YSW ON TOUR… YU SPA AT APEX CITY QUAY HOTEL

Here’s a bold statement. I’ve decided the perfect Christmas present for me isn’t anything I can wear or use immediately. It’s actually a trip to the spa the following December, a week or two before the 25th. With Christmas 2021 just around the corner and the deadline for YSW’s magazine looming I kicked off one December Monday morning not with the customary coffee and emails but a rather gentler alternative. I’d been invited to Dundee’s Apex Hotel to visit the newly refurbished Yu Spa. Hard swap I know.

The Apex spa is actually my local and a firm favourite, so I was excited to be back. Located just off the hotel’s lobby, the spa is a haven of calm. Immediately all to-do lists are forgotten and for a few hours there’s just the serious business of relaxation to attend to.

The pool area of the spa has always been bathed in natural light at Yu Spa but the renovation that was started before the first lockdown in 2020 has freshened it up with lighter tiles and brighter fixtures. The old wooden spa baths have been replaced with a superb big new Jacuzzi-style pool and the old changing facilities have been revamped with brand new lockers with fancy electronic wristband activated locks. Everything feels fresh and clean and conducive to relaxing. The sister Yu Spa in Edinburgh’s Apex has undergone a similar upgrade, so you’re really spoilt for choice.

My therapist Rachael let me try out the Yu Signature Treatment, known as the spa’s ‘hero’ treatment. Using

luxurious Elemis products it targets the back, face and scalp and it soon became clear how it earned its moniker. Rachael started by giving my feet some attention with a little reflexology to target my spine before she set to work on my back. Funny (and strange) aside; in his wedding speech my husband said one of the things that first caught his eye about me was my excellent posture. Eight years, two children and a pandemic spent working at my kitchen table later, and things have become more slumped, but Rachael massaged and soothed, targeting a stubborn little knot in my left shoulder, and worked her magic with the hydrating frangipani monoi body oil.

After what must have been a good 30 minutes’ massage, I was so relaxed I’m surprised I wasn’t asleep on the table, but it was time to turn for a personalised facial using a proradiance cream cleanser, balancing lavender toner and papaya enzyme peel. Honestly a facial is my idea of heaven and I lay there lapping up the attention as other sumptuous Elemis products were applied. With my eyes covered and hot clothes applied, Rachael worked on my décolletage and gave me a sublime scalp massage, applying more of that gorgeous frangipani hot oil. I was so disappointed when it was over.

Then I had time for a few lengths of the pool, a dip in the spa bath and a sauna before emerging feeling totally rejuvenated and ready to take on the rest of my Monday. Just sign me up for the same again next year please!

Katie tried the Yu Signature Treatment which is priced at £70 Monday – Thursday, or £75 Friday – Sunday