From rooftop spa gardens to wild swimming pools with countryside views.
Swim under the stars, sip champagne surrounded by bubbles, or soothe aching muscles in some of our favourite spa hotels with a range of pools and outdoor spa experiences to make the most of gorgeous spa gardens and impressive views.
An exquisite luxury hotel, The Grove is luxury and elegance all the way. Walk around the grounds, play golf, enjoy multiple dining options and take the time to enjoy indulgent wellbeing at The Sequoia spa, designed to leave you rested, restored and revitalised. Surrounded by 300 acres of Hertfordshire countryside, the spa is an elegant haven of wellbeing, with three pools including an ozone-filtered, black mosaic-tiled pool, a Jacuzzi, sauna and steam room, and a women's only heaven shower. During the summer months their heated outdoor pool in the Walled Garden is not to be missed - a haven surrounded by greenery where you could happily spend all day.
With a reputation for excellence, Forbes recognised Pennyhill Park is luxury on another level. The spa is a destination in its own right, spanning 45,000 sq. ft, as well as outdoor experiences. Facilities flow from inside out so you can swim from indoor to outdoor pools, enjoying a world of hot tubs, saunas, steam rooms, a mud room, foot spas, and a dedicated spa cafe with the most beautiful menu. The outdoor pool is open all year round, and the indoor ballroom pool has underwater music. The garden also features private cabanas to relax in semi-privacy as you look out across 123 acres of grounds.
The perfect mix of grandeur and comfort, this country house hotel is the height of luxury, with an emphasis on hospitality at its warmest. Cottonmill is a luxurious sanctuary with state-of-the-art facilities and truly decadent spa experiences delivered by world-class experts. Innovative spaces provide relaxation areas post treatment, in private gardens and poolside terraces along with cabanas, hot tubs and fire pits woven into a landscaped oasis.
Situated in a barn with impressive exposed timber frames, Bailiffscourt Spa is an impressive addition to the beautiful medieval-style house and cottages that make up this romantic hotel. With an outdoor infinity pool which can be looked over from a terrace with sea views, the spa is a place for escaping the rigours of everyday life and indulging in some special time with a loved one. Go for a swim in the early morning before breakfast for a truly magical experience - you might even find yourself in conversation with the resident peacock.
Set in 150 acres of the Lincolnshire Wolds, Laceby Manor invites you to enjoy laid-back luxury and wellbeing while surrounded by nature. Spa at their eco-conscious retreat, enjoying therapies from brands including 111Skin, organic seaweed-based VOYA and natural Tribe517. Enjoy the saunas and steam room before taking a plunge in the natural cold water swimming pond or the indoor/outdoor heated vitality pool.
A luxury, boutique hotel on the North Essex Border, Talbooth House and Spa is a four-star retreat taking in views across Constable’s countryside and the Dedham Vale. At this carefully considered retreat, the spa and wellness facilities are stylishly featured. Spend time lounging by the outdoor pool, soaking in the open-air hot tub, detoxing in the infrared sauna, and enjoying Elemis therapies.
The Scarlet Hotel is perhaps the UK's most famous eco sanctuary, and a pioneer in sustainable, luxury wellness. An adult-only retreat on the rugged Cornish cliff tops of Mawgan Porth, wellbeing is built into every aspect of your retreat, from your room to the suite of pools, where you can sit back and listen to the Atlantic. Amongst the experiences, there's a spectacular indoor pool, outdoor natural reed pool (cleansed with reeds and algae), clifftop cedar wood sauna, restorative steam room and wide views of the sea.
In the Cheshire countryside, Manor House Hotel - Alsager is a beautiful example of a modern spa destination. In a purpose-built addition to a historic farmhouse, the spa combines indoor and outdoor experiences. It includes a unique English Country Spa Garden, with an all-season outdoor spa, there are two swim-up bars, a hydrotherapy pool, a cold water plunge pool, and more. The Herb Garden is a unique sensory space where a water feature gently sets the scene, and raised beds are filled with a hand-picked selection of herbs and flowers that scent the air and offer natural beauty.
A contemporary destination with vintage Miami vibes, The Nici is perched on Bournemouth’s West Cliff. The hotel is a beautiful place to stay whether you're with friends, family, or on a romantic break, and the spa and leisure facilities are an essential part of that. Alongside an 18-metre heated indoor pool, a hydro pool, sauna and steam room, there's a spectacular 30-metre outdoor pool surrounded by loungers, pretty gardens and sea views. Bring your biggest sunglasses and a wide brimmed hat for optimum effect.
South Lodge sits within the South Downs, as well as 93 acres of hotel grounds. Alongside a luxury hotel it is home to an eco spa, nestled into the grounds complete with a grass and sedum roof. The 44,000 sq. ft. luxury spa has an indoor pool, outdoor hydrotherapy pool and swim pond and a thermal suite. Charmingly designed to celebrate the surrounding landscape, The Spa at South Lodge does much to honour the natural world. The pool is very much part of that. There’s an infinity pool and a superb thermal suite, but also a unique wild swimming pool, which is a heated outdoor pond, complete with reeds and moss for a natural vibe and delivers a totally unique experience.
Part of Rudding Park’s unique and magnificent rooftop spa garden, the infinity pool is a decadent experience that sees you lounge in bath temperatures with views of the gardens. The dedicated bar and waiting service means that you can even have a glass (or a bottle) of Champagne brought to you while you swim, making it superbly relaxing and wonderfully indulgent.
There are so many things to love about this luxury hotel and spa, not least the spa garden, which extends from the relaxation room. There you can recline in the heated spa pools, try out the barrel sauna or snooze on the inviting loungers. Sit in the spa pool, sip champagne and watch the world go by.
In the grounds of this magnificent historic property, head beyond the Saxon moat and the mature knot garden, the Drake sundial, which historians suggest may have been donated by Sir Francis Drake. There you will find an outdoor chess, life-sized Jenga or croquet, and one of the most magnificent outdoor pools, surrounded by lush vegetation.
The spa garden at Rockliffe Hall is the ultimate luxury hotel spa. The opulent 50,000 square foot spa includes indoor and outdoor facilities. Inside there's a 20-metre leisure pool, a thermal bathing suite complete with a tepidarium, salt steam room, roman and infrared saunas, tropicarium, and an igloo. Outdoors, there's a hot tub, infinity edge pool, warmed loungers, glass fronted sauna and sumptuous daybeds.
An adult only spa within the hotel grounds of Carden Park, The Spa at Carden is a playground for wellbeing and pampering lovers. A partnership with Bollinger ensures a beautiful Champagne bar in the spa, signature spa treatments use herbs and grape juice harvested from their own grounds, and they have an all-season 2,500 square metre spa garden. Amongst its features are indoor and outdoor thermal facilities, metal hot tubs sunk into the earth and a wooden sauna with an earthen roof.
The purpose created Spa at Breedon Priory is beautifully designed. It lets in an abundance of natural light and looks out onto impressive landscapes. It's a day spa only, and has a very European wellness spa feel to it, especially with the addition of the outdoor heated pool, which is a favourite feature. It also has a secluded, private space, The Hideaway, perfect for private events, and complete with an outdoor hot tub amongst other features.
Ribby Hall Village is a five star holiday village, and within it is the dedicated Spa Hotel - an adult-only retreat. Amongst its many features are the Aqua Thermal Journey, which invites you to enjoy a variety of heat experiences including foot spas, an aroma room, herbal sauna, Balinese salt inhalation room, an aromatherapy room and a sanarium. There’s also a hydrotherapy pool, outdoor hot tub and a bar area. The spa has its own Zen Garden, a popular addition which has been extended to include an energising salt sauna with panoramic views of the surrounding countryside, a refreshing monsoon shower with body jets, and a second hot tub that takes advantage of the beautiful location.
Part of the Luxury Family Hotels collection, Fowey Hall is a wonderful, luxurious retreat in a Queen Anne mansion overlooking the picturesque sailing town of Fowey. Just moments from Readymoney beach, its spa is a treasure including indoor and outdoor facilities. Inside a 12-metre pool looks through glass walls into the grounds with indoor hot tub and steam room plus unique outdoor horsebox sauna. Meanwhile, outside there's a wonderful spa terrace and an outdoor pool overlooking the estuary.
There's an entire pool hall at the stylish Chewton Glen hotel and spa. Five-star all the way, the Hampshire haven envelopes you in a world of wellness that includes (but is not limited to) a 17-metre lap pool, a hydrotherapy pool with 13 jet stations to ease muscle aches and pains, and an outdoor whirlpool. Drench showers and a steam room complete the picture, as well as a 10-seater sauna and an amethyst crystal steam room in each of the changing rooms.
The contemporary accompaniment to a historic hotel, Gaia Spa at Boringdon Hall is somewhere you can happily spend all day relaxing. Set over three floors, there’s a swimming pool, hydro pool, an outdoor hot tub and little huts outside for shelter on extra sunny days. There are also floor-to-ceiling windows so you can see out into the grounds as you use the two saunas, two steam rooms, two poolside heated beds and two luxury loungers.
Hailed as one of the most prestigious spas and hotels in the UK, Lucknam Park is a spectacular country house hotel set in 500 acres of grounds just outside Bath. As if a Michelin Star wasn't enough to tempt you, the spa is set within the hotel’s walled gardens, featuring a 20-metre indoor pool, an indoor/outdoor hydrotherapy pool with arboretum views, a relaxation area, Thermal cabins featuring Japanese Salt, Amethyst Room, Aromatic Steam and Sauna, an infrared sauna and ice fountain.
There's a world of water experiences to enjoy at Ragdale Hall Spa, from a candle pool, to an outdoor waterfall pool, and a cave experience shower complete with its own thunderstorm. However, the rooftop infinity pool is a firm favourite, offering an open air heated experience with reclining underwater massage jet seating. It’s complete with breathtaking views of the grounds and rolling Leicestershire countryside
Set on the banks of the River Maine, Galgorm is an all-singing, all-dancing wellbeing resort where no luxurious stone is left unturned. The Thermal Village invites you to explore wellbeing inside and out, including an infinity hydrotherapy pool, outdoor hot tubs with views of the waterfall, a multiplicity of saunas and they offer a unique 'Beltane Experience' where you relax around a sunken fire with friends before enjoying a dip in the 12 person hot tub.
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