If you're looking for a weekend of rest and relaxation, you need to book in to one of the UK's best spa hotels. A great spa hotel should deliver all you need to leave feeling relaxed and refreshed: good food, comfy beds, and variety of pools, saunas and steam rooms to dip in and out of, and luxurious treatments.
In the past we've rounded up the best London spas, but if you're looking to escape to the countryside, this list below – expertly reviewed by our writers – should provide some excellent inspiration. What's more, there are a few surprising activities on offer here if you're looking to try something a little different on your getaway, including scream therapy, animal mindfulness, and champagne and truffle facials...
Feversham Arms Hotel & Verbena Spa, North Yorkshire
Why go?
Nestled in the picturesque market town of Helmsley on the edge of the North York Moors National Park, the Feversham Arms is full of character and charm.
Originally a hostelry selling beer and candles, it was transformed into a coaching inn by the Earl of Feversham in 1855. In recent times it has been modernised with additional luxury bedrooms, a swimming pool, tennis courts, an exquisite garden and a fine-dining restaurant.
While the Feversham Arms is now a lavish retreat, it has lost none of its old country charm with plenty of oak beams, log fires and cosy nooks. It’s also well-known for its sublime Weathervane restaurant, making it perfect for a gourmet getaway.
The spa
For tourists seeking some R&R and those wanting time out with friends, the Verbena Spa is the ultimate chillout experience. We started to unwind as soon as we stepped into the spa, before indulging in the saunarium, aromatherapy room, steam room, monsoon shower and foot spas. The outdoor heated pool is the ideal way to end your spa journey.
With everything from a traditional Arabian mud ritual to a champagne and truffle facial on offer, it was hard to select the best spa treatment, but a tailor-made, relaxing full-body massage was too hard to resist. Our attentive masseur Tegan made sure she used an unscented oil to avoid our skin allergies and got into all those troublesome knots.
Afterwards, we headed for the relaxation room to chill with a sorbet. Sheer bliss!
What else can you do?
The handsome market town of Helmsley is rich in history and centred on a spacious square; don’t miss the local outdoor market if you’re visiting on a Friday. Craft beer enthusiasts should head to the Helmsley Brewing Co to sample the locally brewed ale. There’s also beautiful Helmsley Walled Garden and Duncombe Park, where visitors can stroll in the parkland and admire birds of prey swooping at daily demonstrations.
A short drive away lies one of Britain’s most iconic stately homes, Castle Howard. When period drama Brideshead Revisited was first broadcast in 1981, the stately home was catapulted into the public eye. It’s certainly a national treasure and not to be missed.
How to book
Rooms at Feversham Arms Hotel start from £179 for bed and breakfast. Book via the website or call 01439 770766, or through booking sites such as Trip Advisor or Booking.com.
The Cary Arms & Spa, Devon
Why go?
Perched on the Jurassic Coast in the sheltered and sunny spot of Babbacombe Bay, The Cary Arms & Spa is certainly not your average spa hotel. Offering one of the best views in Devon from the comfort of your own king-size bed, Cary Arms perfectly combines the charm of a quintessentially British inn and the modern style of a boutique hotel for those who like something more original and memorable.
The hotel offers luxury seaview rooms, chic beach huts (where we were lucky enough to stay), cute cottages and some dog-friendly accommodation options too, all overlooking uninterrupted views from Lyme Bay to Portland Bill. Each beach hut – decorated with a calming palette of blues and greens – comes with floor-to-ceiling bi-fold doors leading onto the large decking, so the views can be admired all day and night from the sunloungers.
The maisonette-style room comes with a seating area and a cosy feature fire that makes crackling noises, a Smeg mini fridge/bar area stocked with soft drinks and milk, an espresso coffee machine, stunning rainfall shower room and stairs leading to the bedroom. This overlooks the whole living space and even has a pillow-level, porthole-style window so your first and last view of the day is the vast sea.
The spa
As if that wasn’t relaxing enough, wait until you get to the rooftop spa. Here, we enjoyed a dip in the waterfall hydrotherapy pool before indulging in a Gaia full-body massage, which comes with a foot soak and scrub and a choice of essential oils.
This set us up perfectly for a day exploring the unspoilt coastline of Babbacombe, which is affectionately known as the “jewel in the crown of the English Riviera”. If you want to stay close by, the hotel also lends guests fishing gear if that’s your thing.
What else can you do?
When you’ve worked up a bit of an appetite watching the fishermen at work, head to the Cary Arms restaurant – which is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffees and cocktails – where food is cooked based on the season and produce caught that day. We started with the scallops with chorizo and pea purée before opting for the catch of the day – luckily seabass was on the menu. We finished up with the mango panna cotta for dessert, which went down a treat, before taking an evening stroll along the beach (which is no more than 10m away from the hotel) with a freshly brewed coffee in hand.
How to book
Luxury Seaview Rooms at The Cary Arms & Spa start from £220 per night and Beach Huts from £295 per night including breakfast. Book via the website or call 01803 327110, or through booking sites such as Trip Advisor or Booking.com.
Armathwaite Hall Hotel & Spa, Cumbria
Why go?
The Lake District has no shortage of good spa hotels, but a few things make Armathwaite Hall really stand out. Firstly, its location... the hall is set among ancient woodland on the shores of Bassenthwaite Lake, just north of Keswick, surrounded by some of the area’s most spectacular peaks.
The hall itself is also stunning; a grand country house that dates back, in one form or other, to the 11th century yet is kitted out with all the modern-day luxuries you’d expect from a top hotel.
Secondly, there really is something for everyone at Armathwaite – luxury accommodation, great food and an award-winning spa, plus plenty of activities to keep you occupied.
Even the dining options cater for all, with the fine-dining Lake View Restaurant that – as its name suggests – offers spectacular vistas, and the casual Courtyard Bar and Brasserie, serving light snacks and pub-style comfort food.
The spa
Set across two floors, there are plenty of places to relax in the spa at Armathwaite – including an outdoor infinity pool, hydrotherapy pool and various heat rooms.
The treatment list is thoughtfully curated, and uses products from luxury brands VOYA and Temple Spa. We enjoyed the CBD Massage, which soothed our sore muscles after a day exploring the Lake District, and the energising In Good Spirits Massage, which perked us up perfectly, ready for dinner.
What else can you do?
Armathwaite Hall has lots of family-friendly activities, from archery to clay pigeon shooting. The hotel is also hot on tapping into popular wellness trends, giving guests the chance to try forest bathing, wild swimming and, more unusually, scream therapy (if you’ve had enough of the peace and quiet in the spa)!
The grounds are also home to the Lake District Wildlife Park, which you can explore at your own pace or through guided activities, such as alpaca walks or bird of prey experiences. We enjoyed an animal mindfulness session, during which we brushed tapirs, fed donkeys and truly switched off from our busy lives for a moment.
You’ve also got the rest of the Lake District to explore, just outside Armathwaite’s front door. Bassenthwaite Lake offers pleasant walks, while those after something more strenuous could attempt the Cat Bells hike – worth the effort for the magnificent views from the summit.
How to book
Rooms at Armathwaite Hotel & Spa start from £220 for bed and breakfast. Book via the website or call 01768 776551, or through booking sites such as Trip Advisor or Booking.com.
