In need of a reset? Here are 12 UK spa hotels to book

With an array of spa hotels that seamlessly blend serene and storied surroundings with world-class wellness, the UK offers plenty of opportunities to slow down, reset and enjoy a slice of luxury. Here, we’ve narrowed down the best spa escapes to book, whether you’re seeking a countryside retreat or a sleek city sanctuary.

1. Calcot & Spa, Tetbury

Best for: a laid-back family break
Sitting pretty in 220 acres of the Cotswolds, Calcot & Spa achieves the impossible — combining a restorative spa getaway with a family break. For smaller guests, the generous grounds feature miles of nature trails, a wild playbarn and dedicated family swim times each day, plus there’s a special children’s dinner hour each evening, too. For the grown-ups, soaking in the outdoor hot tub with a real fire crackling in the background will inevitably be one of the highlights, as will the dinner menu at The Brasserie, where the focus is on classic, hearty dishes such as fillet steak with chips. The individually appointed rooms ooze modern Cotswolds charm with colourful, patterned headboards, retro phones and freestanding tubs in bathrooms. From £289pp, B&B, with full spa access.

2. South Lodge, Horsham

Best for: Scandi charm
With its wooden, stilted lodges dotting the shore of a lily-pad covered pond while towering trees frame the view, all signs point to South Lodge being in Scandinavia. Following the contours of the land, the ultra-modern spa with its wave-like grass roof and huge glass walls has a distinctly Nordic feel, as does the outdoor wild swimming pool — naturally cold, its temperature hovers around the invigorating 14C mark. It’s just the honey-hued Victorian manor house that places this spa hotel firmly in England. Everything here draws inspiration from nature, whether it’s the menus spotlighting local Sussex produce or spa treatments focusing on natural and botanical methods, such as the Margaret Dabbs London manicure or a tension-melting bamboo massage. The best bit? Stay at one of the Lakeside Lodges to wake up to a heart-stirring view of pastoral perfection and a breakfast hamper delivered to your door through a hatch. From £308pp, B&B, with full spa access.

3. The Ned, London

Best for: a city break
In the former HQ of Midland Bank, The Ned is a veritable pleasure palace of a hotel. You could stay inside the neoclassical building for days and still find new ways to entertain yourself. The grand banking hall, with chequerboard flooring and green verdite columns, is the heart of the action, home to live-music stage and seven restaurants. Each has its own atmosphere and cuisine, from high-end British comfort food at Millie’s Lounge to poke bowls at Asian-Pacific Kaia. For a change of pace, descend to the tranquil subterranean spa, with a darkly atmospheric marble-clad pool flanked by loungers and with adjoining steam room, sauna and lounge. Be sure to book in for a treatment, too; the Sweet Bee Magnesium Massage will leave you feeling rested for days, and there’s an extraordinary range of facials on offer, including LED and cryo treatments. Eminently comfortable guest rooms, with vintage-inspired furnishings and supremely fat mattresses, await upstairs when you’re done. From £320.

4. Careys Manor Hotel & SenSpa, New Forest

Best for: a fairytale setting
Everything about this 18th-century manor house invites guests to forget the practicalities of daily life. The ivy-draped redbrick exterior evokes the stuff of fairytales; the wood-panelled reception with a grand fireplace and lofty ceilings channels medieval charm. Plus, the location on the edge of Brockenhurst village within the New Forest National Park means wild ponies roam free around this spa hotel. Three restaurants, including Thai-style Zen Garden and French brasserie Le Blaireau, add to the escapism. The playful juxtaposition of styles continues in the guest rooms, where old world-inspired soft furnishings meet gilded picture frames and chinoiserie furniture. SenSpa is the hotel’s pièce de resistance, with a hydrotherapy suite that includes a fragrant herbal sauna and experience showers, built to simulate tropical rainfall or cold sea storms. From £209, B&B.

5. Bodysgallen Hall, Llandudno

Best for: a quiet weekend
Wherever in Bodysgallen Hall you go, quiet follows. Look out of the windows at this restored 17th-century manor and peaceful views of the hotel’s kitchen garden and the picture-perfect Conwy Castle await; sit down for dinner at The Dining Room and dishes are served by flickering candlelight, with hushed conversations in the background. And then there’s the spa — also focused on providing that same sense of tranquillity, with a large indoor pool, sauna and steam room. You’ll find yet more privacy at the Spa and Hall Cottages, while each bedroom in the main house has its own distinct style and character. From £260, B&B.

6. Brimstone, Lake District

Best for: nature immersion
The fact that this spa hotel is cocooned in a leafy forest only adds to the sense of decompression that comes when you check in. The contemporary timber and Cumbrian slate structure is part of the 35-acre Langdale Estate, deep in a valley a 15-minute drive west of Ambleside in the Lake District. Each generously sized room features a balcony with a panoramic glass wall fronting the greenery. In between trips to the spa, guests can curl up al fresco with a lambswool blanket and a complimentary glass of wine from the reading room. Only Brimstone hotel guests can access the spa and there are just 16 suites, which keeps things calm and intimate. Two of the three sauna rooms have windows onto the countryside, or you can look up at the Langdale Fells from the petite whirlpool, which flows from indoors to an outside courtyard where a handful of seats surround a wood-stoked fire. The ice fountain is a particularly nice touch: grab a handful for breath-stealing rubdowns in between sweat sessions. From £416.50, B&B, including unlimited spa access.

7. The Newt, Somerset

Best for: a country escape
The Newt in south Somerset is surrounded by 300 acres of orchards and farmland where British White cattle graze the fields, pear stalks climb the cottage walls and squashes hang whimsically from garden frames. Guests can borrow wellies to roam the apple orchards where the estate’s celebrated ciders are made or try estate-made jams and cheeses in its restaurants. At its centre, an 18th-century, honey-stone Georgian manor radiates warmth in the often-crisp Somerset air. Inside, the lounge invites guests for cream tea, board games and the glow of an open fire. Guest rooms are set in the converted stables and cottages, where farmhouse chic meets indulgence: whitewashed timber, exposed beams and bathtubs in the bedroom. The spa carries that same sense of pastoral luxury, with saunas, candle-wax treatments, a glowing salt-brick room and a heated pool that extends into the meticulous gardens. From £785, B&B.

8. Hoar Cross Hall, Staffordshire

Best for: active types
Luxurious maximalism — floral wallpapers and decorative ceiling mouldings — meets neo-gothic grandeur at this 19th-century country manor spa hotel in the rolling fields of Staffordshire. The guest rooms mix period details with modern comforts — soaking in the clawfoot tub while admiring the manicured gardens and the countryside unfurling beyond is especially tempting. Despite a generous offering of activities — from axe-throwing and archery to reformer Pilates and reiki — it’s hard to peel yourself away from the sprawling spa facilities. Especially good is the sauna ritual — an intense 15 minutes of scented towels waved around the juniper log sauna by a specially trained sauna master. At the AA Rosette-awarded Ballroom restaurant, locally sourced ingredients are reimagined into classic dishes, such as citrus-cured trout and roast pork tenderloin.  From £210pp with meals and spa access. 

9. Cameron House, Loch Lomond

Best for: a lakeside break
On the banks of Loch Lomond and within the Trossachs National Park, this baronial country house nods to its setting without feeling kitschy or gimmicky. Notes of tartan and tan leather are seen throughout the property, including the eight dining spaces; the Great Scots’ Bar has a wall of amber-coloured whiskies. The theme continues in the bedrooms, brightened by windows with views over the water or surrounding greenery. There’s much to keep you busy, whether you’re remaining within the grounds — featuring a marina, golf course and cinema with velvet seats — or renting bikes to visit the nearby town of Balloch. Reached by an eight-minute shuttle, the spa has a rooftop infinity pool looking out over the treetops and the Munros beyond — ideal for resting before heading back out into the Highlands. From £312, B&B. 

10. Beaverbrook, Surrey

Best for: a historic backstory
Surrey’s most storied spa hotel was once home to press baron Lord Beaverbrook, Winston Churchill’s confidant and the man who oversaw Spitfire aircraft production during the Second World War. The fighter plane is constant across the estate: a statue at the entrance, pins on staff lapels and even as cappuccino foam art. The garden restaurant has illuminated hot air balloons with paper marbling patterns hanging over the tables and a cosy home cinema allows guests to join for daily screenings. Across several houses on the estate, rooms are named after the baron’s illustrious friends and frequent visitors of his country house — Ian Fleming, Elizabeth Taylor, Charlie Chaplin — each dressed in Victorian elegance and lined with photos that echo their colourful personalities. The sense of theatre continues in the spa, where a radiant corridor tiled in rich blues and jewel tones takes guests to serene treatment rooms. From £610 per night, B&B.

11. The Scarlet, Cornwall

Best for: a seaside escape
This adults-only spa hotel, set on a wave-lashed cliff 20 minutes south of Padstow, has arguably the best seat in the house for taking in the Cornish coast: you can see it all from an outdoor hot tub. The Scarlet is a place to come for calm; all external sounds seem to fade amid the whispering grasses and thumping of the Atlantic. After a clifftop dip amid the wildflowers, alternate between the natural reed pool and the cedar wood sauna, or indulge in an ayurvedic treatment in the lantern-lit spa. There are 37 rooms in all — each with sea views and open-plan bathrooms — which take their design inspiration from the natural world with a palate of ocean blues and woody browns. For dinner, it’s worth booking into the oceanfront restaurant, which offers both seasonal and plant-based menus — think chicken with shiitake, white bean and black truffle, and vadouvan baked cauliflower with burnt onion miso. From £235 per night, B&B.

12. Culloden Estate and Spa, Belfast

Best for: a grand estate
Northern Ireland’s first five-star hotel lies just 20 minutes north of Belfast, on the wooded slopes of Holywood. Its 19th-century honey-stone turreted exterior rises above meticulous gardens where every blade of grass looks hand-cut. Inside, grand staircases lead past arched, stained glass windows into damask-papered halls. In the equally ornate suites, wide bay windows frame sunsets over Belfast Lough. Yet the Culloden Estate’s real seduction is within its spa: the octagonal glass roof floods the pool with daylight, perfect for skygazing after anything from aromatherapy-infused massages to specialised body and mind therapies. Rooms from £270 per night, B&B.