From historic Roman baths to ultra-modern treatment centers, there are plenty of options across England if you require some rest and relaxation. Here’s our pick of the best places to unwind, with our recommendations of which therapies to indulge in during your visit.
The Fish Hotel
Best for Unwinding in Nature
A haven nestled within the woodlands of the 200-hectare Farncombe Estate, The Fish Hotel is the perfect luxury retreat for those wanting to reset in nature. Accommodation ranges from suites with stunning Cotswolds views to tucked-away huts and woodland-wrapped treetop hideaways. We recommend the treehouses, which come with heated outdoor baths and an intercom for bar-to-bath room service.
Farncombe Estate is more than just a country escape. It is also the ultimate holistic wellbeing center, offering treatments that nourish your soul and nurture your mind. Offerings include guided meditation walks beneath the tree canopies in the Woodland Wellbeing space, yoga workshops, sound baths, wellness talks and more.
You can even pop over to sister hotel Dormy House, only a six-minute drive through the estate, to visit its award-winning spa. It has an extensive menu of top-to-toe treatments, including the option to drift away in its isotopic floatation tank. This is a tub filled with 500 kilograms of Epsom salts and 1,000 liters of water, offering the chance to find a state of Zen while floating in complete darkness and silence.
The Gainsborough Bath Spa
Best for Spa Fanatics
Bath is one of the greatest spa towns in England, known for its historical Roman baths and healing waters. One luxury hotel taking advantage of the natural thermal springs is The Gainsborough Bath Spa, the most opulent hotel in the area. It is the only hotel with direct access to the town’s ancient underground springs, allowing you to enjoy the healing waters in an exclusive setting.
The Romanesque Bath House is the core feature of the hotel. Set beneath a glass atrium, experience a spa circuit that includes two natural thermal pools of varying temperatures, traditional and infrared saunas, a steam room and an ice alcove. Its signature body massage is incredible, but we recommend trying one of the new treatments in partnership with like-minded Hungarian spa brand Omorovicza. Its products are centered around the patented Healing Concentrate, which incorporates the natural minerals of Budapest’s thermal baths.
The Lakes by Yoo
Best for Groups
The Lakes by Yoo is an impressive 344-hectare sustainable estate of luxury lodges situated among multiple meadows, woodlands and 10 lakes. Interiors have been designed by various partners, including Kate Moss, Phillippe Starck, Kelly Hoppen and Elle Macpherson. You can expect a stunning stay whether you choose a cabin, luxury apartment or a grand six-bedroom manor.
There are also plenty of activities and wellness experiences to enjoy, such as forest bathing, zip-lining, meeting farm animals, nature trails, bike riding and tennis. But best of all is their five-star spa. Expect treatments from Barbara Sturm with high-tech facials and melt-away massages with Moss of the Isles and Wildsmith Skin. For something truly unique, try a Cossmoss Ritual. Founded by supermodel Kate Moss, the Dusk or Dawn rituals are balancing, full-face and body treatments to perfectly bookend your day.
Lucknam Park
Best for Explorers
Within 200 hectares of glorious parkland lies the five-star country house hotel Lucknam Park. This luxurious Palladian mansion in Wiltshire will feel like your home away from home. Nestled in the rolling hills of the southern Cotswolds, it’s an idyllic spot for the quintessentially British countryside experience. Enjoy elegant and plush interiors, an equestrian center and Michelin-Starred British dining.
Hidden between walled gardens and meticulously manicured lawns is the grand spa, with its dazzling array of facilities. It offers a 20-meter pool, indoor–outdoor hydrotherapy pool, thermal cabins and a skincare mixology bar for the most bespoke facials to suit every skin type and concern.
There is also an extensive treatment menu, ranging from a Coconut Lomi Lomi massage, executed Hawaiian style with warm coconut oil and movement inspired by ocean waves, to science-led facials in partnership with 111Skin. The Celestial Black Diamond Non-Surgical Lift Facial is a firm favorite. Using 10 steps of treatment to target fine lines, wrinkles and skin laxity, it leaves your complexion smoother, lifted and contoured.
The Grove
Best for Families
For those traveling with families, The Grove is the ultimate luxury spa break with something for everyone to enjoy. It’s home to an award-winning championship golf course, a kids club, four restaurants and the renowned Sequoia Spa. Its recent renovation coincides with the reopening of the hotel’s mansion rooms and suites by Martin Hulbert Design.
The spa has recently partnered with esteemed British wellness brand Bamford, creating a treatment menu with holistic rituals, massages and facials bespoke to Sequoia. We love the B Vibrant Ritual, a revitalizing experience that energizes the body and awakens the senses. It begins with a refreshing foot bathing ritual and sound therapy to rebalance your energy, before progressing into a full-body exfoliation. Finally, melt into a full-body and Indian head massage using cooling Citrine crystals to focus the mind. This is an experience that will leave you feeling refreshed and relaxed for the rest of the day.
Gilpin Hotel & Lakehouse
Best for Romantic Escapes
This is the ultimate romantic and secluded sanctuary in the Lake District. Here you’ll find private hot tubs and saunas, Michelin-starred dining and exquisite accommodation in either the grand Edwardian hotel or the adjacent modern lake house.
The suites themselves are enough for a wellbeing escape; we especially love the impressive Spa Suite, which is essentially a bedroom that floats above the pond. The selling points are almost endless – mountain views, a vast circular stone bath, a double shower, a spa room with sauna, a steam room, an infrared lounge bed, a state-of-the-art massage chair and a hot tub on the deck.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the spa is a haven of tranquility. Designed by Sarah Jane Nielson of Nielson House, it’s a warm and inviting space filled with natural light, textures and scents. Book in for the Gilpin-exclusive ESPA Signature Treatment to release tension, boost your complexion and restore inner calm. This head-to-toe treatment includes a back exfoliation, full body massage and illuminating facial and scalp massage for an experience of pure bliss.
