In early May a boxing venue in London’s East End will bring the intimidating world of luxury spas to the people with a thoroughly modern £1.4 million restoration of 860 square metres of Turkish baths first opened in 1926. Spa London, based in Bethnal Green’s York Hall, will be the UK’s first public sector day spa offering usually pricey pampering at affordable prices.

“Poorer members of the community will get an experience like Champneys for just over a fiver,” says Paul Martindill, acting head of culture at Tower Hamlets council who are funding the project along with Greenwich Leisure Ltd, a non-profit leisure trust with a strong social agenda.

Tower Hamlets is ranked as one of the five most deprived areas in the country. A third of its 200,000 residents are Bangladeshi and it has one of the highest population densities in inner London. “Generally, people who live in poorer parts of the country are more likely to suffer from long-term health problems,” says Martindill.

According to a report published by Tower Hamlets Primary Care Trust in March 2006, about one in six people living in the borough said they had a long-term health problem and, as a result, hospital admissions there are higher than in any other part of London. The smoking rate for the borough is higher than the 24 per cent national average at 37 per cent, while for men it’s among the highest in the country at 43 per cent.

So can an accessible new spa help improve these depressing statistics?

“People tend to visit spas once a year but we want to make it a habitual treat. A body at ease with itself is less prone to disease,” says Alex Mitchell, the spa manager. Mitchell, who trained as a nurse, moved to Spa London from the five-star Old Course Hotel at St Andrews. She is looking forward to treating clients for whom a massage will be a genuine beneficial treat rather than just another diary appointment.

“We hope the spa will help to keep people out of local GPs’ surgeries. More people are becoming aware of the benefits of spa treatments to help reduce high blood pressure and relieve muscle tension, a cause of headaches,” adds Mitchell.

Results from a from an International Spa Association survey published in February found that more people, particularly baby boomers, feel entitled to spa experiences rather than viewing them as a treat reserved for special occasions. The most common reasons for visiting spas include relieving stress, soothing sore joints and muscles, to feel better about oneself and for mental or emotional health.

Research also showed that spa goers are looking for results and continue to expect more from their spa visits than just pampering. More than one in ten treat spa-going as part of a larger health and wellbeing lifestyle. And, the American Massage Therapy Association found that 30 per cent of Americans who integrate massage therapy into their routines do so for medical reasons such as injury recovery, pain reduction, headache control and overall health and wellness.

In time, the Spa London team hopes that doctors will refer patients for complementary treatments for both serious conditions and for minor injuries and ailments. “GP referrals work well on the Continent. A massage and sauna can often work instead of traditional Western medicine. We believe there will be indirect health benefits,” says Mitchell.

But is this “hot air” or does hard scientific evidence exist to back up these claims?

In Chile, local people benefit directly from a council-run spa that offers free treatments. With more than 70,000 visitors a year to the spa based just outside the capital Santiago, visits to local doctors' surgeries are down by between 20 and 30 per cent, as are referrals from the surgeries to the hospitals.

Spa Aqua Colina has physiotherapists, chiropractors, water therapy and aerobic classes to help improve the health of its visitors. The majority of people who attend are housewives and pensioners. But there are also people with diabetes, obesity, heart problems, depression and some who are recovering from injury.

However, when the author and spa expert Alexia Brue quizzed doctors at leading health complexes in Eastern Europe while researching her book Cathedrals of the Flesh, a typical response was: “We don’t really know how the health benefits work. The effect of the heat on the body is magic. Visitors spend a week here and go home happy.”

Basically, the health benefits of spa therapies remains a grossly under researched area particularly in the UK and US. However, there are a number of studies from Europe and Japan that highlight the advantages of hot and cold water spa treatments. For more information on the medical benefits of spas see the panel.

What we do know is that from the Roman settlement at Bath to Victorian public bathing houses and the lido fitness fads of the 1930s, Britain has long indulged in public bathing for community wellbeing. In the Mid-Victorian era London alone had almost 100 Turkish baths. Hot dry air and cleansing water were seen as a panacea for a whole range of illnesses from gout to skin diseases.

But with the arrival of penicillin, greater opportunities for holidays abroad and the rise of bathrooms in private houses this shared appetite for “taking the waters” fast disappeared.

Today, old fashioned Victorian Turkish baths still exist in Carlisle, Swindon, Edinburgh and Glasgow. London has the Porchester Baths in Queensway (1929) and Ironmonger Row in Islington (1938). And in Harrogate and Sheffield Victorian baths have been sensitively restored and given the 21st century spa treatment.

“Spas are now striving to reach for something new and authentic in the same way that chefs began stretching their sights in the 1980s,” says Brue.

“An authentic Turkish bath should have plenty of different sized spaces for interacting – from large communal rooms to small private nooks. This not only adds character to the lay-out, but encourages people to stay longer,” she adds.

Spa London, which comprises extensive thermal suites and four treatment rooms, has a “Robin Hood pricing strategy” which charges those who can afford to pay and offers concessions to others such as students, senior citizens and the unemployed.

A three-hour experience with use of all the thermal facilities will cost a non-member £20; £15 for a member (annual membership is £3) and £6 for concessions. This includes a fluffy robe, towel, branded flip flops and complimentary drinks. While the thermal facilities are subsidised, individual treatments will be on a par with other swanky West End spas. These range from £10 for a 15-minute eyebrow tint to £95 for a Sea of Senses Stone, Face and Body massage.

To come up with the Spa London model, Andy McCabe, a director of Greenwich Leisure Ltd, spent two years visiting some of the UK’s leading spas such as Calcot Manor in Gloucestershire and the Sanctuary in London. “Some were great and others awful,” he says. “There were those with off-the-shelf décor and plastic fibreglass doors to steam rooms. Many attracted a certain category of user – namely women with a high disposable income.”

Spa London is aiming to attract people, particularly women and over 60s, who may find other leisure pursuits too active, says Paul Martindill. “Because the pulse gets elevated by the changing temperatures in the thermal suites a spa gives the heart a workout without the stresses of the gym.” It is not, however, he adds, a replacement for physical activity. The spa will operate set men-only and women-only days and a mixed day each week.

But Londoners will not be stripping off and going all continental just yet. A recent survey from Saga Holidays found that one in five people say they don't know what to wear at a spa and almost a quarter say they don't understand treatments. In order to cater for a diverse community there will be a costume policy in place at Spa London.

The report also found that Londoners are more likely to go to spas than those living outside the capital in the UK with 49 per cent saying they are attracted to the idea. East Anglians appear to be the least likely to dip a toe in spa waters, with just 29 per cent expressing an interest.

Will the new spa set a trend? “Absolutely. If it’s successful we aim to roll out a set of suites across London,” says McCabe.

For more information on Spa London: 020 8709 5845; www.spa-london.org

Top tips on enjoying a spa experience and independent reviews of more than 35 spas in London visit timesonline.co.uk/goodspaguide

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