The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa

The Royal Crescent Hotel in Bath is a pretty perfect escape, in one of the UK’s most beautiful cities. It’s like stepping into a Jane Austen novel, if Jane Austen had world-class spa facilities and contemporary design, including a Himalayan salt infused sauna using the natural healing properties of salt therapy to improve skin conditions and strengthen the immune system, a blossom steam inhalation room for relaxation and detox, a vitality pool with massage jets positioned to aid relaxation and release tension in the back and calves, a hammam, and hot and tepid tubs. There is also a 12-metre candlelit pool and a gym adjacent to the spa.

There are eight treatment rooms and the spa works with ESPA and Shellac by CND Nails to offer a range of personalised facials, massages, manicures and pedicures in a tranquil environment that combines original architecture with natural woods, bamboo, pebbles and slate interiors.

A Grade I listed, Georgian townhouse in the picturesque town of Bath, The Royal Crescent Hotel is part of the architectural masterpiece created by John Wood that is the stuff postcards are made of. With 45 rooms featuring restored antiques, the design transports you to a bygone age of glamour but with all the modern convenience of luxury travel. This year the hotel is undergoing a complete rejuvenation program as well, under the expert guidance of interior designer Jane Clayton & Company.

Meanwhile, The Dower House restaurant is overseen by Head Chef and rugby aficionado David Campbell, whose interest in sports nutrition once earned him the role of team chef to the England rugby team. The hotel is part of the Relais & Chateaux collection (always a purveyor of fab food), and accordingly the restaurant has been awarded three AA rosettes. The Montagu bar is a new feature as of 2013, for cocktails, champagnes, and all-day dining options.