For a relatively small island, we are fortunate enough to have some gorgeous luxury spas to choose from. I am making it a personal mission to visit as many of them as I can. I do love a good spa.
After some research I have come up with a list of UK spas I would like to visit. Of course, there are many more I hope to have the pleasure of enjoying if the opportunity arises as well.
I’ll be sure to share my spa reviews with you here as I do find it useful to read honest experiences about spas – they are all so different.
If you want to get in on the UK spa action this year then do read on! And if you have a favourite that is not yet on the list, please do let me know.
Galgorm Spa, Northern IrelandLuxury UK Spas
1. Rudding Park
A gorgeous spa resort in Harrogate, Yorkshire. It has been rated a 5 bubble spa by the Good Spa Guide and has a huge range of spa options including a rooftop spa, hydrotherapy infinity pool, panoramic sauna, herbal steam, luxury spa, sauna cabin, and more.
Rudding Park has recently had a makeover and the photos look incredible. It’s set in 300 acres of parkland and in a gorgeous English heritage building.
Rudding Park – Harrogate
2. Rockcliffe Hall
Another countryside retreat, this 5-star hotel and spa in up north, near Durham. Rockcliffe Hall boasts a huge spa area complete with large windows overlooking the countryside.
It has plenty of spa facilities including a pool, various thermal rooms, two outdoor heated pools, gym, studios, and a Nordic walking garden. It sounds like an ultra-luxury spa retreat.
Rockcliffe Hall – Durham
3. Stobo Castle
A destination spa in Scotland, Stobo Castle is a dramatic setting for relaxation. The castle is home to the hotel, and the new extension is the luxury, eco-friendly spa.
There is a large pool with windows looking out over the landscape, outdoor hot tubs, hydrotherapy pool, saunas, steam rooms, relaxation rooms, and a Japanese water garden. The decor looks sumptuous and opulent, and well… you get to stay in a castle!
Stobo Castle – Peeblesshire
4. Pennyhill Park
This five-star hotel and spa have 8 pools (8!) including an underwater ballroom pool that plays music! That alone is reason to go visit. Other than that, this spa is so large it’s set over 3 floors.
There is a thermal area, hydrotherapy pool, Canadian hot tubs, relaxation rooms, and so much more. The food is supposed to be pretty good too. All this and it’s set in gorgeous grounds.
Pennyhill Park – Surrey
5. Dormy House
This spa and hotel are pretty local to me down in the Cotswolds in the very pretty village/town of Broadway. It has a boutique vibe and luxury looking spa. Dormy House is a renovated farmhouse with decor that contrasts Scandinavian design with traditional Cotswold stone.
There is a 16-metre infinity pool, lavender sauna, salt inhalation room, juniper sauna, experience showers, and an outside hot tub. Apparently the food is pretty good too!
Dormy House – Worcestershire
6. Chewton Glen
This hotel and spa are situated in one of my favourite places in the country, the New Forest. Chewton Glen is pretty well known as the hotel with the treehouses, but it also has a pretty nice spa too. There is a 17-metre pool, a large hydrotherapy pool, tepidarium beds, and an outside hot tub.
Facilities also include a gym and a range of fitness classes. Chewton Glen spa also uses Natura Bisse products in their treatments, and they do some of the best skincare products I’ve ever tried.
Chewton Glen – Hampshire
7. The Scarlet (review here)
A hotel and spa perched atop a cliff looking out to sea sounds relaxing already… The Scarlet is an eco-friendly, adults-only hotel.
It has a freshwater pool filtered by reeds, heated cliff-top baths, sauna, steam room, and relaxation rooms. It’s down in Cornwall so you’re getting a real lungful of Atlantic ocean air when you stay there.
The Scarlet – Cornwall
8. Champneys Tring
Set in a stately home, Champneys Tring has an air of elegance about it. The Champneys brand is all about holistic wellbeing so you expect, relaxation and health (they even have physios, and nutritionists available) to be a top priority.
The spa offers a 25-metre pool, gym, two studios, an indoor and outdoor whirlpool, steam room, sauna, thalassotherapy pool, several relaxation areas, and all set in 125 acres of gardens and woodland. Champneys Tring is the flagship spa for the brand, and it looks stunning.
Champneys Tring – Hertfordshire
9. Gleneagles
Gleneagles has always been on my wishlist. It has that timeless decadence about it, all set in the wilds of beautiful Scotland. The spa has many single-sex areas so that’s worth bearing in mind. There is a spa journey that takes you from the changing rooms through heat experiences and relaxation areas, then through to the mixed-sex hydrotherapy pool and the spa courtyard.
The food at Gleneagles is supposed to be fantastic both in the spa and in the hotel restaurant. Not forgetting the hotel offers a range of outdoor pursuits such as golf, shooting, falconry, archery, fishing, off-road driving, and more. This place would be a real treat of a spa retreat experience.
Gleneagles – Perthshire
10. Aqua Sana – Sherwood Forest (review here)
Part of the Centerparcs resort, the Aqua Sana Spa in Sherwood Forest has recently undergone a renovation which has introduced six new zones and 25 experiences.
These include an alpine steam room, ice cave, rainforest walk, volcanic steam room, a treetop sauna, hot springs, forest immersion, tepidarium beds, water beds, and more. The whole list of thermal experiences is pretty epic and I’m so keen to try this all out.
Aqua Sana – Nottinghamshire