College unveils new £14 million commercial spa and health suite

A Luxurious state-of-the-art spa and relaxation complex opened this week.

Based at the heart of the new £14m Health and Wellbeing Centre at Coleg Cambria Yale in Wrexham, Iâl Spa features industry-standard facilities; simulated hospital wards and virtual reality environments sit alongside a Thermal Suite with sauna, steam room, jacuzzi and health food bar.

The cutting-edge building also includes a commercial spa and treatment rooms which offer bespoke pamper packages so customers can indulge in facials, massages, body treatments, and more.

Vice Principal of Technical Studies Vicky Edwards is excited to see their vision come to fruition and says the setting will be revolutionary for Beauty and Complementary Therapies, and Health and Social Care education in north east Wales and beyond.

Vicky said: “These are subjects which have traditionally been taught in the classroom, where learners never really got a true sense of a real-life, real-time spa environment. But now they will be dealing with customers in a setting comparable with any of the top spas and health and leisure suites in the region.”

She added: “What an incredible opportunity for our current and future students, who will leave us industry ready and undaunted, having also benefited from our partnerships with some of leading names in the sector, such as Dermalogica, Elemis, Made for Life Organics and The Goodwash Company.

They will be living the dream of any young learner wanting a future in this industry, so we encourage prospective students to pay us a visit if you are considering health and beauty as a career.”

While Iâl Spa is a haven of tranquility and relaxation, the core values centre on healthy living, nutrition, wellness and self-care, with treatments prescribed to alleviate mental and physical ailments such as anxiety and depression.

A series of launch events last week welcomed companies in those arenas, educators, clients, businesses, civic leaders and partner organisations, who labelled the venue a “new standard-bearer” for therapies and healthcare education.

Those words were music to the ears of Hair and Beauty Commercial Manager Sarah Edwards, who alongside Vicky and the team is delighted to see years of preparation and visualisation result in such an impressive facility – the site was completed by Bodelwyddan-based Wynne Construction, which also developed the adjoining £21m Hafod campus – during the summer.

Sarah said: “We are absolutely thrilled with the building; it is the living, breathing embodiment of a modern, innovative yet welcoming, warm environment which will be a major asset to our health and therapies qualifications.

The medical wards in particular are at the cutting-edge of technology, using virtual reality to simulate a real hospital, and the situations staff and paramedics would experience in A&E or on the wards – something you can’t replicate in a textbook.”

She added: “It is a truly amazing centre of excellence and the response we’ve had so far has been overwhelming, people cannot wait to visit us – we are already receiving bookings – and while this is a vital resource and facility for education, I’m sure it will also be popular with members and guests as they will be able to visit us for treatments at a competitive price.

Iâl Spa is a watershed for the sector, for education and the combination of both in supporting and teaching future generations – Coleg Cambria continues to raise the bar.”