Spa trip from hell on my birthday.... such a shame for a leading spa of the world.

This is an email sent to the spa manager and MD of the Saxon hotel and spa this week and the subsequent reply from them:

Dear Thabisa and George Cohen,

If I am very honest this is the second time I have had an awful time at the Saxon. In actual fact, its the third! We came for a bottle of sancerre the first time and ordered only to have the waiters turning shift and not passing our orders on to the new shift and therefore waiting 45 minutes for our wine eventually we had to go inside to track it down - yes, so infact this is the 3rd time.

I just can't believe that's supposed to be a leading spa - I've been better looked after in tiny unknown spa's and the thought of actually coming back does not fill me with any sort of excitement.

I want to outline my experience yesterday:

I was told I would get a booking confirmation and someone would confirm my appt the day before I arrived for my treatments. This never happened. I therefore arrived at 11 just to be sure - and was told it was 12 but then was told it was ok to bump it up to 11 30 - which was fine, but I was still sent away.

I thought, or maybe I'm just wrong that you arrive at a spa half hour early to change, fill in a medical form and not rush to your first treatment.

Maybe if you're lucky you'll even be offered a glass of water, a herbal tea...... Instead, I was sent away - I went to have a drink downstairs when I noticed a perfectly good place I could wait and have a drink upstairs in the spa whilst I waited.

I had just had a stressful journey in traffic and was made to feel so stupid for being there a bit early!

I arrived back 20 minutes later , was not asked to fill in any consultation form - taken to (rushed to) a room to change into a gown and given what is possibly the most ridiculous locker in the whole series of lockers - it had no hangers to hang my clothes up, it was long and thin (despite the spa not being full ) and I had to unpack my handbag to fit into the narrow space.

Told to change I then had to ask what to do next as I had no idea and nobody had told me. I was told to wait outside till someone came to pick me up.

I put the gown on, which in turn did not fit me around the tummy as I am five and a half months pregnant - unsure what to do, I tried to flag someone down so to avoid putting all my clothes back on again - alas that took ages and eventually I found someone who managed to find me the next size up.

I decided to use the toilet before my treatment as I had just had a big glass of water downstairs, but the toilet was filthy and quickly decided against it. (note, this is the second toilet in the same day I had found in this state - one downstairs as I entered by the Nelson Mandela books) and now this spa toilet.

I decided to refrain and hold it in - thinking there must at least be one more toilet and again, I would be shown around - I had my costume incase there was a pool but was now unsure as whether to put it on or not - if there was a pool or not. All I could see was a bar with tables.

A tour or introduction of facilities was clearly not on the cards this Monday.

I then had the delight of being called in by my therapist - out she came and said "Michele?" I said yes, hello. Follow me she said. Into a room, she has not told me her name.

Clearly she was feeling monday morning blues as I picked up on her mood immediately, and it was not a nice one.

Lie on your stomach she says. I can't I tell her, I am five and a half months pregnant.

Had I filled in a consultation card she had bothered to even read or they had maybe made a note when I booked and clearly told them she might have known, clearly, its not of importance to have anyone fill these medical cards out at the Saxon.....

Oh, well then lie on your side. I will be back in five minutes - she points to the bottom end of the bed, which I think is strange and then think it must be because I am pregnant? She leaves the room and comes back in without knocking,

I am now fully exposed and now also lying on the wrong side of the bed. She tells me to move to the right side of the bed, and whilst I am struggling to get up - again fully exposed she makes no effort to try and help me by holding a towel up instead she stands back and watches me as though I am some beached whale with her arms folded. I felt totally humiliated as I am totally exposed and naked and struggling.

Finally, I lie down, bladder full and I expect her to now ask me what massage pressure I would like, if I am here to relax or if I have any specific concerns (isn't that standard) But thats a bit too much of a big ask at the Saxon ... I think about speaking up but she is clearly not a happy camper and nothing about her makes me feel I can speak up. The frown and body language say it all. I shut up and hope for the best...

I then lie there for the next hour being pulverised like a piece of steak. I wince at how hard she is going and she asks me if she is hurting me, I say, yes, a bit... she ignores that and continues going at the same pressure - why bother asking??

Had she asked me what I wanted to achieve from this treatment from the start I would have told her I really just wanted a relaxing, soft massage as I was feeling particularly stressed - and that I usually had a hot stone massage as I liked that sort of pressure but I knew it was not recommended during pregnancy so therefore was told Swedish was my only option.

Finally, FINALLY thank goodness its all over and I'm told to go downstairs once I have put my gown back on and choose a nail colour for my pedicure. I am not offered a glass of water despite almost gagging with thirst. Again the look on her face is "don't you dare"

I go downstairs (wherever that was, she had not told me) and see her - she says to pick a colour and sit on a bed - the bed she points at has clearly just been used by the other girls who were there as there are half drunk bottles of water, used up dirty tissues and the bed is all messed up. Being rather itimidated by her and over it at this point though I just do as I am told. Then I wait.

Whilst I am waiting I have two people cleaning up around me - they remove the magazines I have just chosen and ignore me - I say hello and I am just scowled at. No hello back. I can see into another room where they are doing something noisy and laughing.

I am thinking - this is the worst spa I have ever been to. My therapist is awol - and now 15 minutes later watching all this going on as I lie on my dirty bed I decide enough is enough. She flounces past me, ignoring me - and joines them in the room I can see into and has a giggle with them - she then leaves again. I get up and go back upstairs.

I tell the lady at reception I would like to cancel my pedicure as I had not had a good experience - she just looks at me and says fine - and starts drawing up the bill - she does not say "oh, why?" or ask me what the issue might be. Lets sweep it under the carpet why don't we....

I go back to the toilet to change, and am desperate still for the toilet but its still not been cleaned and now am at the end of my rope. This and it is 1 hour and 30 minutes later - 1 dirty toilet to choose from. The only other people in the spa - 4 girls as a group. Hardly run off their feet....

I go to pay and she gives me the bill, still not asking me why I chose to cancel my pedicure and why I said I had not had a good time. Only then do I say, can I speak to your manager and Thabisa arrives. Had I not, she would have happily just let me pay and move along.

I then have scowling therapist next to miserable reception person staring at me. Therapist tries to argue with me that she did indeed ask me what pressure I wanted and I said "light to medium" This woman is actually trying to tell me I said something I did not - she is actually making up words that I did not say.

This is when I burst into tears I had just had enough!

Is this seriously the way a leading spa treats people??

Thabisa says not to worry about paying - too right, its my birthday and I'm in tears!

Two weeks prior to this I had come to the Saxon and taken my aunt for high tea. Being summer, being outside clearly you need to remove plates once people are finished to avoid flies, who were everywhere - on 5 seperate occassions, 5 different waiters/waitresses came to fill our glasses - not ONE of them took it upon themselves to remove the plates - not one!! We just looked at them all in disbelief!!

They all just looked at it, looked at flies and walked off - one even commenting he would bring some citronella candles. Eventually I had to ask someone to take them away.

The worst part of this all is the person who gave me this voucher saved up long and hard for it and it was such a treat for me - I was so excited to get it as I was so looking forward to experiencing this spa - which I had read so SO much of - even though I could not afford the whole package I was still excited to get a long awaited massage ( I really needed one!) and a pedicure and decided what better day than my birthday.

All in all it ruined my birthday. It really ruined a day that I was so looking forward to.

I really hope whoever gets that therapist next finds her in a better mood!! Sorry I can't even supply a name as she never told me who she was. My advice, just stay away all together - The Westcliffe is just up the road and the spa is a much happier, nicer environment.

I have sent this almost exact email to the spa and George Cohen - I can see it was forwarded to the Sales and marketing manager then onto a few other people - eventually being answered by Wesley Grobler: (special projects manager?) - no response from George Cohen- Wesley Groblers response, sadly very much like the previous review I have seen on this website with regards to the spa. Seems since that review was posted and this week not much has changed on that front. It seems they have a standard response to anyone that has had a horrible time. Having worked in PR myself I know this standard document well, one that takes no thought or more than 5 minutes to think about - a bog standard letter saved under "complaints template"

Dear _______
Please accept this mail with my sincerest apologies for the ill experience you had with us in the Saxon Spa. All your notes have been viewed in great detail and dealt with accordingly. I do appreciate the criticism, as I believe that we can only build on them and ensure that all errors are corrected in the service with the Saxon Spa.

We do appreciate all the visits you pay to the Saxon Hotel, Villas and Spa and wish that this incident would not detract from the fact that we consider you as a much deserved valued guest, and wish that you would visit us again in the future.

With this mail, I concur that the experience you had received is not of a leading hotel standard and certainly not of the Saxon Hotel, Villas and Spa. With the aforementioned, please take this mail as an open invitation to visit us again with re-assurance that all the below comments have been viewed, taken into consideration and the necessary adjustments have been made.

I do trust that you will have the experience according to your expectations of a leading hotel in your next visit. Please do not hesitate to contact me,

Kind regards, Wesley Grobler |Manager Special Projects| The Saxon Boutique Hotel, Villas and Spa

Why I would contact Wesley Grobler remains unknown to me, why I would ever want to go back to pay for such shoddy service confuses me even more.