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The best spa hotels in the south of England
Mia Morrison
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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.
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.Read expert reviewFrom£236
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 workouts, classes and personal training sessions, a thermal suite, including a Cotswold lavender sauna, salt therapy room, Mud Rasul room and outdoor hot tub. Treatments are by Temple Spa and there’s a nail parlour and an infinity pool.Read expert reviewFrom£399
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.Read expert reviewFrom£545
There are eight indoor and outdoor pools to choose from at this Surrey spa hotel – one even has soothing underwater music – as well as several hot tubs, herbal saunas and steam rooms. There are myriad natural and organic treatments designed to detox, cleanse and relax, including packages for couples. And the heated ceramic relaxation beds, shaped to the body’s contours, are almost impossible to leave.Read expert reviewFrom£311
In the airy, multilevel, environmentally friendly Scarlet, the feeling is one of intense relaxation. The womblike 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.Read expert reviewRates provided by Booking.com
Combining old-school, classic elegance and impressive grandeur with a contemporary, holistic approach, Chewton Glen’s award-winning spa is said to have one of Europe’s largest hydrotherapy pools. There’s also an ozone-treated indoor pool lined with blue mosaic tiles and surrounded by Grecian columns, plus an outdoor hot tub and swimming pool. The changing rooms feature aromatherapy saunas and crystal steam rooms.Read expert reviewFrom£405
The contemporary spa makes a startling contrast to the Elizabethan manor: an uncompromisingly modern building with a spectacular box-like exterior and an airy and natural interior. Facilities include an indoor/outdoor pool, hot tub, walk-through rain shower, steam room, sauna, gym, relaxation area, sundeck, guest lounge and café. Six knockout bedrooms open onto a roof garden with superb views.Read expert reviewFrom£238
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.Read expert reviewFrom£364Rates provided by Booking.com
This sybaritic spa is encased in glass and surrounded by greenery. There are private bathrooms with deep copper baths in the changing rooms; sensuous swimming, hydrotherapy; a pioneering raw food café, Raw and Cured; a tempting shop, Curated; and 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 and Sarah Chapman. The roof is a good spot for yoga.Read expert reviewFrom£495
The state-of-the-art spa complements the elegant Georgian mansion and its extensive surroundings; indeed, you can easily spend a whole day there, luxuriating in an indoor pool 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 wellbeing house offers yoga, Pilates, dry flotation and aromatic thermal massages.Read expert reviewFrom£292
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: large heated indoor and outdoor pools, a whirlpool with energising jets, and steam rooms among them. A jam-packed daily programme includes walks for all paces, fitness and holistic classes (some cost extra), and well-being 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 reviewFrom£396
With a 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 reviewFrom£115
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 reviewFrom£189
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 reviewFrom£199
Thermal waters are the draw at The Gainsborough: its Spa Village has thermal pools, powerful massage jets, ice alcoves and thermal fountains. Other treatments include controlled submerging with a therapist (liberating both mentally and physically), exfoliation and magnesium wraps. Massages draw on Malaysia’s rich healing heritage. You can even access thermal waters from your bathroom, a UK first.Read expert reviewFrom£165
Designed by renowned stained-glass artist Brian Clarke, the Coach House at Beaverbrook is a work of art; it’s the antithesis of the bland and soulless hotel spa. Water runs along rills; there is a feeling of comfort, energy and surprise. As well as six treatment rooms, each with a garden, and a wet spa, including an “English Bath House” (hammam), there are three pools – two outdoor – including one for children. The huge indoor pool recalls a Thirties lido, complete with reclining wicker chairs. Big-name brands have been eschewed in favour of natural skincare from small, bespoke English companies.Read expert reviewFrom£640
Mia Morrison 
