About Spabreaks.com
Today a trip to the spa can be seen as a status symbol, a flex of your financial well-being, and searching prices at local spas, it’s not hard to understand why. Spabreaks wants to democratize the spa so that they are available to everybody, not just those flush with cash. By returning to the ancient purpose of spas as a place for all people to have a sanctuary for mind and body, Spabreaks seeks to break through the class ceiling.
Spabreaks.com is a spa booking service partnered with over 700 spa destinations in the UK and overseas to arrange spa days for almost 6,000 people a week. As the leading spa-booking platform in Europe, they offer the best customer service with multiple booking options, a wide range of packages, exclusive spas and locations, and expert advice, all backed up with a best price guarantee. With incredible prices and unsurpassed selection, it’s easy to see the massive appeal of Spabreaks.com.
Spabreaks.com Overview
You used to have to travel far and wide to find the real-deal spas, the temples dedicated to mind and body sprawling over several floors, the Ayurvedic ‘journeys’, the outdoor thermal spa villages and hydrotherapy suites you can spend hours in emerging the other side, reborn.
Not anymore. After a quick car or train journey you can find yourself floating on your back in an outdoor pool looking up at the sky before hot footing it inside to the toasty sauna. You can flip flop between impressive indoor-outdoor hydrotherapy pools, swim through open-air infinity pools with views onto surrounding English parkland. You can go subterranean to be slathered in rejuvenating, mineral-rich Scottish seaweed or even take a bath in the stuff flown in daily from the Hebrides.
Yes, spa breaks in this country are easier than ever to book. Whether that’s for a day, night, weekend or week, here’s our pick of the best spa hotels in the UK.
How we review
Every hotel in this curated list has been visited by one of our expert reviewers, who are usually hosted on a complimentary basis. They stay for a minimum of one night, test at least one meal and trial other experiences (in this case, for instance, the spa) that the hotel might have to offer. We will earn a commission if you book via the links below, but this never affects our rating.
At a glance, the best spa hotels for 2022
Beaverbrook
Beaverbrook might date back to 1866 but it certainly doesn’t take itself too seriously – as evidenced in its spa which was designed by Brian Clarke in a refreshing riot of colour. There are six treatment rooms all designed by Clarke and based on a different flower found on the estate, with experiences ranging from the classic (the Relaxation massage delivers exactly what it promises) to the more ‘out-there’ choices including a hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber, and intravenous ‘infusions’. If weather permits, the checkerboard-bottomed outdoor pool is the place to be; overlooking this is the indoor pool. The thermal suite has a whirlpool, steam room and sauna.
The Gainsborough Bath Spa
Thermal waters are the draw at The Gainsborough (it’s the only hotel spa in Bath with direct access to them) and its Romanesque Spa Village is quite something. There are three substantial pools in which to wallow – the largest set under a glass-roofed atrium – as well as saunas and a steam room and 11 treatment rooms offering a wide range of massages and Asian‑influenced therapies. All guests can book a complimentary Bath House experience at the Spa Village (with access to the natural thermal pools) between 9am-5pm.
Best spa hotel for families: Calcot & Spa
The sprawling and spacious spa complements this extensive country house retreat – all dreamy cream furnishings, soft sofas and crackling fires – with its seven relaxing treatment rooms, heated outdoor hot tub, indoor slate-lined pool and large outdoor pool. Children are welcome in the spa here at generous set times, but they also have four hours a day in the childcare provided ‘Play Barn’ so a perfect chance to have some peaceful spa time. Treatments include an Aromatherapy Associates Immune Support boost massage which uses a blend of essential oils of tea tree, eucalyptus and pine to provide relief and support a healthy immune system; ELEMIS facials and massages; and CACI cosmetic experiences.
Best Romantic Spa Hotel: The Gilpin Hotel & Lake House
Gilpin Hotel & Lake House is firmly in the indulgent break category. Set beside a wooded private lake, its swanky private Spa Suites offer cosseting boutique hotel luxury combined with stress-busting seclusion. Each cedar-clad cabin is 6ft above ground for show-stopping views across the Lake District fells. There are log fires, state-of-the-art music systems and sitting rooms that convert into treatment rooms for massages à deux. Upping the spa game are the five Spa Lodges which feature private walled gardens with a hot tub, steam room, sauna and separate treatment room equipped with infrared lounge beds and a massage chair. Gilpin Lake House, for groups of up to 12, has spa facilities and an indoor pool.
Soho Farmhouse
Created by the Soho House group, this is not your standard rural retreat: a boutique hotel meets Canadian wilderness cabin meets American country club. What was once a derelict farm has been transformed with some 40 reclaimed timber cabins flanking four man-made lakes and the original 18th-century farmhouse buildings. The facilities are without peer – from the Cowshed spa with sauna, hammam, hot tubs and a broad range of treatments, to the luxurious cinema, cookery school and spacious gym and spinning studio. Add to this an indoor and outdoor pool, boating lake, tennis courts, football pitch, horse riding and the outstanding “Teeny Barn” kids’ club.
Best spa hotel with an outdoor pool: Cliveden
There are country house hotels – and then there’s Cliveden. The National Trust property’s spa is set around its listed, heated outdoor pool – the spot where John Profumo notoriously first met Christine Keeler – which is edged by lawn, lined by sun loungers and overlooked by two hot tubs. Yet more loungers look out into the garden from behind glass, with every other day bed separated by a floor-to-ceiling curtain. Past that, a collonaded, marble room is home to the heated indoor pool, whirlpool tub, steam room and infrared sauna.
Best dog-friendly spa hotel: The Gleneagles Hotel
Set in one of the Highlands’ prettiest locations, Gleneagles’ spa is known for its crack team of practitioners who nudge you back into wellness via tailored diet, fitness and lifestyle programmes. The range of treatments cover every conceivable face and body treatment; go for The Long Exhale, a two-hour massage that involves a foot scrub using a mixture of honey, salt and heather seeds followed by a full body massage. With saunas, steam rooms, hydrotherapy vitality pool and superb relaxation areas, you may never want to leave. Dogs are very welcome here and will be provided with a dog bed, foam duvet, plastic floor mats with two bowls and a poop scoop set (there’s even on site kennels if you would prefer).
Lucknam Park
The state-of-the-art spa, cut from polished cream stone, complements the elegant Georgian mansion and its extensive surroundings. You can easily spend a whole day there, luxuriating in an indoor pool embellished by a panel of flickering fire, an array of thermal suites (including a Japanese salt steam room, jasmine-scented amethyst room, a eucalyptus-infused steam room, a tepidarium and a sauna); and eight therapy rooms. The indoor-outdoor hydrotherapy pool allows dippers to swim through to an open-air infinity pool with views onto the surrounding parkland and arboretum. There’s also a private outdoor area with saltwater plunge pool for those having treatments.
Kimpton Blythswood Square
You will find this modern, funky, and oh-so quiet spa deep below the hotel, which is located in a prime, tranquil site overlooking a leafy square in Glasgow city centre. Many of the marvellous treatments are based around mineral-rich Scottish seaweed – you can steam, swim or relax in a bath of the stuff flown in daily from the Hebrides – like ishga (Gaelic for ‘water’) skincare, which makes its products using antioxidant-rich organic seaweed and natural spring water from the Isle of Lewis. Hotel guests get complimentary access to the Thermal Experience; a circuit of wet and dry, warm and cold rooms.
Galgorm Resort & Spa
During Galgorm’s Celtic Sauna Ritual (spa circuit) there’s a choice of things to admire – from the picturesque grounds through the sauna window, to the staff wafting oil-infused steam around the room with a towel – while participants simply sit and inhale. The outdoor thermal Spa Village is a watery wonderland (do pack your swimming gear). It has a large pool (with a polished pebble floor to massage pressure points in your feet), indoor and outdoor thermal spa pools, an ice room where you can slather shards of ice over yourself post-sauna, or soak in one of five log-fired hot tubs dotted along the riverside.
Best boutique spa hotel: Dormy House
This handsome haven of comfort and wellbeing is above pretty Broadway on the north western edge of the Cotswolds. 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. Facilities are glorious, with a lavender sauna, salt-infusion steam room, infinity pool, hot tub outside and a gym for workouts, classes and personal training sessions. Treatments are from prestigious brand Tata Harper, Beata and Temple Spa.
Best five-star spa hotel: Lime Wood
This is the kind of place you go to feel pampered, and you won’t be disappointed. The sybaritic spa at this refined country house in the heart of the New Forest is encased in glass and surrounded by greenery. There’s an outdoor hot pool, indoor lap pool and hydrotherapy suite. An impressive treatment list includes relaxing Bamford massages and facials alongside complexion-improving Sarah Chapman skincare treatments (think microneedling and LED light therapy). Enjoy the spa, take a core class on the roof terrace, ramble through woodland, and then indulge in unfussy hearty fare at Hartnett Holder & Co.
Pennyhill Park
Daily life at this luxury country house hotel revolves around its exquisite Michelin-starred dining and an impressive spa featuring no fewer than eight indoor and outdoor pools (one even has soothing underwater music and fibre optic lighting) and a Roman-style suite of heat rooms. There are also several hot tubs, herbal saunas and steam rooms, plus myriad natural and organic treatments designed to detox, cleanse and relax. And the heated ceramic relaxation beds, shaped to the body’s contours, are almost impossible to leave. Champagne served in and around the pools adds a touch of luxury.
Best coastal spa hotel: The Scarlet
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’. There’s a reed-fringed, rock-strewn outdoor pool which extends from the indoor one, punctuated by two bright scarlet wood-fired hot tubs perched between boulders overlooking the sea. There are also numerous wide terraces with perfectly positioned loungers to soak up the views.
Chewton Glen Hotel
Combining old-school, classic elegance and impressive grandeur with a contemporary, holistic approach, Chewton Glen is a place of many parts, all of them wholeheartedly luxurious. Its world-class spa is said to have one of Europe’s largest hydrotherapy pools, near which guests will find an indoor pool lined with blue mosaic tiles and surrounded by Grecian columns, aromatherapy saunas, crystal steam rooms, a long menu of treatments with experienced therapists, plus an outdoor hot tub and swimming pool. The spa’s café serves a healthy buffet where guests can eat in robes and slippers.
Hints & Tips
Get your well-deserved break at Spabreaks.com. Shop less with our money-saving hints and tips and get pampered like a princess for less:
- First-time buyer? Sign up to Spabreaks mailing list and get a £5 voucher for your first order and also get exclusive offers and discounts sent straight to your email.
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- Treat yourself, treat mum, treat dad, treat everybody! Get 15% off all orders over £150 at Spabreaks.com by applying code DVSPA15 at checkout.
How to Use Spabreaks.com Voucher Codes
- If you’re looking for a spa day or spa break, Spabreaks.com is a great place to find your next relaxing getaway.
- Copy the discount code from VoucherCodes and continue to the Spabreaks.com website.
- Select a spa package or a gift voucher option that matches the terms and conditions of the code to ensure your booking is eligible.
- In your basket summary page, locate the coupon box on your right-hand side.
- Enter your code in the coupon box and click ‘Apply discount’.
- See the savings you save appear! That was easy.
Buyers Guides
Hen Parties and Girly Getaways
Have you got a big celebration with your gal pals on the horizon? A hen party, perhaps, big birthdays or just a celebration of the wonder that is your girl gang? A spa experience is the ultimate indulgence and a great way to unwind, reconnect with friends and enjoy each other’s company without the distractions of everyday life. The experts at spabreaks.com guarantee they’ll find you the perfect spa package to suit your celebration. So whether you want to get your zen on or slip from the spa to a paa-rty, they’ll help keep the feel good factor flowing.
Hens will be in heaven with a spa break that serves up nothing but relaxation and a few indulgent treatments. Simply head to spabreaks.com to select from the deals at a huge range of locations across the UK and overseas. The Hen Spa-rty Package at Mallory Court in Warwickshire is offering a 25 minute treatment, three hours’ use of spa facilities and a glass of champers to sweeten the deal, all for £85 per person. If you like to get your party on after all that tuned out disco napping, the Party Night Spa Break at Yew Lodge Hotel in Derbyshire delivers an overnight stay, dinner, use of the leisure facilities and some entertainment. We’re eyeing up the Back to the 90s Spa Break for a serving of Spice Girls alongside our spa action.
Use spabreaks.com to choose from a huge range of venues offering indulgent spa breaks or disappear for days in total luxury. From country or coastal spas to city hotels and remote rural hideaways, they’ve got the packages and treatments that make celebrations special. There’s no reason not to dive into decadence with your dream team at spabreaks.com.
Enjoy a Couples Spa Break
Sometimes with the stress of modern life, romance can go out of the window. With school runs to negotiate, busy work schedules and bills to pay it’s sometimes hard to factor in some quality couple time. If you want to reconnect and enjoy some quality time together it’s worth booking a spa break. Ship the kids off to the grandparents or childminder, head off to a fabulous hotel and enjoy a day or weekend of relaxation. Book though Spabreaks.com and a well-deserved pampering session needn’t break the budget.
Head to Spabreaks.com to find a wide selection of spa breaks in your area. Simply type in your postcode and an array of venues will pop up before your very eyes. For example, you could enjoy a Couples Spa Day at the Blue Harbour Health Club and Spa at The Chelsea Harbour Hotel in London.
This treat includes choice of one 60 minute treatment in a dual treatment room. You could go for a massage or facial. Alternatively go for two 30 minute treatments from facial, massage or scrub. You’ll get herbal tea and fruit on arrival and robes towels and slippers will be provided. You’ll also get full use of the leisure facilities which includes a fabulous indoor pool.
If you really want to push the boat our book a weekend away. Two Nights Botanical Allure Spa Stay at the Ringwood Hall Hotel and Spa in Derbyshire includes two nights dinner, bed and breakfast plus a choice of one 55 minute treatment. You’ll also get afternoon tea on the first day, light lunch on the second day and full use of the facilities. Sometimes we all need to take time out to relax, so treat you and the other half to a relaxing spa break.
Health Benefits of Spa Breaks
We all like to indulge in a spa break every now and again. Splash out on some much-needed pampering, get a massage, wear a fluffy white robe. But did you know that spa breaks are actually good for you? It gives you the chance to switch off, recharge and relax. All this adds to your sense of well-being and health, so regular breaks are wise investments. Head online to Spabreaks.com and it needn’t cost a fortune either.
So aside from the relaxation element how are spa breaks good for you? Well, if you go for a massage it will help improve blood circulation which helps deliver oxygen to your cells. Massage can also help stimulate the lymphatic system which takes away all those nasty waste products from the body. Add to this the serotonin which is released when you receive a fabulous massage and you’ll start to see why self-care is so important.
Other treatments can help to purify the body too. Anything which includes heat, even just relaxing in the sauna, will help stimulate the blood flow, helping to purify our bodies. In contrast to this, treatments involving cold-water or ice have been proven to boost the lymphatic and immune systems.
And aside from this heading to the spa makes us feel special. We all spend lots of our lives taking care of other people, sometimes it’s essential to take care of yourself. Check out our Voucher Codes and save up to 10% off selected orders at Spabreaks.com.
FAQ
What is a Spa hotel?
A spa hotel is usually an upscale property that has a dedicated ‘destination’ spa within its grounds and not only offers traditional treatments but also facilities including – but not limited to – a swimming pool (or a small plunge pool), sauna, steam room and relaxtion area. However, it is now not unusual for these high-end hotels to offer an enormous range of treatments and wellness experiences including fitness classes such as yoga and Pilates. Some even have extra special additions like cryotherapy chambers, Himalayan crystal salt rooms, private Hammams or Watsu pools. Many hotel spas are branded in conjunction with top beauty companies (such as ELEMIS or ESPA) but some operate under their own locally sourced products.
How do spa hotels work?
These properties operate in exactly the same way as hotels without spas, so a portion of their clientele will simply be booking to stay regardless of its spa status. But many people check in for ‘spa weekends’ and they will offer special packages for this, usually including a nights stay, access to all spa facilities, a treatment or two and dining either in the spa restaurant or the main restaurant. These hotels also offer ‘spa days’ where people can book to experience all of the above without the overnight accommodation.
What does a spa weekend include?
Each property will advertise individually curated packages for a spa weekend, but generally speaking a weekend should include an overnight stay, access to all spa facilities and at least one treatment (usually 60 mins) as a minimum. Treatments on offer in the packages are normally a basic full body massage or a facial, however, many of these top spa hotels offer options to add on other treatments such as beauty services (manicures, pedicures, hair salons, waxing, threading) or alternative therapies such as reiki, acupuncture or ayurveda.
