A LUXURY spa is “hoping for a miracle” after being forced to put the business up for sale, having only been open for just eight weeks. 

The Oak Rooms Spa in Oak Road, Halstead, officially opened in January last year.

The owners moved there in August 2019 and spent months revamping the property.

However, just eight weeks after opening, the country was plunged in to the first coronavirus lockdown, with the spa struggling to re-open due to Covid restrictions ever since. 

Now owner Angela Andrea has announced the spa is now up for sale after almost exactly a year since its grand opening. 

A post on the spa’s Facebook page confirmed the spa was now on the market following rumours.

The post said: "Due to an email error on my part it seems that our sad news is spreading so I am setting the record straight.

"Yes, it is with great sadness we are putting the house and spa up for sale.

"We moved here in August 2019, spent three months refurbishing and opened officially in the middle of January.

"Sadly just 8 short weeks later we, like the rest of the country were closed."

In the announcement, the spa said support for the industry from the Government has been limited.

The post added: "Whilst I could furlough the staff, I had not put myself on payroll yet so couldn’t be furloughed - so no income.

"Yes we got the first grant but I used it to top up my staff to 100% as I knew they needed it.

"No one expected that lockdown to go on so long and no one expected the continual restrictions on our business, second and now third full lockdown.

"There is very little support coming from government and in a business like ours the expenses are there regardless of whether we are open or not - standards have to be maintained.

"Now we are hoping for a miracle where we can stay and reopen but I have to be realistic and plan for that miracle not happening."

Although the spa has been listed for sale, bosses are holding out hopes that the business will be able to continue.

Despite the announcement, the spa has not yet sold or permanently closed and is only closed due to the lockdown. 

The spa says it is fully operational and will not be processing any refunds for deposits from bookings as they may still go ahead.