5 hours over 3 separate calls. I sent 2 emails; the first one on 16/02 and then a chaser. They replied on 21/02. When i finally did get hold of someone on the phone - on the central number - i said about no reply to emails and how long i was on hold. They just said they were busy
So the experience is not as advertised

My daughter and I have been going to Champneys Springs for years and we've loved every single visit. The staff are outstanding, the food is amazing, and the facilities are superb. From the moment we step through the doors, we start to unwind and relax. We can't recommend this venue highly enough and are looking forward to our next visit very much.

I had a very nice one night at Henlow. I met some lovely members of staff. Tegan on reception is always welcoming and goes out of her way to make my stay pleasant. Siobhan in housekeeping is amazingly helpful and always so friendly. In the spa, Lina gave me an amazing massage.

Doesn't appear to be possible to rate zero stars, but if I could I would. You can find a plethora of phone numbers onn the website, but you can never get to speak to anyone about anything, including bookings. They must be losing a fortune by having phone lines with nobody other than recorded messages with adverts, but nobody to accept bookings. I have spent over an hour trying most of their phone numbers, without speaking to a single person. Suddenly a chat window popped up on the website!! I filled in my details as requested, but alas, nobody is on the receiving end. Mind numbing way to run a business.

Deeply Upsetting Experience – Twice Burned

I am extremely disappointed to be writing this review, but after two almost identical experiences at Champneys College Salon in Tring, I feel compelled to warn others.

I had several aesthetic treatments booked at Champneys College at 11:30am. I arranged and paid for childcare, took the morning off work, and drove to the college — only to arrive and be told that my appointments had been cancelled because the practitioner was ill.

I received no phone call. No email. No prior warning whatsoever.

When I spoke to Emma (who I later understood is a tutor, not the manager), she explained they had “attempted” to contact me. However, the telephone number on their system was incorrect and the email address listed did not even resemble my name — it began with a completely different initial. It’s deeply concerning that such basic client information is recorded so carelessly. At no point did anyone think to check previous correspondence to verify the correct contact details, despite me having been a returning client for years.

What makes this worse is that this is the second time this has happened to me. On the previous occasion, my son was still a baby. I had also arranged childcare and arrived to discover my treatments had been cancelled without notice. I raised a formal complaint at that time, believing it would prompt proper investigation and procedural changes. Clearly, it did not.

Following this most recent incident, I received a belated email from the manager Lucy, containing what can only be described as a non-apology apology. Responsibility was attributed to “main Champneys group booking system,” and, astonishingly, I was counter-accused of being “verbally aggressive.” The manager was not present during my conversation, and I spoke honestly and directly — yes — but there was absolutely nothing in my language or tone that could reasonably be defined (in any Oxford Dictionary sense) as verbally aggressive.

That accusation was deeply triggering and felt like an attempt to deflect blame and undermine my credibility. It left me feeling gaslit rather than heard. Instead of accountability, I experienced defensiveness and counter-accusation.

Illness happens — of course it does. What is not acceptable is repeated administrative incompetence, failure of communication, and then shifting blame onto a paying customer who has simply expressed justified frustration after wasting time, money, and emotional energy.

As a working mother who carefully organises childcare and work commitments, this was not a minor inconvenience. It was upsetting, costly, and completely avoidable.

Sadly, I cannot recommend Champneys College based on these repeated experiences. I left feeling not only inconvenienced, but dismissed and unfairly characterised — which is perhaps the most upsetting part of all.

I sincerely hope improvements are made so that other clients do not experience the same distress.

Ashford East Well Manor - I received a voucher for this spa, but I wish the sender had gone elsewhere. After a frustrating booking process, when booking in the Spa a few weeks ago we provided a up to date contact number . we arrived today only to find out our session was cancelled because of staff illness. We are reasonable people and understand calling out sick, but receiving zero communication before we drove all the way there is unacceptable.

A member of staff was very helpful with trying to rebook and the manager just stepped in showed no empathy and was quite short with us. Poor Management. It’s a shame because we were really looking forward to it, but the lack of basic customer service makes it not worth the effort.