So it was the Professional Beauty Awards on Monday night in London.

I regard this as absolutely the best recognition for anyone that works in the beauty and spa business, to get shortlisted from all the entries is a huge honour and to win is just wonderful. I have been very lucky to be asked to judge for the last two years at these prestigious awards and have found the experience a really inspiring thing to do.

This year one of the winners has just the best concept for a day spa I have ever come across, they are the UK’s only public sector day spa!!! This spa won the best Day Spa category, and their fellow finalists were a power house of the best spas in the U.K including the legendary Sanctuary in Covent Garden.

Spa London which is in Tower Hamlets, Bethnal Green in London is truly inspirational and its staff a credit to the beauty profession. They offer all the things you would expect to see at a spa, such as steam rooms, ice fountain, plunge pool and saunas as well as offering a great range of treatments, that on its own is great but what makes this spa really special is it has a truly wonderful community spirit. It has concessions for the local community and for senior citizens, paying only £7.75 for entry which reflects the area that the spa is located and a forward thinking approach to treatments that they offer that now includes a dry floatation experience. They have upwards of 400 hundred customers a week, which just goes to show how popular their concept is and they have big plans to open more across London, with the next one planned for Swiss Cottage very soon.

Now I believe that the Romans got it right with spas available for all and the spa being the real heart of the community, I have been lucky to visit some of the most amazing Roman sites with Leptis Magna in Libya being one of the most stunning places I have ever been. The communal row of toilets was one thing I don’t think we need to bring back, but the spa for everyone really is. People would get massages using scented oils, use saunas and steam rooms to relax, chat and maintain their health. I visited the Thermae Spa in Bath a while back and felt that it was heading in that direction but with a hefty price for entry would be a special treat for most people.

So if you’re planning to visit London and want to have a day spa experience, then please visit Spa London, after all it’s the best in the U.K