Spa Verta

Spa Verta is a small spa in the basement of the five-star Crowne Plaza Hotel in London's sprawling Battersea. With no tube or railway station nearby, you might be wise to pre-order a taxi from Victoria or Clapham Junction stations to ensure you don't get lost. Alternatively, it's a ten-minute walk from Clapham Junction.

Take the lift from the hotel reception down to the spa. The small reception area has a comfortable corner sofa to sit and fill out consultation forms, and shelves of ESPA and NEOM products for sale. A member of staff sitting behind a small desk warmly greeted us. She talked us through our itinerary for the day and handed us a brown waffle robe and white slippers before showing us to the changing rooms.

Over 20 light wood, half-height, keypad-operated lockers containing hangers make up the small changing rooms. Change beside one of two central grey benches with chic under-lighting. Your vanity bar is opposite and has two hairdryers but, surprisingly, no other amenities for post-spa preening.

To the left are two spacious cubicles with hot, powerful showers, each attractively designed with mosaic-tile walls; they contain ESPA shampoo, conditioner and body wash. There's one loo and a swimsuit dryer here, too. Everything was clean and tidy on our visit. Grab a fluffy towel and a cup of iced lemon or cucumber water on the way out.

A waft of warm air greeted us as we entered the wet facilities, making us head straight for the attractive 10-metre raised hydro-pool. This has a gold mosaic-tiled wall, two round bubbling chairs and two ultra-powerful swan-neck fountains. At the top end is a row of sunken metal bars; sit down and let the jets work away at your thighs.

A sauna, sanarium, steam room, foot spas and experience showers (with "tropical" and "cool" settings) are set in a square around the pool, with two arched, tiled loungers in the middle. We had the entire space to ourselves for most of our visit and happily floated from room to room, frequently heading to the pool to take cooling dips.

The steam room, sauna and sanarium were plenty hot enough, each comfortably accommodating between six and eight people. We loved the "tropical" setting on the experience shower which delivers a proper warm drench.

There's one relaxation area; however, as it has no door, you can hear foot traffic outside. The room is stylishly decorated in marble and creams, with plenty of flickering candles. There are four comfortable recliners in the centre, each with headrests containing pockets for your valuables (a nice touch) and electronic devices for you to listen to music. Simply choose the track of your choice, adjust the volume to your liking and listen away. Help yourself, too, to magazines, a wide choice of Tea Pigs tea, iced water, and Kilner jars filled with nuts, dried banana pieces and raisins.

Spa Verta also has a small gym in case you want to work out during your visit.

We enjoyed an ESPA Aromatherapy massage (55 minutes, £80).

My therapist, Katie, collected me from the thermal facilities and led me to a larger-than-average treatment room with a shower and a cupboard to store your valuables. The room was smartly decked out in creams and chocolate browns, with light wood flooring.

Katie invited me to sit on a chair and asked me to choose an ESPA aromatherapy oil for the treatment; I chose one designed to relax and de-stress. Katie then asked me if I had any areas of concern (a gym injury) before leaving the room so that I could lie face-down on the bed.

The treatment began with me taking three deep breaths of the relaxing oil: a blend of sandalwood, rose geranium, frankincense and myrrh. One inhalation and I felt instantly calm.

Katie massaged my back and shoulders, checking the pressure before continuing on to my arms and legs, paying particular attention to the injured area. Katie asked that I turn over so that she could repeat the massage on my front. She then performed a deeply relaxing head massage; this was a gentle massage which I found very soothing. Afterwards, I felt sufficiently relaxed and ready to face the busy streets of London.

Spa Verta also offers a range ESPA and Neom facials, wraps and massages, lava shell massages, manicures and pedicures, waxing, and treatments especially designed for men and mums-to-be.

You need to get dressed to take lunch in the Pad Restaurant & Bar, which is on the mezzanine level of the hotel, and named because it has a view of the helipad. If it's a sunny day, opt for a seat on the terrace and take in views of the River Thames.

The menu is more indulgent than healthy -- think patés, burgers and chocolate fondants -- with four choices for each course, including one vegetarian dish and gluten-free options for dessert. You can enjoy three courses and a glass of complimentary Prosecco as part of your spa experience.

Our pan-fried halloumi, pear, walnut and beetroot salad was beautifully presented and delicious. For mains, we opted for a burger with skin-on fries washed down nicely with Prosecco. A real treat.

We loved

The treatment: Our massage was expertly delivered by a skilled therapist.

Despite being open to passing spa-goers, the relaxation room is really stylish with some quirky ideas.

The views: It's rare to be able to sit right by the Thames in London, let alone watch helicopters take off.

We didn't love

The location: Spa Verta is tricky to find; do some research before leaving the house.

The lack of signs: Arriving into a hotel, heading to the basement for your treatment and then going up to the mezzanine level for lunch is somewhat confusing. We got lost several times.

The slippers provided did little to stop us sliding on the very wet floor in the thermal facilities area.

The changing rooms would benefit from a few more amenities.  

Visitors to London: Anybody staying at the hotel, as either a tourist or business guest, will enjoy spending time in the spa.

Peace and quiet hunters: This is an adult-only spa meaning peace and quiet is almost guaranteed.

Londoners: Work in the area? Pop to the spa at lunch time and enjoy a relaxing treatment before returning to work.

We awarded Spa Verta a Good Spa Guide Bubble Rating of 4 Bubbles. Despite the awkward location and lack of amenities in the changing rooms, it is a stylish little spa with some good thermal facilities and a decent treatment menu. Those London views are hard to come by, too. A bit of TLC in the thermal facilities would elevate this spa further.

Super Spy visited in June 2018 and awarded it 4 Bubbles.