BESPOKE SERVICE FOR WOOING

So you’ve been to the spa, had your hair fixed and put on one of Savile Row’s finest – but is that enough? When it comes to attracting the fairer sex, it seems not. Many men need help in getting on with women and a London agency is offering a bespoke service that they guarantee will make clients more successful with women.

“Our clients rarely know why they fail to connect with women,” says Paul Cartwright, of the Black Book Consultancy, based in Highgate Village, London. “More often than not, it’s a combination of factors that we target individually.

So the consultancy is offering one-on-one coaching, tailored to the needs of each client.

This may start with Body Language,  Then, there are ‘effective flirting techniques’, confidence creation programmes, style, fashion and presentation tips, and help in ‘conquering fear’. For really difficult cases, hypnosis is an option, while the benefits of online dating may be explored, and Neuro-Linguistic Programming, whatever that may mean, is available. The final target on the consultant’s list is Sexual Performance.

“Our clients range from media professionals to police officers,” Cartwright reveals. “Some want a wife and others fancy a fling. There’s not a guy out there who can’t use some help finding that special lady and making a great first impression.”

More more info go to www.theblackbookconsultancy.com

AS PUBS CLOSE, SPAS OPEN

There must be a correlation between the numbers of pubs closing every week and the numbers of spas opening all over the place.

Instead of going to the pub after work, more and more men make for the gym or the local spa, which is good news for their health but a shame for the traditional British meeting point of the pub. Spas just don't have the same appeal but there is no denying that they do have more variety and certain other attractions.

After one of the snowiest winters in years, the ‘Snow paradise’  attraction of the new K West Hotel and Spa in London’s Richmond might be a mite thin. This latest addition to the capital’s spa assortment opened over Valentine’s weekend, after a £2 million spend on the place, and claims to be a ‘holistic’ spa. See the gleaming structure below.

This encompasses a sanarium, sauna, Thai massage room, sun meadow, dry flotation tank, experience showers, foot baths, an aromatic herbal steam room, as well a hydrotherapy pool and the Snow Paradise. This last is said to be the first in London, offering guests the opportunity to freeze their way to good health in the finest natural powder snow, at a tingling -15ºC. They are then advised to experience a hot-cold therapy by alternating between steamy and icy environments. www.k-west.co.uk

For a more exotic location, how about Latvia, where the Amber Spa Boutique Hotel is offering a range of ideas on detox and regeneration. These take in a wide variety of  treatments from the East and the West, in a setting that is close to the Baltic resorts, and surrounded by pine forests. Prices start from £1,000 for a 5-day programme. www.amberspahotel.lv

To tempt those still wary of spas, Grayshott Spa, in the heart of the Surrey countryside, is offering one-night Taste of Grayshott breaks. These allow visitors to see the full range of facilities and treatments available that may then persuade them to book a longer stay. Including dinner on the day of arrival to lunch the next day, with spa treatment and use of all the facilities, the cost is from £149. Check out www.grayshottspa.com

Doyenne of them all, Champneys (right)continues to attract almost a third of its guests from overseas. Established in 1925, it has set the standard for many that have followed and covers all types of spa treatments, in the lap of luxury. A rejuvenating week here  this Spring includes massages, facials, thalassothery pool, head in the clouds scalp massage, aromatherapy wrap and various other pampering treatments, with accommodation and meals that by no means have to be frugal, at a starting price of around £800. www.champneys.com

For those seeking relaxation rather than anything energetic, floating is the thing, as the young lady at top. An hour spent floating in a tank at The Floatworks gets rid of stress and worry, they say, and leaves the skin smooth and glowing. You can book a Floatworks Gift Package of 2 floats for £50. www.floatworks.com