From Britain’s best day stays to a luxury Mediterranean weight-loss retreat, here’s our pick of 2024’s starriest spas. Prepare to be pampered.
For no-sweat weight loss
Lily of the Valley South of France
In a sentence A glorious Côte d’Azur combo of beautiful setting, buzzy atmosphere and inspiring design, with a no-sweat approach to weight loss.
Room One of the prettiest I’ve seen – white linens, striped towels, rustic colours and a terrace that looks out, through swaying trees, to the Mediterranean.
Bathroom treats Roll-top bathtub, capacious shower and luxurious-sized bottles of the spa’s heavenly smelling own-brand toiletries.
Book in for a Shape Club programme (four, seven, ten or 14 days). These include weigh-in, coaching sessions, nutritionally balanced food and slimming and de-stressing spa treatments, from algae wraps to detoxing drainage massages.
Extracurricular activities Daily free classes – think stretching, pilates and sea wading, where you don a wetsuit and walk in the Med. Not your thing? Head to the petite gym or sweat it out in the Nordic Circuit of steam room, sauna and ice fountains.
Breakfast If you’ve signed up to the Shape Club, it’s fresh fruit, chia pudding, yogurt and freshly prepped eggs, all designed to be nutritionally balanced and low in calories. There are Shape Club options offered in the hotel’s Vista restaurant (above); dinner might be grilled veal, portobello mushroom and black truffle, while companions can eat from the main menu.
Take-home Everything feels lighter – including your wallet.
Good at making shifting pounds feel pleasurable.
Bad at removing temptation as you’re surrounded by decadence.
Cost Rooms from £467; spa days from £385, lilyofthevalley.com. Five nights, including a four-day Wellness/Shape Club programme, is available through F&P Travel, from £4,458, fandptravel.com.
Rosie Green
For cancer patients
The Headland Cornwall
In a sentence Wonderful massages? Check. Roaring fires? Check. Affordable prices? Check!
Room The Ocean View Suite we stayed in had slightly dated décor, as did the rest of the hotel, but the feel is classically British and the beds are super-comfortable.
Bathroom treats A roll-top bath, waterfall shower and Molton Brown products. Plus underfloor heating that packs a punch.
Book in for the Hand on Heart Signature Treatment (from £160 for 85 minutes). Using Made For Life organic products (safe to use even on sensitive skin) combined with touch therapy that’s geared towards those having cancer treatment, the therapists are trained to consider any pain, scarring, implants, prosthetics, catheters and collection bags. My treatment included a calming Chinese-style massage and a nourishing facial.
Extracurricular activities As well as the spa, there is the AquaClub (right), which has lap, hydrotherapy and child-friendly splash pools (the spa pool is adults only). There’s also an outdoor heated pool and a cold plunge pool for those who like to finish feeling fresh. The hotel overlooks Fistral Beach, where you can people-watch the surfers in all weathers. Walks along the coastline are a must, as is warming up by the fire with a glass of wine.
Breakfast A buffet of fruit, pastries, yogurts, toast and cold cuts is served alongside a hot menu featuring the likes of avocado on toast with chimichurri, eggs benedict and the full English. The hash browns are particularly good.
Take-home A wholesome spot with wonderful staff who go above and beyond if you need anything. This makes for a relaxing trip that caters to those of your group experiencing health issues without any fuss or feeling singled out. Case in point – after her shift had ended, the concierge drove one of us to a local shop in the rain to pick up some medication.
Good at careful and considered treatments.
Bad at spicing up the menus; apart from breakfast, the food is slightly lacking in some areas.
Cost Rooms from £180; spa half days £35 for three hours; AquaClub half days from £55 for three hours, headlandhotel.co.uk
Alice Robertson
For world-wellness
Daois Cove Crete
In a sentence Turquoise sea, hot sun, deliciously fresh food, exemplary service combined with a top-notch gym, expansive spa and health therapies, so you return rested and in better shape.
Room More a mini villa, set up on the hillside – a golf buggy transported us to our spacious room overlooking the Med, with its own small pool and terrace.
Bathroom treats The luxe marble-lined shower is stocked with eco-friendly, divine-smelling Greek brand Olivia Thinks.
Book in for a Comfort Zone Tranquility Body Ritual (£135 for 60 minutes) at the Kepos By Goco Spa. Excellent therapists, an extensive treatment menu plus a serene design make it a standout experience. But that’s not all: there’s a whole doctor-led wellness offering. Try a 3D body scan for an accurate assessment of body fat, or a metabolic rate test to see how you burn calories, and receive tailored nutrition and exercise advice. Also optional are vitamin infusion drips, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and cryotherapy.
Extracurricular activities Book a personal training session at the gym, play tennis or loll about in the indoor pool. Soothe post-workout limbs in the hydrotherapy circuit with sauna, steam room and vitality pool.
Breakfast The family-friendly Pangea restaurant offers every conceivable option, from virtuous bircher muesli to decadent pancakes. For a sophisticated and serene experience (ie, fewer youngsters), visit the Ocean or Taverna restaurants.
Take-home Info from the tests, some Olivia Thinks products and a de-stressed new you.
Good at delivering something for everyone. From foodies to fitness fanatics via pool lovers, every visitor leaves happy.
Bad at seclusion and boutique vibes. This is a large, busy resort.
Cost Sovereign has a seven-night stay, from £1,381 per person based on two people sharing on a half-board basis, sovereign.com
Rosie Green
For the sleep deprived
Chewton Glen Hampshire
In a sentence The Richard Curtis of spa hotels: a feel-good escape from reality in a quintessentially English setting.
Room Treehouse, I think you mean. Bigger than the first flat I lived in for a start – and with a better stocked kitchen than my current one. Set apart from the main hotel, the treehouses are designed to make the most of the tranquil setting: floor-to-ceiling windows and a huge terrace with hot tub (above), prime spot for a post-spa glass of champagne.
Bathroom treats Noble Isle products and no scrimping here either – fill that freestanding bath with bubbles and gaze out at the treetops.
Book in for an OTO Sleep Soundly Ritual (from £145 for 60 minutes). Using OTO’s CBD-infused oils and warmed Himalayan salt stones, this massage focuses on reducing inflammation, rebalancing your body and releasing emotional tension. Perfect for anyone whose mental to-do list pings them awake at 3am most nights (aka me). The high concentration of CBD in the oils (it’s the brand’s speciality) meant eight hours of pure, deep sleep.
Extracurricular activities Everything from croquet to cookery lessons. For something more low-key, borrow wellies and follow the beach-walk signs through the woods until you reach the sea.
Breakfast A heavenly hamper, delivered to your room through a hatch. Wake up whenever you’re ready and a box of freshly baked warm goodness awaits.
Take-home I was still feeling the relaxing effects of that snooze for weeks. Plus the treatment includes a sleep kit to take away. Having previously been sceptical about how effective CBD could be, I’ve since used the pillow mist and, OK, I was wrong.
Good at indulgence. The cosy bar does a fine line in local beer and wine, plus creative cocktails. Save bone broth and turmeric tea for another day.
Bad at affordability. But it is worth your £££ – decide you deserve a treat and embrace the extravagance!
Cost Rooms from £325; spa evenings from £140, spa days from £210, chewtonglen.com
Lindsay Frankel
For sunny indulgence
Royal Mansour Marrakech
In a sentence A warm haven of serenity in a bustling city.
Room We’re talking riads –Moroccan buildings with courtyards. Each has a living room and beautiful bedrooms with spacious en-suite bathrooms. There’s a private rooftop plunge pool with views of the Atlas Mountains. Each day your coffee table is piled with fruit, nuts, chocolates and cakes.
Bathroom treats Plentiful supplies of MarocMaroc products are dotted around the waterfall shower and the deepest bath I’ve ever seen.
Book in for the Time For Yourself Hammam (around £160 for 90 minutes) – for which you are polished vigorously with a scrub glove, massaged with an exfoliator, then washed with orange blossom soap. You’ll then shower this off and finish with dunks in a cold plunge pool. In the spa, everything from detox wraps to lymphatic drainage is available.
Extracurricular activities Boxing, pilates, yoga, manicures, even a podiatrist. You’re also a five-minute walk from Marrakech’s bustling Jemaa El Fnaa square.
Breakfast A selection of breads and homemade spreads, the hotel’s famous pain au chocolat, plus egg-and-veg tagines.
Take-home It’s a short flight to the sun and you’ll leave feeling rested and de-knotted.
Good at treatment options, service and food. Lots of food.
Bad at catering for those with mobility issues. The riads are several storeys high with no lifts.
Cost Rooms from £1,200 (includes fast-track immigration at airport and transfers), royalmansour.com
Alice Robertson
For a city break with added R&R
Blythswood Square Glasgow
In a sentence Deep rest with a pinch of Hebridean zest.
Room Whopping. Of 113 rooms, the square-facing ones are the best if you simply want to watch Glasgow go by. The beds are vast and the 1970s-style red rotary phones are a hotline to a front desk equipped to provide guests with everything from Friday-night room-service pizza to the complementary glittery Anthropologie accessories (think handbags or jewellery) you can borrow for a night on the town.
Bathroom treats A marbled room is worth getting lost in ,for the length of a bubble bath or two.
Book in for the two-hour Thermal Experience at the spa, which grants access to amenities named after Hebridean islands: Pabay, Erraid, Staffa, Soay, Fara, Swona. You’ll find saunas, steam rooms, a Himalayan salt room, Scotland’s first snow shower (above) and jet pools galore, including the 35C water-massage vitality pool (below). Treatments take place in a moss-lined nook of the spa with an ambience so peaceful that it borders on the monastic.
Extracurricular activities The Atlantic Bar and Brasserie, five minutes away, is a glitzy stop in a grand dining-club room that recalls the golden age of sea travel (it’s based in the old booking offices of the Anchor Line shipping company). It’s perfect for a hearty, generously priced meal. Glasgow is extremely walkable, so for a pleasant daytime stroll head west towards Finnieston along Sauchiehall Street, take in Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, then plonk yourself in the snug Ubiquitous Chip, a restaurant with a charming little saloon bar, for a wee dram of scotch to take the edge off life.
Breakfast A fill-your-boots buffet, offering the full Scottish works, from hash browns to eggs sunny side up. The restaurant’s marble tables, plush forest green seating and forgiving lighting don’t hurt if you’ve been enjoying Glasgow a little too vigorously.
Take-home A restful and romantic getaway in the lap of stately luxury.
Good at urban getaways.
Bad at serenity – the noise of the city seeps in at night.
Cost Rooms from £180; spa days from £215; experiences from £70, kimptonblythswoodsquare.com
Samuel Fishwick
For frazzled parents
The Retreat at Elcort Park Berkshire
In a sentence A handsome, red-brick country house with friendly vibes, delicious food and a large spa that’s both near to London and relatively affordable.
Room The classic-meets-playful interiors – think plush velvets, flock wallpaper and mahogany furniture – extend to the bedrooms. Ours was housed in the 1990s wing where camp beds can be slotted in for young kids, while family rooms with bunks are available for older children.
Bathroom treats Plush and full of the hotel’s own-brand aromatherapy products.
Book in for the Gaia Bespoke Massage (£110 for 60 minutes) – especially if you’ve spent the past few years playing ‘mummy horsey’. This incorporates Swedish, deep tissue and aromatherapy techniques. Afterwards, float about in Elcot Park’s watery paradise, the Signet Spa. Natural light floods into the space where loungers surround a central hydrotherapy pool, drummed with gushing jets of water. Nearby rooms include a Himalayan salt sauna and aroma steam room.
Extracurricular activities Raiding the hotel’s (free) snack-filled pantry might give you energy for a fitness class or a visit to the swanky gym. Outside, there’s an 18-metre pool, with jolly striped huts at one end and tall trees trailing shadows across the heated surface.
Breakfast Takes place in the 1772 Brasserie where much-needed caffeine comes in green striped china. Options are plentiful, running from fresh fruits and seeds to a build-your-own bacon sandwich station via warming porridge with honey and fresh berries.
Take-home Interiors inspiration, great family memories and significantly lower cortisol levels.
Good at catering for different clientele – this hotel is great for family breaks, girls’ trips and romantic stays.
Bad at polished service. Elcot Park is more friendly than super-slick.
Cost Rooms from £180; spa days from £150, half spa days from £50, retreatelcotpark.com
Sophie Hines
The best of the rest
For those on a budget
St Brides Spa Hotel Pembrokeshire
Who needs the Orange County when you’ve got West Wales? A low white building perched on the edge of Carmarthen Bay, St Brides delivers excellent spa action with a side order of healthy sea air. Watch the tide come in from the heated hydrotherapy pool (below), before heading off to explore a soothing series of thermal cabins (top marks if you can face the ice fountain, which involves applying crushed ice all over your body). In keeping with the aquatic theme, try a Voya Discovery Facial (£45 for 25 minutes), to help bring your face back to life with a combination of sea-harvested ingredients. St Brides also works with French brand Caudalie – the Resveratrol Lift Facial (£98 for 70 minutes) is the one for targeting wrinkles. The hotel has a range of spa days on offer, including facials, massages and lunch in the Cliff Restaurant, with its wraparound ocean views.
Cost Rooms from £200; spa days from £150; half spa days from £85, stbridesspahotel.com
Sophie Hines
For a girls’ pampering day
The Grove Hertfordshire
Celebrity favourite The Grove is home to the recently refurbished Sequoia Spa. Like the hotel, it is enormous, yet surprisingly peaceful; there’s no fighting for a space in the Jacuzzi here. Therapists perform treatments with Bamford products, which are also dotted throughout the swish changing rooms and showers. The most popular treatment? A Signature Massage (£200 for 80 minutes), designed to penetrate pent-up muscles. Can’t sleep?
The B Silent Ritual (£180 for 80 minutes) is recommended before bed, incorporating foot-bathing and assisted stretches to release stress. Post-treatment, guests can unwind in the Tranquillity Room, where fish ripple around a large tank surrounded by squidgy day beds. There’s also a women-only thermal area, with a bubbling wellness pool, sauna and steam room. Healthy lunchtime options such as wraps are served in the pared-back Sequoia Kitchen. Or try a Feast on Cloud 9 – lunch or afternoon tea in a hot-air balloon (above). Most unmissable of all is the huge indoor pool. Its inky tiles make you feel like you’re plunging through a shimmering black lake.
Cost Rooms from £370, spa days from £240, thegrove.co.uk
Rosie Green
For large groups
Lakes by Yoo Cotswolds
This place is famous for being a countryside estate housing chichi second homes of wealthy urbanites. Now anyone can visit
if booking a spa programme or renting a property. The spa is impressive – a spacious foyer with a pool table and flickering fire welcomes visitors. To one side is an indoor pool, steam room and sauna; to the other, treatment rooms, changing rooms and gym. It’s busy, full of families, but tranquil once you make it to the treatment rooms where cool brands like Kate Moss’s Cosmoss, Dr Barbara Sturm, Moss Of The Isles and Wildsmith Skin are on the menu. Those staying overnight can experience everything from wild swimming, paddle-boarding and kayaking in one of the freshwater lakes, to cycling and treetop high-ropes courses.
Cost From £1,050 a night for a three-bed lakeside apartment (short stays available); spa half days from £180 (including brunch and treatment); overnight spa retreat (including brunch and treatment) from £425, thelakesbyyoo.com
Rosie Green
For an urban retreat
The Peninsula London
The newly opened Peninsula Spa & Wellness Centre – which stretches across two floors of this luxurious Belgravia hotel – is the capital’s pamper dome du jour. There’s an impressive 25-metre indoor pool in a subterranean chamber (left) with underwater speakers and a lit panelled ceiling that changes throughout the day to mimic the light outside. Treatments include the 24 Karat Gold Mask & e-Finger Facial (£380 for 90 minutes): micro-current technology is used to revive tired orageing skin. But there’s more than just traditional spa fare here: an osteopath can use musculoskeletal massage to treat pain; traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture are options for anxiety and insomnia, and there’s even craniosacral and lymphatic massage.
Cost Rooms £1,300 a night, peninsula.com.
Alice Robertson
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk