Thermal pools, fireside hot tubs and top-notch treatments – these UK spa breaks will leave you feeling relaxed and refreshed.
By Jasmine Perry
High on the edge of the Peak District National Park, Buxton Crescent was built for William Cavendish, the 5th Duke of Devonshire, in the 1780s. This charming Grade I-listed building is now a luxurious spa hotel with modern facilities and 81 sumptuous bedrooms.
There are plenty of treatments, including magnetic therapy and oncology treatments. I enjoyed an exhilarating Himalayan Salt Massage (£85 for 50 minutes) and a Therapeutic Thermal Mud Pack (£85 for 50 minutes) – great for relieving joint pain.
Our Junior Suite had a roll-top bath, king-sized bed and large shower room. Guests can also choose from cosy attic rooms to the majestic Crescent Suite with views across the Buxton Slopes.
The dining room offers British classics, while traditional afternoon tea is served in the hotel’s bar. There’s an extensive menu available in the lounge, and the spa café is perfect for post-treatment refreshments.
The indoor/outdoor heated pool, multiple saunas and the thermal pool supplied by Buxton mineral-rich water were pure bliss.
Book: rooms from £170 per night, including breakfast and spa access. More info at Ensana Hotels.
By Jennie Buist Brown
Nestled on the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond and within the Trossachs National Park, Cameron House Hotel & Spa offers its guests five-star luxury in glorious surroundings. Built in the 1700s by novelist Tobias Smollett, the original house is quintessentially Scottish – think towers and turrets – while a newer wing has many loch-facing rooms.
The spa is a few minutes’ drive from the hotel with a regular shuttle service. I enjoyed a wonderful full body massage in one of the 17 treatment rooms. There’s also an indoor pool, plus an outdoor rooftop infinity pool, heated to a cosy 38°C, as well as six thermal rooms. Inside the hotel there’s a family pool with waterslides, bubble pool, steam room and sauna.
We stayed in a beautifully decorated suite with a separate lounge area overlooking the loch. Luxury facilities included ESPA toiletries and a free mini bar.
From afternoon tea in the lounge to delicious breakfasts and dinners in the Cameron Grill, the hotel caters for all tastes.
After relaxing in the spa, a trip on the loch in the hotel speedboat was the perfect end to a perfect stay.
Book: spa packages from £560 per room, per night. Visit Cameron House for more details.
By Jane Ackroyd
In the heart of the New Forest, this luxury hotel is home to the SenSpa, which blends ancient Thai traditions with modern state-of-the-art facilities.
I booked a ‘Moments for Me Menopause spa day’, designed to help alleviate menopause symptoms, which included a stress-busting massage.
Choose from rooms in the 18th-century manor house, as well as suites and garden rooms. Our Thai-inspired Rosewood Suite was next to the spa overlooking manicured gardens.
We floated into the Zen Garden Thai restaurant in our dressing gowns and tucked into a tasty lunch of succulent seabass with pak choi.
The SenSpa kept us relaxed for days.
Book: rooms from £249 per night, including breakfast. The Moments for Me Menopause Spa Day (including a day at the SenSpa, massage and lunch with a drink) is from £245.
More information at Careys Manor.
By Rebecca Norris
This rural, 16th-century Cotswolds manor house has a sandy limestone exterior and climbing foliage. Inside, you’ll find roaring fires and stylish interiors.
I enjoyed a blissful Aromatherapy Associates Massage (£120 for 55 minutes) using my choice of essential oils. Other treatments include facials, manicures and pedicures.
There are rooms in the manor house itself or self-contained suites in the grounds. We stayed in The Cottage with two bedrooms, a lounge with a log burner and a private courtyard.
The Brasserie is Calcot’s elegant restaurant and serves breakfast, dinner and afternoon tea, all made with produce sourced from local suppliers. You can also have breakfast delivered to your room.
The outdoor hot tub, set beside an open fire in a courtyard lined with lavender, is the spa’s prized centrepiece. And if you fancy exploring the hotel’s 220 acres, you can borrow wellies or a bike.
Book: rooms from £334 per night, including breakfast. See Calcot for more information.
By Kirsty Tyler
Tucked away in the rolling fields of the Nailbourne Valley, this 17th-century, red-brick manor house, which once hosted gigs by the likes of The Kinks and Led Zeppelin, is now the perfect bucolic bolthole. Full of Jacobean period features, including ornate fireplaces and secret stairways, it still retains a rock ‘n’ roll vibe.
I had a supremely relaxing Hot Stone Massage (£115 for 60 minutes) in one of the cosy, rustic Potting Shed treatment rooms. Other treatments include facials and body wraps, all using Voya products.
We stayed in the opulent Big Comfy Luxe room – one of seven in the main house – which has a super-king bed, freestanding bath and walk-in monsoon shower. Guests can also stay in Hop Pickers’ Huts on stilts, Stream Wagons or Lodges.
Like all eight Pig hotels, the restaurant is at the heart of Bridge Place. What isn’t grown in the hotel’s impressive fruit and vegetable garden comes from within a 25-mile radius to support local suppliers. The famous crackling and apple sauce ‘piggy bits’ are a must.
We loved the decadent bar with its creative cocktails, roaring fires and velvety sofas.
Book: rooms from £240 per night room only. More info at The Pig Hotel.
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