Banya No.1 - Chiswick Reviews Summary

Therapists

Pros:

• "The therapist was a man and I was nervous as I do have a disability and I worried that the pressure may be more intense with a male. What I will say is that he was really considerate and asked me during the treatment whether I was ok."
• "Shout out to Sergei who was brilliant throughout, incredibly welcoming and friendly!"
• "I want to say a huge Thank You to Alexei who was in charge of doing our Parenie, he was highly skilled, professional and passionate about what he is doing & truly wanted us to get the best Banya experience."

Cons:

• "I was not aware that the therapists were men only - ultimately they were brilliant but as self-conscious as I am, I would have liked to have known this."

Treatment Experience

Pros:

• "The parenie was my favourite, jurij brushed and gently tapped oak, birch&eucalyptus leaves over the whole body."
• "Parenie was like nothing I've ever experienced before! it is deeply relaxing and leaves your skin renewed."
• "The Parenie is an incredibly cleansing experience and would definitely recommend."
• "Back Massage was performed by Virginia and I am definitely coming back to see her. Deep tissue with pressure points - hard one to find in London."

Cons:

• "The treatment isn’t a set time and it depends on when the therapist is next free - a bit more guidance and explanation would be perfect."
• "As I tried to politely address the issue, the staff were rude and refused to understand that a women's only spa days means that no men in bathing suits should be present using the facilities."

Facilities

Pros:

• "Facilities are finished to a very high standard, service was excellent."
• "The place looks modern, clean and well looked after."
• "The Sauna was nice and hot, and if it cooled down, a staff member was available to add water to the stones for more heat."
• "Authentic facilities."

Cons:

• "The changing rooms were quite tight as you book in slots 3 of us were leaving and 3 coming in, so the space in the changing area was minimum."
• "At 16:15 on Saturday female changing room was too full, which is the only downside I see."

Accessibility

Pros:

• "As someone with a disability I like to share accessibility for others."
• "Getting from the lounge area to treatment rooms and shower area is all pretty flat, just can be slippery."

Cons:

• "There are a couple of stairs from the changing room to the lounge area. The changing room is quite narrow in places."
• "The plunge pool you have to climb into."

Atmosphere & Service

Pros:

• "The staff is very nice and welcoming."
• "We were particularly impressed with how lovely every single member of staff was, so warm and helpful."
• "Staff are professional and attentive."

Cons:

• "More alarming was having an audience in the parenie - this was excruciating being watched in this way."

Food & Beverages

Pros:

• "We had water and tea included which was really nice."
• "Tried venigret salt and rassolnik soup, 5 out of 5."
• "The food was really good."
• "Food was delicious (especially the palmeni dumplings!), and quite reasonably priced."

Cons:

• "It was so funny that they got me the bill for half a lemon for 2 pound and close to 8 pounds for black tea after we spent 340 pounds there."
• "I don’t like to recommend you to my friends at all, and also we didn’t have any choice to have my meal and the meal wasn’t good."

Overall Satisfaction

Pros:

• "Wonderful experience - I had a great time."
• "Would recommend to anyone that hasn't been to try it at least once!"
• "It was a great and authentic Russian Banya experience."

Cons:

• "I expected more for the price. My friend and I felt underwhelmed."
• "It was OK but I wouldn't rush back."