01 Sep 2014
Women-only spa in Leeds, UK, blames daily deal websites for closure
BY Helen Andrews
The UK’s first five-star women-only spa – which opened in 2005 – has closed, citing daily deal websites and increased competition as reasons for its demise.
Developed by the County Durham-based Ebac Group – a European manufacturer of bottled watercoolers and domestic dehumidifiers – the 4,800sq ft (446sq m) Waterfall Spa was located at the Brewery Wharf development in Leeds city centre.
The facility featured six treatment rooms, a hydrotherapy zone, mud chamber, alpine sauna and aromatherapy steamrooms.
“Over the past three years the spa business has changed dramatically and the combination of daily deal sites and increased competition has made the business unviable,” reads a statement on the spa’s website.
Thanking former clients for their support during the business’ operation, the statement says payments made for bookings after 16 August will be “refunded in full”, as will valid unredeemed gift vouchers.
Five staff members have lost their jobs as a result of the closure.
Ebac originally chose Leeds as the location for the project over rival cities such as Manchester, Newcastle and Birmingham on account of its positive regeneration, development and commercial success, according to The Yorkshire Evening Post.
Jane Danson, the British actress who plays Leanne Battersby in ITV’s Coronation Street soap opera was one of the many famous faces that visited the Waterfall Spa during its heyday, according to the local press.
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