The Athenaum Club, Southend

I recently spent a lovely relaxing day here for my daughters birthday. I thought the place was beautiful very relaxing & not busy, the staff were so helpful,lunch again very nice. My only concern was the heating, the treatment room was cold along with the swimming pool temperature. As this is a spa day & the majority of our day was around the pool I feel the pool should be a lot warmer. The jacuzzi was fabulous.

I visited the athrneaum club with my friend on Friday 25th August 2017 for a spa day for my birthday .

We were asked how we were finding our day when we were having lunch by a member of staff . My friend replied that there were a few things we were not happy with including no pool shoes in our sizes and very dirty ones , dirty steam room with litter inside and a few other points . Our issues were addressed and we were offered another day to visit with a treatment but we did not want to return so we came to an agreement of a partial refund . We thought that was the end of the matter and were ready to go home . We were approached by a very angry man who said he was the architect there ? He said he didn't ever want to involved in hospitality because of people like us ! And then continued to be very intimidating clearly angry we had made some complaints - he was in our faces , sarcastic , refused to speak to me putting his hand up if I spoke !!!! I was a paying customer how dare he shut me down ! He was rude , angry and a bully and we left feeling totally shaken shocked and upset . We cannot understand why he plroached us and treated us like that when the matter had been resolved with total professionalism .

We refuse to let this go and are taking the matter further . We have written to them and not getting a response other than to say the matter was resolved on the day . They refuse to deal with the issue of this man bullying us .

The location is curious and the interior could really do with some TLC, but ignore the sandstone corroding around the pool and some areas of peeling paint and focus on the excellent therapists, tasty lunch, great customer service and the fact it is o quiet you really can relax!

I read the reviews prior to my visit and thought I may ave wasted my money but the treatments alone were well worth the out of the day!

Lunch wax 3 courses with wine and was presented beautifully and tasted good.

Pool is a delight-ozone treated so no nasty chlorine smell.

A great day out

We were meeting a local business contact to discuss new business venture. We are the clubs target people. Childless and cashed up. How where we welcomed? We were put in a cold side room. So cold we had to keep our coats on. When we came back to reception to ask if we could sit somewhere warmer we were told a flat no. We would have loved the opportunity to buy a tea to warm up. No opportunity. There was virtually no one in the club. It felt really run down and unloved with basic attention to detail missing. Like horrible sealant in the bathrooms, spiderwebs hanging over the air vents in the ladies, dusty fake plants.

It has the bones of being something amazing with some really incredible Italian marble floors. But the maintenance, cleaning and staff friendliness all let it down. The paint is peeling off the front of the building, the driveway is green with weeds.

After showing interest at the front desk about the spa services I was amazed that the staff didn't take the opportunity to sell us the club services. Especially when we had stated we were 20mins early for our meeting.

It is a stark reminder that the person on the front desk can make or break the customer experience. If I were the member and found out that my client had been treated like that I would be seething with rage. The whole point of meeting in a club is to give added glamour to your business. We just got the cold shoulder. Shameful.

Please be aware this is a club that does not care about its members i have recently left the club because of the following issues. The gym equipment is usually left between 2-3 months before it is fixed, the air conditioning is blowing out hot as several of the staff have advised me it is significantly underpowered for the building. The filter in the water dispenser in the gym has not been changed in 7 years which creates health risks. Lastly if you have any issues at all within the club expect management will make no effort to resolve the problem as they very obviously do not care about customer satisfaction. This is not what i would expect from a average club let alone one charging £500 joining fee and £99 per month each. Very disappointing would strongly recommend not joining

Beautiful surroundings. Lovely restaurant and Bar facilities available to members only.

Over priced. Any "Normal" requirement is an additional cost ie to use the gym in evenings and at weekends.

A lovely idea, but I think The Athenaeum has priced themselves out of the market. They'd be much better off opening as a venue for weddings/parties and to sell spa days for those special occasions.

Definitely worth a visit to enjoy the ambiance and absorb the breathtaking surroundings.

I only went to look around now i go every day if u like to relax and do not like crowds the this is the club 4 u

The Athenaum Club Gym in Southend is no good for the average working man. It seems to be aimed more towards the upper class person.