From poolside fireplaces to candlelit thermal suites, and heated outdoor pools, could your next winter warmer be more luxurious than a cup of cocoa?
A purpose-built day spa on the border of South Derbyshire and Leicestershire, The Spa at Breedon Priory is a barn-style building filled with natural light. Its facilities are beautifully designed, featuring steam rooms, saunas, experience showers, an ice fountain, outdoor pools, a relaxation area, sun terrace, spa garden, and a slumber room, as well as a popular restaurant. A wildflower pond, inhabited by friendly ducks completes the picture. In addition, The Hideaway is a secluded, private space away from the rest of the spa for you to have all to yourselves. It has a double treatment room, private lounge area, shower area, outdoor hot tub, mini bar, a double lounger, and indeed, a fire pit.
Winter warmer: The Hideaway not only promises seclusion but also offers a tailored experience with a choice of two exclusive treatments. With a double treatment room, private lounge area, shower area, a hot tub surrounded by nature, a fully-stocked mini bar, a fire pit, and a double lounger—it’s the perfect setting to unwind, recharge, and spend quality time with loved ones.
Hoar Cross Hall is famously an exceptional country house hotel, with immaculate grounds and five-star hospitality all the way. Certainly a place for seasonal walks in the 50-acre gardens, or a stately home afternoon tea, it's also home to an enchanting spa with both indoor and outdoor experiences. Inside you will find a vast array of pools and spaces to relax, but then there's The Spa Terrace, which invites you to enjoy an array of experiences, including fire pits that are perfectly placed for enjoying a drink from the Mediterranean-inspired bar and lounge.
Winter warmer: The Spa Terrace has three 15-metre pools wrapped in lavender planters, heated to a soothing 38-degrees, a glass-fronted juniper log sauna, two Brass Monkey Cold Barrels for cold water immersion therapy, and six spacious cabanas complete with a ‘ring for refreshments’ bell. There are two fire pits surrounded by comfy seating so you can relax under the stars late into the evening.
Formby Hall Golf Resort & Spa is a hotel, spa and championship golf resort nestled away in rural Merseyside. Close to beaches and woodland, as well as the vibrant city of Liverpool, it's a welcoming escape. Within the grounds, guests delight in the spa and fitness facilities, ranging from a gym to a Himalayan salt sauna, and a complete thermal suite. Ten treatment rooms invite you to enjoy therapies from British brands ESPA and Natural Spa Factory.
Winter warmer: After all that pampering, head to the hotel to refuel in The Fairway Grill Restaurant & Bar, or on the patio, settling into a cosy chair by the fire pit under a chic, tented canopy.
The Spa at Carden Park is an adult-only retreat set within the most magnificent, 1000-acre estate. Every experience here is exceptional, from a stay in the hotel, which has its own vineyard producing its own English sparkling wine, as well as award-winning dining. The spa is a world of its own, with a two-storey building as well as a 2,500 square metre spa garden with year-round facilities. Spend time inside and out, enjoying everything from metal hot tubs sunk into the earth to a wooden sauna with a floor-to-ceiling window and a view of the grounds. Signature treatments use herbs grown in the hotel’s own garden as a beautiful finishing touch.
Winter warmer: Within the expansive spa garden (one of the largest in the UK), enjoy a collection of experiences, from outdoor hot tubs and thermal garden pods, to a fire pit adding atmosphere and plenty of warmth.
Ockenden Manor is architecturally intriguing as well as incredibly welcoming, with guests enjoying hospitality at the manor house hotel, set in nine acres of Sussex countryside, while the spa is a contemporary cubist dream. Wander into the walk-through rain shower using natural warm spring-water before swimming between indoor and outdoor heated pools; and spend some time in the hot tub, sauna, steam room, relaxation rooms. Then enjoy therapies from Elemental Herbology, known for their natural ingredients and inspiration around Chinese medicine.
Winter warmer: Extending the season for outdoor spa experiences, fire pits warm the outside space, and reflect beautifully in the glass walls of the spa. Swim from inside out, to the fire-lit terrace, overlooking beautiful gardens throughout the day and late into the evening.
Relaxed luxury in the heart of the rural Staffordshire countryside, you can enjoy lakeside dining, woodland walks and spa treats in this cosy former farmhouse retreat. The spa is a wellness haven in two parts - fitness and relaxation. The Wellness Centre is the place for working out, complete with a spacious gym and classes including yoga. The spa is a real jewel that centres around an outdoor vitality pool. It's flanked by a sauna, relaxation spaces, and full poolside service.
Winter warmer: There's a seating area that's perfect for unwinding between experiences, extending into a relaxation lounge complete with an outdoor bioethanol fire to warm you as you move between spaces.
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. From the Michelin starred Restaurant Hywel Jones to the legendary spa, everything's a treat. The spa is located 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.
Winter warmer: While you might swim with views of the trees, you can ensure you're cosy at all times, thanks to a fire feature that runs along the side of the indoor pool.
Nestled into 220 acres of exquisite Cotswold countryside, Calcot & Spa has a reputation that precedes it. A stylish hotel that brings new meaning to the world of travel and hospitality, it is at once romantic, somewhere that friends can relax together, and changing the way we think about family friendly holidays. Meanwhile, the spa is a destination in its own right, somewhere you could happily spend a whole day, with the 16-metre heated indoor pool, fireside hot tub, gym, and immaculate gardens for those who fancy a jog.
Winter warmer: The outdoor fireside hot tub in the lavender-lined courtyard is a treat at any time of year.
A place that warms mind, body, and soul, AIRE Ancient Baths London is a completely unique spa experience set within an incredible, historic building. Just minutes away from Covent Garden, this one-of-a-kind destination is in a building that was once home to Peter Pan author, JM Barrie. Step inside and a candlelit world of thermal pools greets you, as you're guided from one temperature to the next until you reach peak feel-good-factor. Central to your spa journey is a cavernous bath area complete with seven separate baths and seductive lighting, including a tepidarium (36ºc), caldarium (40°c) and frigidarium (14ºC and 10ºC). There's a vaporium (or steam room), which is scented with eucalyptus; a balneum, thousand jet baths, and a flotarium where you can quite literally float away.
Winter warmer: Step inside and a candlelit world of thermal pools greets you, as you're guided from one temperature to the next until you reach peak feel-good-factor.
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