Popular Kingsclere spa Laurabella is the best in the country
A popular North Hampshire spa can treat itself after scooping the ‘Best Spa’ honour at the England Business Awards.
Laurabella – a boutique spa based at Strattons Farm off the A339 between Headley and Kingsclere – won the award in the Grand Final at the ‘Englands (sic) Business Awards’.
The spa – which was set up in 2005 by Emma Hill, a beauty therapist – had been nominated for the award by one of its clients, before being visited by a mystery shopper from the awards.
It scooped the regional award in November, and was then automatically entered into the national award against spas from across England.
In a ceremony in Manchester on Mother’s Day, Laurabella was announced as the best spa in the country – much to Mrs Hill’s delight.
The beauty therapist – who named the spa after her daughters, Laura and Bella – said she was “chuffed to bits”.
She said: “I’m so proud – I was so proud before because we won the regional section, and now it’s against the whole country. I was really shocked.”
Mrs Hill put the award down to her “exceptional” team, and said all the treatments were bespoke to each individual client.
She continued: “We have really good teamwork.
“I’ve got an exceptional team – I don’t just allow my therapists to arrive and do whatever, we train each therapist to the standard we’d like to work at.
“We also work in a very different way to other beauty salons – we do every single treatment bespoke to that client.
“For example, if somebody comes in for a one-and-a-half hour massage, and they say they’ve really hurt their hamstring and they’ve got a triathlon coming up, they get more of a sports injury massage.”
The award win caps off a remarkable 17 years for Laurabella and Mrs Hill, who first set the business up as she wanted to “embrace beauty therapy the way I thought it ought to be offered to people”.
She travelled the world gaining experience, working on cruise liners, in health farms and in London as a manager of a health club chain, but she eventually followed her dream to open up her own spa.
She added: “It was just my dream.
“I wanted it to be welcoming and open to anybody and everybody, and also where we’re dealing with the person as an individual, not just the treatment.
“I wanted people to feel that it was a home away from home, cocooning and healing.”
Laurabella has five treatment rooms and nail and pedicure areas, with a sauna soon to arrive.
A party room has recently opened right next to the spa, opening the place up for big events such as hen parties and family celebrations.
In May, a new restaurant and tea room will be opening, featuring a Sri Lankan chef, specialising in sushi and cuisine from the island.
