NEWS
PICTURE : CHRIS BOOTH WORDS : GRAEME ANDERSON
Chilling out – David Lloyd Teesside general manager Mark Sylvester has overseen a
£ 3.4m refurbishment at the Stockton club .
AND RELAX …
Spa retreat is part of leisure club ’ s multi-million-pound facelift
The addition of a luxurious spa facility at the David Lloyd Club Teesside has helped make it the perfect all-around package for the health and fitness needs of its members .
A recent £ 3.4m investment – primarily spent on creating a suite of spa options – means that rest and relaxation is now as much of a service the club offers as fun and fitness has always been .
And general manager David Sylvester , who has overseen the redevelopment , says he feels the leisure club now serves all the needs members might have .
“ It was great to see David Lloyd Leisure invest so much money in our club and it has certainly been money well spent ,” he said .
“ I think it points to how the company has always evolved its services to suit the needs of members over the years .
“ One of the things that has happened during the Covid-19 pandemic was the widespread realisation of how important mental health is to people , as well as physical health .
“ And the spa facilities we have now address that need in particular – you can easily go to a spa treatment and simply lose an hour relaxing and resting your mind .”
There ’ s plenty to distract now from the stresses of the outside world in terms of sensuous and soothing treatments .
Developments include a spa retreat with a Himalayan salt sauna , an amethyst crystal steam room , a fire and ice room , foot spas , a plunge pool and a Finnish sauna .
“ Our experience rooms in the spa are designed to help and support people in different ways ,” explained David .
“ Oils help reduce stress , for example , perfumes and smells can soothe , the fire and ice steam room helps with muscle fatigue or recovery with their use of hot and cold .
“ So , we know that we as a club can provide fantastic new options in terms of relaxation or pampering and treats , as well as sports and exercise .”
David Lloyd Leisure was founded in the 1980s by the former tennis player to run innovative health and fitness centres in the UK with an emphasis on racquet sports . Since then , the group has grown to become Europe ’ s largest health , fitness and leisure business by revenue , operating more than 100 clubs across nine countries .
During that time , the clubs have evolved to provide a health and fitness lifestyle to its members , offering a huge range of services to people of all ages .
“ The spa side of things is the latest way we ’ ve developed ,” says Mark .
“ We still have the tennis side of things and all clubs run junior programmes but outside of that the business has grown and developed .
“ We have state-of-the-art gyms , we have studios which offer 100 group exercises per week , and we run karate classes .
“ And , of course , there ’ s the non-sports sides of things that we offer – enjoyable food and drink , places to relax and arts and crafts as well as creche facilities , so that parents can come here and choose to use whatever they want in the knowledge that their kids are safe and being looked after .
“ It ’ s all about offering lifestyle choices .”
Relaxation – A hydrotherapy pool is part of an impressive new spa retreat at David Lloyd Club Teesside .
The latest choice on offer is that provided by the new spa facilities – but Mark is keen to point out that the cash invested found its way into all areas of the Stockton-based club .
“ We have a brand new gym as part of the redevelopment as well as refurbished studios and revamped food and drink facilities and a refresh across the entire building ,” he added .
“ It was all done in stages from last July to this April and it was challenging at times , but our members think it was completely worth it for the club they now have .
“ That ’ s reflected in the lengthened amount of ‘ dwell time ’ we ’ ve recorded among members , which shows they ’ re staying longer and using more of the facilities we have to offer .”
To find out more visit davidlloyd . co . uk / clubs / teesside
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