Meet the Spa Manager of Brandshatch Place Hotel & Spa Rachel Tuffin
Ten of our country house hotels boast spa facilities all offering treatments from a wide selection of reputable product houses including Elemis, Ishga and Mii. If you have never experienced a treatment, spa day or break, then Hand Picked Hotels is a great place to start with venues across the country.
We meet Rachel Tuffin, Spa Manager of our Kent-based venue Brandshatch Place in Fawkham, set in 12 acres of parkland and gardens, and less than an hour from London. Whether you are here for a hen party, wedding, business event or a long weekend, it provides the perfect setting to relax and unwind. After travelling around Europe for several years working for some of the most celebrated hotel and spa resorts gaining invaluable experience, at the start of 2014 Rachel decided it was time to settle in the UK and get her teeth stuck into a spa where she could really make a difference and joined Brandshatch Place.
What made you join the spa industry?
From a young age I was always experimenting with make-up and mixing different beauty products to create weird and wonderful concoctions for my own enjoyment. My true love for the industry came after I started working as a therapist in a small spa just after gaining my beauty therapy qualification, the satisfaction you receive after performing these wonderful treatments on people is beyond words.
What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?
Seeing people leave our spa looking and feeling 100% relaxed and rejuvenated. Everyone has busy lives and it is important for us to take time out and I’m proud that we can be a part of that process for people, to improve their wellbeing.
What is your favourite treatment, and why?
By far my favourite treatment is a facial, we are lucky enough to use ELEMIS here at Brandshatch Place, having those products applied followed by a scalp massage is pure heaven.
What is unique about the spa at Brandshatch Place?
I would like to think that our guests visit Brandshatch Place because of the home-from-home experience; it’s a really warm, friendly environment to relax in. That and we are very fortunate to have a very longstanding team who understand our guest’s requirements and how to achieve them.
Do you have a signature treatment?
We don’t have a signature treatment but our new ELEMIS Biotec treatments have really proved to be popular. I had never really had an electrical facial before but after having the ELEMIS Skin Resurfacer I could not believe the difference, my horrid grey winter skin was gone and my skin felt baby soft.
If someone has never visited a spa before, what would you recommend to them?
As a new spa goer I think it is really important to enjoy the full experience, where you can spend an entire day using the lovely spa facilities, maybe with a spot of lunch and a mix-ture of a few express treatments where you can completely switch off. The feedback that I get from our guests is that they don’t take enough time to zone out and it isn’t until they do it for a day that they realise how much they really needed that time to relax. I would personally recommend our Refresh and Revive Spa Day from £114. You get to enjoy two express treatments – including a facial, back, neck and shoulder massage, full body scrub or tired eye treatment – plus a shape and polish for either your fingers or toes, along with the full use of the spa facilities.
What is a commonly asked question by guests who visit the spa?
On a daily basis I hear, what is my skin type? That is when talking to a therapist can really help. I used to see a lot of clients, when I was doing treatments, who would tell me they had been using a specific brand or product for years and still living with common skin complaints, such as dryness or oiliness, and couldn’t understand why. Sometimes it is as simple as changing your skincare routine, introducing another product to treat your main concerns or simply booking in regularly for a facial to maintain beautiful results.
What is the most popular treatment, and why?
I would say that massage is the most popular treatment. There are so many advantages to having a massage and I think that every single person, regardless of what they are looking for, can benefit from having one. Massages are so helpful for people who have muscular aches and pains but also psychologically these treatments soothe the mind and create an ultimate feeling of wellbeing, which in turn eliminates stress and improves health.
