"A cup of tea" with Darren Ash, Health Club & Spa Manager and Carla Inglis, Spa Manager, Norton House Spa, Edinburgh
Camellia's Tea House
We're a speciality and wellness tea company with many of our teas and herbal infusions designed and hand-blended by us.
What is your favourite tea and how often do you drink tea?
Carla - Good old English breakfast tea first thing in the morning. Throughout the day will have 2 or 3 cups of lemon green tea which is wonderful, zesty and soothing.
Darren – Must admit.... on a daily basis I am more a coffee man, however I do enjoy tasting lots of different herbal teas when I visit spas, it’s interesting learning the benefits and how certain teas are built into the client journey.
How long have you been in the spa industry, what led you to it?
Darren – I’ve been in the industry for 11 years now, I was in the British Army and had a natural passion for fitness, when I started working as a fitness instructor in Spas I became passionate about the wellness industry as a whole, this lead me to study the industry with the Spa Education Academy, looking into the future I would like to be a leading wellness figure for the industry in the UK.
Carla - After I qualified as a beauty therapist in 2004, I decided to work in spas. I much preferred carrying out relaxation holistic type treatments and the atmosphere and serenity of spas.
Could you describe your Spa’s treatment ethos and what you look to give to your clients when they visit you? For example, physical, mental or emotional improvements?
At Norton House Spa we aim to transport our guests to a sanctuary of tranquillity and harmony, where every effort is focused on your wellbeing and relaxation through mind and body.
Our Spa team is passionate and dedicated to their profession. When guiding our clients towards the right choice of treatment and product we take into account their overall lifestyle, individual emotions and feelings at that moment in time and how they would like to feel after their treatment. Therapists and spa staff aim to optimise effectiveness of the treatments and therapies offered.
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Which other aspects, beyond treatments, do you look at when you are creating your client journey through the spa? Such as ambience, colours, lighting etc. How important is food and drink to your wellness offering?
Over the last few months we have been working really hard to incorporate a client journey which touches each of your 5 senses, we have added in visual fire places on our TVs to really enhance a warm inviting feel, relaxing music is played in all our areas as well, we have an amber lounge which is exclusive to spa days only where they can relax and read a magazine, this room is lit by day light, we also have the relaxation room which is dark and extra cosy!!
And of course we now have our amazing sleep well tea bags in the locker for our Spa Day Guests. All our spa days include an afternoon tea or bento box, we have been working hard with our F&B team and have recently extended our food & drink offering in the lounge area.
Why did you choose to partner with Camellia’s Tea House?
To enhance our Spa Day experience. We are always looking for ways to be different from our competitors and to offer that extra special touch. Having visited one of my favourite spas over in Ireland I was familiar with the brand, when I had tasted it I knew it was a must!! We then had to think how this can be added in to the customer journey and what flavour of tea suits us best.
How does offering Camellia’s wellness teas fit within your customer journey and the spas ethos?
The Sleep Well tea was the perfect fit into our client journey and what we are building on, combining the 5 senses. We really needed to add some more taste into the spa day journey, as this specific tea promotes a restful night’s sleep we came up with the idea to put the tea bag in the locker, this way the client can have their tea in the spa, or they can continue the Norton spa experience at home and have the tea before bed.
What feedback have you had from your customers about the wellness tea/s and how does this add value to your business?
Our Spa Day guest have loved it!!! The taste is amazing as the tea contains all natural ingredients, it’s been complimented that because the guest can choose when to have their tea, it adds an extra special touch.