A south Liverpool spa that suddenly closed its doors has been repurposed as a "luxury rental" for private parties.
Carnatic Spa closed its doors on Carnatic Road in Mossley Hill last November, with customers arriving to find a sign on the front gates stating that the business was no longer trading. A statement on the now defunct website said: "Unfortunately Carnatic Spa is closed due to circumstances beyond our control. We are going through all bookings and trying to inform you before turning up."
The 'ladies only spa' once played host to a range of different reality stars including Vicky Pattison, Stephanie Davis and Love Island star Katie Salmon. It has since reopened as "The White House" which describes itself as a "luxury property based in the south suburbs of Liverpool" that sleeps up to 18 guests.
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A statement on The White House website reads: "6,000 sq ft luxury property based in the south suburbs of Liverpool. Sleeping up to 18 guests our private hire package gives you the ability to celebrate with all of your friends under one roof whatever the occasion. To explore our available dates please view our online booking system."
The closure of Carnatic Spa has remained a mystery since last year when a number of disgruntled customers posted on social media and TripAdvisor that they were only notified of the spa's closure once they arrived. The ECHO headed down to the area this week to try and find out what happened to the spa.
Based in a large white house on Carnatic Road, the property is registered under the name of Esmeralda. According to documents from the Land Registry, the house was last sold for £345,000 on January 31, 2002, and Philip Ball is the registered owner.
On Companies House, Natalie Adele Ball is listed as an active director for Carnatic Spa Limited, having been appointed on November 14, 2012. Ms Ball is also registered as a former director of the Liverpool Aesthetic Company on Rodney Street in Liverpool city centre, but she resigned from this role on March 31 this year.
Speaking to the ECHO last November, one customer from Carnatic Spa, Sue Mckean, claimed she spent months trying to contact the spa via phone and email, only for her booking to be cancelled when the business stopped trading.
The ECHO was shown correspondence from Carnatic Spa at the time that originally told Ms Mckean the spa was closed due to "urgent and sad family matters." In an email to Ms Mckean, dated November 23, the spa said the family was "undergoing legal proceedings".
Ms Mckean told the ECHO at the time: "If it's family issues, then it must be awful, but the email was worded that we'd have to speak to Groupon for an alternative, but what is the alternative?
"There is no alternative because the money has gone to the spa, so there is no alternative for us. There was no explanation — it was just 'speak to them.'"
Public documents published from an employment tribunal on February 25, said two employees were "dismissed in breach of contract in respect of notice" and Carnatic Spa Limited was ordered to pay damages of £1,083 and £486 respectively.
The documents said the two employees were dismissed by reason of redundancy and were entitled to redundancy payments. They added that the respondent, Carnatic Spa Limited, had also made "unauthorised deductions from wages by failing to pay" both employees "in lieu of accrued but untaken holiday entitlement." The company was ordered to pay back sums of £180.50 and £1,231.20 for these deductions.
When the ECHO visited Carnatic Road this week, residents who lived nearby were unaware about the reasons for its closure. One man, who has lived in the area for over 20 years, remembers when the spa first opened.
He said: "This used to be a quiet little back water. All the houses were where people lived and then it changed.
"We were disappointed like anyone else - when you see a business has opened you have some misgivings. It didn't cause us a lot of trouble. Occasionally it was difficult getting out of the gate because of people parking outside."
After the spa's closure, the man said "all of a sudden this notice appeared saying it's 'the White House'. He added that not many people have stayed at the property since it reopened as a rental for celebrations.
The ECHO also paid a visit to the registered office address for Carnatic Spa Limited at 48 - 52 Penny Lane, where the accountancy firm Matthews Sutton & Co Limited is based. The accountancy firm told the ECHO Carnatic Spa was a former client of theirs but is no longer registered to that address.
The ECHO approached The White House for comment.
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