Three spa breaks in the UK perfect for a relaxing staycation with delicious food options and workout classes
TAKE this as your sign to grab your faves and book a brilliant spa break.
From Champneys, Tring to The Greenway Hotel & Spa, Cheltenham and a Fab find in Faversham – we’ve got you covered for rest and recuperation.
THE FRIENDS’ GET-TOGETHER – Champneys, Tring
Editor in chief Sinead McIntyre and pals found R&R in Hertfordshire.
THE PAD
Set in 170 acres of beautiful countryside, this stately home, once owned by the Rothschild family, gives immediate Downton Abbey vibes, thanks to the sweeping staircases, huge chandeliers and grand fireplaces that are home to roaring fires on cooler days.
As do the rooms, with their opulent floral curtains and plush carpets.
Much to our delight, on arrival we are upgraded to two deluxe suites – mine has a super-king-size bed, adjoining lounge and two bathrooms, as well as stunning views of the grounds.
There is no scrimping on the toiletries here either, with both Champneys and Elemis products, as well as soft white robes and slippers.
The standalone bath is the centrepiece of one bathroom, while the second has an invigorating rainforest shower.
The lounge is the perfect spot for a much-needed gossip, washed down with complimentary bubbles. Champneys, which celebrated its 100th birthday last year, also has more exercise classes than you can shake a stick at, from reformer Pilates to pickleball and HIIT, so we sign up for a legs, bums and tums class, followed by stretch and relax by candlelight.
There are also maps for walks in the extensive grounds and we enjoy a wholesome 45-minute stroll before dinner.
THE SPA
With its 25m pool, sauna, steam room, whirlpool and alfresco Jacuzzi, this is relaxation at its best – and that’s before you even book a treatment.
However, definitely do!
My 50-minute Upper Body Bliss massage, £105, using Elemis oils, was absolutely gorgeous and got rid of the tension I was holding in my shoulders after a stressful few months at work.
THE GRUB
There are so many delicious food options – stays are full-board, and breakfast and lunch are both buffets with tasty cereals, yoghurt, fresh fruit and bagels each morning and delicious meats, salads and pasta dishes come lunchtime.
But the evening menu is the star of the show.
We loved the pulled oyster mushroom taco and the crab and prawn summer rolls to start, while the sirloin steak with peppercorn sauce and the monkfish curry were both melt–in-the-mouth.
Make sure you leave room for the deconstructed honeycomb cheesecake for pudding, while the cheeseboard is also a winner.
OUT AND ABOUT
Forget it, you’re here to chill and chat.
BOOK IT
Full-board stays at Champneys, Tring, cost from £210 per person, per night (Champneys.com).
THE COUPLE’S ESCAPE – The Greenway Hotel & Spa, Cheltenham
Senior Assistant Editor Sarah Barns and husband Patrick cosied up in the Cotswolds.
THE PAD
Throw open the velvet drapes, take in the stunning views and relaaaax. Winner of four AA Red Stars, this gem, just 13 minutes’ drive from Gloucester train station, offers the perfect rural recharge.
The Elizabethan manor house blends historical charm with modern luxury, and although there are 21 newly refurbished bedrooms to choose from, our pick is the Manor Suite, where the bed is so large you can both starfish, the marble bathroom comes with a bath and walk-in rainfall shower, plus there’s a cosy living area.
THE SPA
Take a dip in the hydrotherapy pool and outdoor vitality pool, sweat it out in the sauna and steam room, and indulge in a TempleSpa treatment at the Elan spa, awarded five bubbles by the Good Spa Guide.
Hot stone massages, which use warm basalt stones (essentially giant black rocks) to harmonise energy points throughout the body, fixed our tense muscles and helped us instantly de-stress.
The Rocks Of The Mediterranean 75-minute treatment costs from £119 per person.
THE GRUB
The Garden Room restaurant, run by talented head chef Abhijit Dasalkar, offers a brilliant value à la carte dinner.
Think treats like Cornish crab with lemon, yuzu gel and edible flowers – one of the prettiest plates I’ve ever seen – and beef wellington served perfectly pink.
Three courses cost £67.50 per person.
Opt for the veggie Full English come morning – it’s a winner.
OUT AND ABOUT
Hit Cheltenham, 15 minutes’ drive away, for indie shops, as well as faves like Jo Malone, Toast and Reiss, plus Regency architecture.
Hatchards bookshop gives Hogwarts library feels, and Society Coffee serves up excellent flat whites, £4, and scrumptious chocolate cruffins, £3.95 (Society-cafe.com).
A short walk from the hotel is the Leckhampton Loop, a four-and- a-half-mile amble in gorgeous Cotswolds scenery.
Some parts are hilly, so you’ll have earned your lamb roast, £25.95, and sticky toffee pudding, £8.95, at The Frogmill (Thefrogmill.co.uk).
BOOK IT
B&B for two costs from £97 per person, including 90 minutes of spa use (Thegreenwayhotelandspa.com).
A fab find in Faversham
You don’t need a swish spa hotel in this Kent town, says Contributing Picture Editor Ruth Greatrex.
Embracing the therapeutic heat of the Finnish barrel sauna, my friend Katie and I gaze out at the vivid green fields, our skin slathered with sea-salt scrub, fragrant with rose petals and uplifting orange oil.
Staff are poised to bring juices, kombucha, or even a cocktail at the ding of a bell, too.
Once suitably baked, we brave the chilly overhead water bucket, then plunge into the ice-cold barrel.
A restorative soak in the wood-fired hot tub later, we both emerge with baby-soft skin and feel thoroughly revived.
A 90-minute session costs from £18 per person (Seascrubsauna.co.uk).
This Sea Scrub Sauna sits on the site of Macknade, one of England’s best farm shops and a family-run spot where apples and hops have grown since 1847.
We grab lunch at the new street-food village, digging into miso cream mushrooms, £11, at Hop Shed Bar & Kitchen, washed down with zingy Faversham bacchus, £9 a glass, and finishing with brown butter popcorn ice cream, £4.15, from Bears Ice Cream, before checking out the amazing food hall (Macknade.com).
Family-owned country estate Mount Ephraim Gardens is 10 minutes’ drive away and offers rooms.
We play ladies of the manor, strolling through the pretty rose gardens and even spy the sea from the Sir Edwyn Suite, which has a freestanding bath.
Double rooms cost from £150 per night (Mountephraimgardens.co.uk).
Come morning, we’re tempted back to Macknade for pancakes with blood orange and rhubarb compote, £12.
Although there are HIIT and spin classes on offer, I go for a soothing hot-stone aromatherapy massage, from £35 for 30 minutes (@Serene_ massage_therapies).
You don’t need long here to rediscover your zen. . .