With the long Bank Holiday weekend already fading into distant memory, we’re dreaming about our next adventure. Our selection of Britain’s best spas and beauty retreats will guarantee to revive, refresh and rejuvenate the mind, body and soul, whenever you fancy getting away from it all. We’ve arranged our shortlist according to who you should venture there with!
With your girlfriends – Hoar Cross Hall Spa Hotel, Staffordshire
Just 30 miles outside Birmingham, the luxurious Hoar Cross Hall Spa Hotel awaits. Tucked away in a peaceful village, the hotel is a real treasure. Spa packages include delightful surprises such as fluffy robes, luxury towels and even a onesie. Celebration cakes and champagne add a lovely touch to birthday weekends or hen nights.
A menu packed with head to toe holistic and beauty treatments includes the Rite of Mankind. This traditional Moroccan massage and cleansing treatment uses black soap, eucalyptus, crushed olives and Rhassoul mud. Opt for the Egyptian Trilogy if you fancy bathing in a fragrant milk bath just like Cleopatra herself.
With your other half – Cowshed Spa, Babington House, Somerset
A long spa weekend is a wonderful way to spend quality time with your loved one, and the Babington House in Somerset is a romantic dream come true. As part of the iconic Soho House Group, this oh-so-stylish country house hotel is suitably indulgent. Their Cowshed Spa boasts a huge variety of health, beauty and wellness treatments, along with an indoor and outdoor pool. Treatments incorporate award-winning natural, organic and sustainable products using botanicals and essential oils.
Couples’ therapies include the delicious Scrub, Soak, Massage package. Stretch outside beside your partner on a heated sandstone slab to enjoy a full body brush and skin polish using cleansing sea salt crystals infused with spearmint essential oils. Yes, please.
With your mum – Belfry Hotel & Resort, Sutton
There’s nothing quite like a weekend away with your mum to put the world to rights, and the Belfry Hotel & Resort in Sutton is perfect for the job. Everything about the spa epitomises luxury from striking décor to the 12 expansive bio thermal treatment rooms. The incredible Fire & Ice Sensarium includes a crystal steam and tranquility room, a sauna and an igloo with chilled air and ice cubes to balance and stimulate the body.
Feature showers rain down peppermint-infused droplets and the Aroma Cave offers an aromatic steam experience to purify inside and out. The Four Hand Massage is to die for. We also highly recommend the Body Glow Spa Day, where you’ll be exfoliated, polished and massaged from head to toe with a dreamy mix of essential oils, sea salts and hot volcanic stones.
With your colleagues – The Swan Hotel & Spa, Lake District
When those all-important team bonding weekends come around, a spa break is a popular choice. If you want to relax but still retain that level of professionalism, The Swan Hotel & Spa is the ideal destination. Set on the edge of Lake Windermere in the Lake District, the hotel features spacious conference and events facilities. Original 16th century architectural details are enhanced by shabby chic décor, lending the whole hotel a glamorous yet comforting ambience.
The acclaimed spa includes EPSA treatments and a swanky nail bar with high-end products. We recommend a signature mani-pedi followed by a luxurious Aroma massage and a dip in the Jacuzzi. If there’s a better way to unwind after a hectic week in the office, we’d love to know about it.
With anyone in the world who loves a good pampering – Stobo Castle Health Spa, Peeblesshire, Scotland
Sprawling countryside? Check. Fresh Scottish country air? Check. A luxurious spa set inside a rural castle? Check! Stobo Castle is set among the beautiful Peeblesshire countryside with nothing but Japanese Water Gardens and lush greenery as far as the eye can see. A trip here is pure and total escapism. As The Good Spa Guide’s three-time winner of ‘Best Spa in Scotland’, Stobo Castle Health Spa offers up an extensive menu of nourishing treatments and holistic therapies.
There’s reflexology, massage, mud wraps and the sweet-sounding top-to-toe sugar glow. Soft velvet and embroidered fabric furnishings enhance the glam aspect. The spa includes a Swedish Sauna and Crystal Steam Room with essential oils designed to soothe, calm and refresh. Alfresco hot tubs are flanked by giant torches, illuminating the unbroken Scottish landscapes. Don’t miss the hydrospa and its unique standing massage treatments.
Well, those are our favourites – what are your top spa escapes in Britain?
