Self-administered spa treatments

Spa treatments are a wonderful thing, but not everyone feels comfortable being touched by a therapist. If you want the feel good factor of a spa treatment but you're not sure about the touch aspect, self-administered treatments are a great option. They're also ideal for newcomers to the spa world, or for anyone wanting to add an extra experience into their spa break. Here are a few favourites.

Bath hut experiences at the Forest Spa at Middleton Lodge

The Forest Spa at Middleton Lodge is a beautiful spa in Yorkshire with nature and sustainability at its heart. Alongside a heritage hotel, the spa is a contemporary addition where they offer a world of luxury wellbeing in harmony with the surrounding landscape.

Amongst the experiences they offer are the self-applied bath hut experiences set within a private hut within the grounds. Stroll through scented herb gardens to an individual hut, where you can enjoy one of two treatment options.

There’s the VOYA seaweed bath using organic seaweed harvested from the west coast of Ireland - it's perfect for restoring and nurturing mind and body, and it's deeply nourishing for the skin. The second option is their Aromatherapy Associates ritual with either a Rose Indulgence or Forest Therapy scent.

Each ritual includes a guided meditation, a body brush, books to read, time to soak, a nourishing cream to use afterwards, followed by a herbal tea and something to eat in the relaxation area.

In-room wellness at Bamford Wellness Spa at 1 Hotel Mayfair

Bamford Wellness Spa at 1 Hotel Mayfair is a five-star destination where everything is luxurious. The spa itself is a dream, complete with Bamford treatments inspired by nature, a 24/7 gym, and they encourage you to head out and enjoy their running routes in the nearby Royal Parks.

However, rest, relaxation and wellbeing run through the whole hotel experience. It's designed to reduce CO2 emissions, it's brimming with living green walls and more than 1300 plants, trees and shrubs. Rooms are decorated in soothing colours, and you can add to your downtime thanks to the hotel's partnership with HigherDose.

That means you can hire a sauna blanket and a PEMF Mat (a pulsed electromagnetic field mat, said to help improve circulation and promote natural healing) to use in your room.

Mud rasul therapies

Mud rasuls are self applied and perfect for sharing. They can be deeply restorative as well as fun, and they are available at a number of spa destinations. It's a ritual dating back thousands of years, using volcanic mud containing lots of minerals to feed the skin.

The rasul itself is like a private steam room, where you're given pots of spa mud to apply to your face and body. Sometimes the spa will suggest applying a scrub to your skin first, sometimes they recommend it after the mud. Some mud can be applied to the hair, but you don’t have to get your hair muddy or wet at all if you prefer not to.

You then relax in the steam room with the mud on to let it work its magic, detoxing, softening and nourishing the skin. After around 15 minutes a shower is activated and you can rinse the mud off. Often the treatment is complete with a dedicated moisturising balm to apply once you've dried off.

Thermal suites

Thermal suites are a wonderful part of the spa experience, available to different degrees at different venues across the UK.

They take you through a journey of different temperatures and levels of humidity, which are designed to help relax and cleanse the body, as well as prepare you for other spa treatments. In many ways, a thermal suite is a spa treatment in itself.

Saunas, steam rooms, Caldariums, Sanariums, Tepidariums, and snow caves are all features within thermal suites. For many of our spa goers it's their favourite part of a spa break.