City golf and spa breaks

Golf destinations are well known for their rural vistas, but what it you want to enjoy the peace and quiet of a day hitting golf balls followed by an evening out or exploring a great town or city? Here are a few of our favourite golf and spa destinations within easy reach of towns and cities that are definitely worth exploring...

The Oxfordshire Golf & Spa Hotel, Oxford

The Oxfordshire Golf & Spa Hotel is a relaxed and welcoming hotel and golf destination in the heart of the beautiful Chilterns. It's contemporary in style and is home to a popular restaurant and separate bar. The Tempus Spa at The Oxfordshire is ideal for relaxing after a day on the course. Facilities include a gym, fitness studio, 15-metre indoor swimming pool, a sauna and steam room, as well as three treatment rooms for a range of face and body therapies.

The golf course at The Oxfordshire is arguably the main attraction. A former European Tour venue, it hosted the Benson & Hedges International for four years, the Andersen Consulting World Championships as well as the Ladies English Open. Designed by course architect Rees Jones, it has 135 bunkers and four lakes, even attracting the likes of Seve Ballesteros and Darren Clarke.

As the name might suggest, the hotel is conveniently close to the scholastic city of Oxford, which is just 15-minutes away. Perhaps most famous for its university, Oxford is a beautiful place to explore, whether it's for the museums and architecture or the bars and restaurants. Visit the Bodleian Library, the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford Botanic Gardens or the Oxford Artisan Distillery. Also close by is the impressive Blenheim Palace.

Ardencote, Warwickshire

A welcoming country house, Ardencote is a popular hotel and spa destination for its friendly disposition alongside its charming style and facilities. Sitting in 83 acres of grounds including rose and knot gardens as well as a lake, the hotel is unequivocally relaxing. It's four-star and has an award-winning restaurant. Meanwhile, the spa is in the former Victorian Coach House, which was transformed in 2018 into a state-of-the-art wellbeing facility.

The spa is very much a central feature of Ardencote, complete with a carefully choreographed thermal journey featuring an aromatherapy steam room, Himalayan salt sauna, a tepidarium, an outdoor Tyrolean Kilo sauna, an outdoor hot tub, outdoor heated pool, a monsoon shower, foot spa and ice fountain followed by a relaxation lounge and a tranquility lounge. They also offer treatments that range from the holistic to CACI non-surgical facelifts and micro-dermabrasion. That's in addition to the preexisting spa, which acts as more of a leisure facility for swimming, working out and sports.

The hotel is also home to its own 18-hole, 5,045 yard par 67 golf course. Picturesque and rewarding, it wraps itself around the hotel, always pristine and making you earn a well deserved rest at The Brasserie afterwards.

Despite its rural setting, Ardencote is just 20 minutes from Warwick, a historic market town that's well known for its university and its castle. Located on the River Avon, it's a pretty city to explore. Founded by William the Conqueror it's steeped in heritage with plenty of places to wander as well as shops and cafes to enjoy.

Bicester Hotel Golf and Spa, Oxfordshire

Bicester Hotel Golf and Spa is a particularly interesting hotel and spa to visit, offering a variety of experience on site and close by. The hotel is modern, but looks out across 134 acres of grounds.

The Health Club and The Forest of Wellbeing Spa is purpose-created for rest and relaxation, complete with a variety of facilities ranging from yoga studios, four outdoor tennis courts, a 20-metre pool, hydro pool, Jacuzzi, sauna, steam room, feature showers, and a tropicarium to a 200 metre open water swimming lake and challenging assault course. The hotel is also home to a nine-hole golf course, and also offer golf tuition with a PGA Professional.

In rural Oxfordshire, Bicester Hotel Golf and Spa is perhaps unsurprisingly close to the market town of Bicester and the famous Bicester Village shopping outlet, which adds another dimension to your visit. It's just 10 minutes away from the hotel, and is well known for its variety of designer stores, for which, hotel guests are a 10% discount voucher.

Best Western The Dartmouth Hotel, Golf and Spa, Devon

The Best Western The Dartmouth Hotel, Golf and Spa is a modern hotel and spa which is very much characterised by the golf experiences. The pool, the restaurant, the rooms, everything looks out across two golf courses, extending into the wider South Devon coast countryside (which is also absolutely worth exploring by the way).

The golf courses at Best Western The Dartmouth Hotel include an 18-hole course and a nine-hole course, both designed by architect, Jeremy Pern. The 7,200 yard, par 72 Championship Golf Course, which has hosted the West Region PGA Championships on no less than six occasions and is complete with meandering streams, 12 water features and undulating greens.

Just 15 minutes away from the hotel is the harbour town of Dartmouth. Brimming with history and incredibly pretty, the hillside town looks out across the water and is full of shops, restaurants, cafes, art galleries and plenty of stories to tell. Tuck into ice cream and seafood, go on a boat trip on the River Dart, or explore the 14th-century fortress - Dartmouth Castle.