Weekender: Former Royal Navy dentist launches city centre wellness spa

A former Royal Navy dental therapist, who opened her own clinic less than three years ago, has now launched a dedicated wellness spa in Hull city centre.

The former Colour Lounge salon on Carr Lane has now been redeveloped into the new wellness spa. The officially open took place on Thursday 14 February.

Amy Northen-Hills worked in dentistry in the Royal Navy and then in private practice. She opened Whitehills Dental Clinic in Beverley Road, Hull, in June 2015 and a year later moved to Newland Avenue after taking over a former hair salon to provide twice as much treatment space.

During summer 2018, Whitehills expanded into the adjacent premises to add skin and aesthetic treatments, whilst Colour Lounge ceased operations.

The newly revamped property’s first floor is fitted out as a hair salon, which is a brand-new venture for Whitehills. The basement houses treatment rooms, a jacuzzi, changing rooms and a relaxation area and the ground floor accommodates the reception and a lounge where guests can book in for afternoon tea with prosecco.

Northen-Hills said: “I used to come here every fortnight when it was Colour Lounge and I told them they should have a steam room and a jacuzzi. They said it would be a logistical nightmare – and now I know they were right!

“When we moved in some of the spaces were really tight with very low ceilings so we ripped everything out and started from scratch. Thanks to my husband and my dad we managed to keep the costs under £200,000. Without them it would have been more like £500,000.”

The investment has created eight new jobs, taking the total across both clinics to nearly 20.

Kathryn Shillito, HullBID executive director, added: “The transformation of the building is stunning and the business is a welcome addition to the growing ranks of high-quality, independent operators in Hull city centre.

“Whitehills Wellness Spa is unique in the Hull area for its combination of treatments and therapies and hopefully it will become established very quickly as a destination business, attracting more people into the city centre to find out what else we have to offer.”