The best spa hotels in the south of England
There are many hotels in the south of England that offer spas; but there is a subtle but definite distinction between ‘hotels with spa’ and ‘spa hotels’. The former offers spa facilities of some sort - often excellent - but it can’t be said that they are the main point of the hotel. The latter’s spa, usually in a separate, purpose-designed and often beautiful building, is the primary reason that many people choose that destination.
These places take their jobs very seriously, with forward-thinking managers and therapists who are trained in-house as well as by the product companies, extensive facilities, food offerings that are as innovative and health-oriented as the treatments, rituals and therapies on the spa menus, facilities for couples and an increasing emphasis on the well-being of the whole person.
• The best spa hotels in the north of England
Dormy House
Broadway, Cotswolds, England
8Telegraph expert rating
Read expert review From £215per night Check availability Rates provided by Mr & Mrs Smith
Sprawling over several floors, the Scandinavian-chic House Spa leads directly off the reception lobby, so you are in no doubt that it’s centre stage at this ‘reinvented rustic’ country house hotel. There are gyms for both work outs, classes and personal training sessions, a thermal suite, including a Cotswold lavender sauna, salt therapy room, rhassoul mud room and outdoor hot tub. Treatments are by Temple Spa and there’s a nail parlour, and a 16m infinity pool.
• The best spa breaks for couples in Britain
Cowley Manor
Cowley, Cotswolds, England
8Telegraph expert rating
Read expert review From £167per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
One of the first of the new breed of contemporary country house hotels to put their spa, C-side, at the heart of their offering. The glass-fronted building is a beautiful piece of modern design, sunk into a hill to one side. The treatments in the four rooms use the hotel’s own Green & Spring products, employing local natural products. There are indoor and outdoor pools and a dedicated manicure and pedicure area, gym, steam room and sauna.
Coworth Park
Ascot, Berkshire, England
8Telegraph expert rating
Read expert review From £415per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Coworth Park’s innovative, environmentally-friendly credentials are hidden behind a smoothly stylish interior and heralded by a vast and spectacular wildflower meadow. The curving, half hidden spa has to be one of the most self-indulgent in the country, flooded with natural light and decorated with art and sculpture. It has eight treatment rooms, the Spatisserie serving light meals (and champagne, of course), a Technogym and heated pool with underwater music.
Pennyhill Park
Bagshot, Surrey, England
7Telegraph expert rating
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There are eight indoor and outdoor pools to choose from – one even has soothing underwater music. There are also several hot tubs, Jacuzzis, herbal saunas and steam rooms. A myriad of natural and organic treatments designed to detox, cleanse and relax are on offer. The “Journey of Aroma” body and head massage is a perfect treatment for couples. And the heated ceramic relaxation beds, shaped to the body’s contours, are almost impossible to leave.
The Scarlet
Mawgan Porth, England
9Telegraph expert rating
Read expert review From £230per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
In the airy, multi-level, environmentally-friendly Scarlet, the feeling is one of intense relaxation. The womb-like spa specialises in Ayurvedic ‘journeys’, with tented treatment rooms and pods suspended in the dark for ‘deep relaxation’ and an all-glass sea facing roof for ‘light relaxation’. The reed-fringed, rock-strewn outdoor pool extends from the indoor one, punctuated by two bright scarlet wood-fired hot tubs perched between boulders overlooking the sea.
Chewton Glen Hotel
New Forest, Hampshire, England
8Telegraph expert rating
Read expert review From £285per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Combining old school, classic elegance and impressive grandeur with a contemporary, holistic approach, Chewton Glen’s award-winning spa includes Europe’s largest hydrotherapy pool. There’s also a 17m ozone-treated indoor pool lined with blue mosaic tiles and surrounded by Grecian columns and outdoor hot tub (as well as outdoor swimming pool). There are aromatherapy saunas and crystal steam rooms in the changing rooms and treatments on offer include Ananda and Ila.
Ockenden Manor Hotel & Spa
Cuckfield, West Sussex, England
8Telegraph expert rating
Read expert review From £149per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
The contemporary spa makes a startling contrast to the Elizabethan manor. An uncompromisingly modern building with a startling box-like exterior and an airy and natural interior, it has an indoor/outdoor pool, hot tub and Jacuzzi, walk-through rain shower, steam room, sauna, gym, relaxation area, sundeck, guest lounge and café. Six knockout bedrooms with shutters in the bathrooms open on to bedrooms that in turn open on to a roof garden with superb views.
Calcot & Spa
Tetbury, Cotswolds, England
9Telegraph expert rating
Read expert review From £249per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
The sprawling and spacious spa complements this extensive country house retreat with its relaxing treatment rooms, heated outdoor hot tub and indoor slate-lined pool (with separate swimming times for children) as well as large outdoor pool. Treatments include massages, facials, men’s grooming, manicures and pedicures and include Aromatherapy Associates, Caci and Skin Regimen, a new scientific, holistic approach to halting the skin’s ageing process.
Lime Wood
New Forest, Hampshire, England
9Telegraph expert rating
Read expert review From £299per night Check availability Rates provided by Mr & Mrs Smith
In the sybaritic Herb House Spa - airy, encased in glass and surrounded by greenery, there are private bathrooms with deep copper baths in the changing rooms, sensuous swimming, hydrotherapy and steam pools, a pioneering raw food café, Raw and Cured, a tempting shop, Curated, a mud house, relaxation rooms and state-of-the-art gym leading to a beautiful rooftop garden, all with sylvan views. Spa treatments are by Bamford, Voya, Pai, Tri-Dosha and Aromatherapy Associates.
Lucknam Park
Wiltshire, England
9Telegraph expert rating
Lucknam Park's state-of-the-art spa complements the elegant Georgian mansion and its extensive surroundings; indeed you can easily spend a whole day there, with an indoor pool that is embellished by a panel of flickering fire, an array of thermal treatment rooms and tubs and 12 treatment rooms, all surrounded by delightful gardens. The Well-Being house offers yoga, Pilates, dry flotation and sunlight therapy treatments. Read expert review From £230per night Check availability Rates provided by Mr & Mrs Smith
Grayshott Health Spa
Grayshott, Surrey, England
8Telegraph expert rating
Nutritious and delicious cuisine, superb facilities and an extensive range of holistic treatments, classes and talks ensure that guests leave this spa hotel feeling relaxed and restored. The facilities are impressive. There are large heated indoor and outdoor pools with loungers to laze on, a whirlpool with energising jets and steam rooms for those who want to splash. A jam-packed daily programme includes walks for all paces, fitness and holistic classes (some cost extra), and wellbeing talks. Spa treatments come in all guises from reflexology, reiki and acupuncture to a wonderfully attentive massage and a reviving glow facial that produces truly sparkling results. A week-long health regime and recovery retreats are also available. Read expert review From £220per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Boringdon Hall Hotel
Plymouth, Devon, England
9Telegraph expert rating
With a £5 million state-of-the-art Gaia spa, which hotel guests have complimentary use of, this Elizabethan manor house near Plymouth, in West Devon, offers pampering-a-plenty in a perfectly preserved historic setting. The food and service are first-class, and it’s excellent value for money. Facilities include a pool, hydrotherapy pool, several steam rooms and saunas, a relaxation room, large gym and beauty salon. The treatment list is extensive and includes a range of expertly-delivered signature hot-stone massages, along with facials, body scrubs and holistic ‘rituals’ – personalised treatments of up to two hours using the spa’s own-brand Gaia products. Read expert review From £79per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Careys Manor Hotel
New Forest, Hampshire, England
8Telegraph expert rating
History is combined with modernity at Careys Manor, both in the spacious, elegant rooms and the traditional-with-a-twist cuisine. But it's the luxury, Thai-inspired SenSpa that's the real draw. A large o-zone pool welcomes you, accompanied by a whirlpool tub, sauna and steam room. The adjoining area features a large hydrotherapy pool, herbal sauna, crystal steam room, laconium, tepidarium, health showers, ice room and a large relaxation room, where refreshments are varied and plentiful. The Thai Temple room accommodates the mind and body classes. The treatment menu boasts an incredible selection of experiences, inluding AlphaSphere Deluxe, a multi-sensory relaxation experience. Read expert review From £144per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Alexander House Hotel
West Sussex, England
9Telegraph expert rating
An affordable country house hotel with proximity to London. The Utopia Spa is the reason many people come. Its focal point is the indoor pool lined with Tuscan columns and Gothic alcoves. There is an outdoor Zen garden; sit in its outdoor hot tub while listening to the wrens warbling in the surrounding conifers. The Total Harmony treatment entails brushing the body, followed by the application to the skin of hot basalt lava stones. The spa suite rooms are an intriguing complement; think Egyptian cotton sheets, a roll-top bath for two, L’Occitane products, and a dramatic black rainshower unit with water jets that also transforms into a steam room at the press of a button. Read expert review From £159per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
