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Review: Catalyst Health at Victoria Park Plaza, London

Spa days are wonderful - you're pampered, pummelled and prettified, while your cares just melt away. Unfortunately, the feeling rarely lasts, and the next day you're back at your job, your manicured nails chip, the stress piles back on and it's like you've never been away in the first place. iVillage travel reporter Jen Howze finds a solution in the Day That Lasts a Lifetime Package at the four-star Victoria Park Plaza Hotel

The Day That Lasts a Lifetime Package initially sounded somewhat unappealing to me, imagining hour-upon-hour of bikini waxes or interminably painful anti-cellulite massages. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it doesn't actually last a lifetime, but just seems that way.

The idea is that you have your pampering - a massage and pedicure for example - but as well as this, you also receive personal training guidance intended to endure long after the nail polish has dried and the memory of the massage faded away.

The spa itself, in the basement of the large corporate-feeling hotel two minutes walk from Victoria train station, is a clean, rather small and fairly standard gym space. When we visited, a businessman was having his regular personal training session and several women in the changing room were dressing quickly for work. No pan flute music or relaxation rooms here, but the program, run by personal training company Catalyst Health, is friendly and unhurried, and I was looking forward to my one-on-one training.

I was to have my resting metabolic rate measured, but had no idea what that meant. My personal trainer Jon Brazier explained: it's how many calories you burn when at rest. By knowing your rate, you can figure out how much exercise you need to slim down and how many calories you can eat to maintain or lose weight. In other words, it's the key to an enduring weight loss and exercise plan.

The test involved breathing into a little handheld device for 10 minutes. A computer calculates the rate and the personal trainer interprets it all. I discovered that my resting metabolic rate is 1360, which meant that to stay at my ideal weight of 122 pounds (as if!), I need to eat around 1900 calories a day.

Jon spent several minutes doing something no other trainer has done: he asked about my everyday life. He wanted to know how I spent my days, my normal tasks, what sports I liked. This is because Catalyst focuses on 'functional fitness' - exercises and workouts that utilise movements and muscle groups you do in everyday life.

I have a baby, so am frequently lifting and carrying her. I also sit at a computer for long stretches and like to go surfing when I can. Jon developed a program for me that strengthened my torso and back, improved my stability and helped me with pop-ups - the action of 'jumping' aboard the surfboard in the water.

He had me twisting here and there, balancing on a Swiss ball and livening up my routine by ditching the same old crunches and lunges, and to my great surprise I found all the exercises to be really fun! We went through the entire workout and later he emailed the exercises to me with thorough descriptions.

After all that work, it was time to relax. The gym has two snug treatment rooms just off the workout floor. My massage and Decleor facial were well-performed and relaxing, but I was particularly impressed by the manicure and pedicure - one of the best that I've had. The hands of my therapist Emi Hojo were buttery yet firm, and I barely remember anything after the heavenly massage except that I emerged with soft satiny fingers, and toes perfectly topped with polish.

It did feel a bit decadent afterward, wrapped in my fluffy towel and chilling out while gym-goers huffed and puffed on the machines and free weights. I wasn't bothered but the treatment rooms do seem to take a backseat to the gym facilities. You wouldn't want to come here for a day of pampering with your girlfriends.

Six months later, I'm still using the lion's share of the workout crafted for me. They remain fun while strengthening the sides of my waist, my lower back and my core muscles and even the memory of that awesome pedicure still lingers! Of course, nothing lasts forever, but the benefits of Catalyst's spa-and-personal-training experience, for me, have yet to run out.

Vital information
Catalyst Health operates the personal training and spa facilities at Victoria Park Plaza. Choose from a wellness menu offering everything from the Ultimate Catalyst Delux Day - complete with personal trainer and fitness MOT - to manicures, massage and even a mini facial. Half-Day Spa Packages start from £149

The 'Day That Lasts A Lifetime' consists of five hours of treatment, starting with a goal-setting and lifestyle session with advice given on diet and nutrition. After a fitness assessment and blood pressure, metabolic rate and heart rate tests, you have a personal training session. Participants get free use of the sauna and steam rooms before a healthy lunch served in the Victoria Plaza Restaurant. The afternoon is finished off with a relaxation massage, Decleor facial and manicure and pedicure. The package costs £299

Catalyst Health at:
Victoria Park Plaza
239 Vauxhall Bridge Road
London, SW1V 1EQ
Tel: 020 7769 9885
Visit the www.catalysthealth.com, or go to the Victoria Park Plaza website for more details.