The best weekend spa breaks in the UK

Heckfield Place, Hampshire

Heckfield Place takes the whole natural and organic thing very seriously, from the biodynamic farm that supplies the kitchen to the spa treatments made with homegrown botanicals. The Bothy by Wildsmith is a beautifully designed hideaway where you can soak, steam, and stretch at a relaxed, unhurried pace. Time slows down here – not in a frustrating way, but in a way that makes you forget about deadlines and emails altogether.

Dormy House, Cotswolds

Dormy House is a cosy, stylish retreat that makes you feel like you’ve walked into an interiors magazine. The award-winning spa has an infinity pool, a Himalayan salt sauna and even a snowfall room. For something extra indulgent, book the private suite with its own rhassoul mud room, where you can coat yourself in minerals and emerge looking and feeling like a new person.

The Newt, Somerset

With acres of gardens, an apple press, and even a reconstructed Roman villa, The Newt beautifully honours its West Country roots. The spa is set in an old cow barn (more glamorous than it sounds) and features an indoor-outdoor pool, a salt infusion chamber, and treatments using herbs plucked straight from the gardens. You can even grab some post-massage apple chips, because this place is nothing if not on-brand.

Chewton Glen, Hampshire

Chewton Glen does classic English luxury exceptionally well. The spa goes beyond the usual offerings, featuring treatments with medicinal mushrooms, CBD-infused relaxation and state-of-the-art facials. If you ever tire of being pampered (unlikely), explore the nearby New Forest or take a walk to Highcliffe beach. Either way, you’ll leave feeling far more refreshed than when you arrived.

Beaverbrook, Surrey

If you appreciate good design as much as good massages, Beaverbrook is for you. Coach House Spa is a stained-glass masterpiece, designed by artist Brian Clarke. Expect pools, saunas and a treatment menu featuring yoga, shiatsu and sound baths. The minibar situation is just as indulgent, with complimentary Sipsmith Sloe Gin for when you’re ready to swap wellness for well-earned mischief.

Grantley Hall, North Yorkshire

Grantley Hall is where relaxation meets high performance – ideal if your idea of a spa break involves as much self-improvement as it does lounging around in a robe. The Three Graces Spa features cryotherapy, an underwater treadmill and ice baths, meaning you can alternate between luxury and suffering as you see fit. The treatments are suitably high-end, with sound healing and top-tier facials, but if that all sounds too much like hard work, you can just float around in the hydrotherapy pool and admire the elegant surroundings.

Four Seasons Hampshire

Four Seasons Hampshire offers spa luxury on a grand scale, with 500 acres of green space and a Georgian manor that feels straight out of a period drama. The treatments are first-class, with top therapists using products from brands like 111Skin and Dr Barbara Sturm. There’s even a signature massage that’s so good, it might actually make you taller. If you’ve brought the kids along, fear not – there’s a separate pool for them, complete with waterslides, meaning you can enjoy your spa break in relative peace.

Gleneagles, Scotland

Gleneagles is part country estate, part grand hotel and part wellness retreat – the kind of place where you can alternate between clay pigeon shooting and a facial without skipping a beat. The spa has a herbal sauna, steam rooms and pools galore, plus treatments using foraged botanicals and products from skincare royalty like Tata Harper and Dr Barbara Sturm. You’ll leave feeling rejuvenated, refreshed and possibly tempted to take up golf, just to have an excuse to come back.

Coworth Park, Berkshire

Coworth Park is effortlessly slick, from the immaculate grounds to the staff who somehow always appear at just the right moment. The spa is a contemporary marvel, with an indoor pool lined with enormous amethyst crystals, steam rooms that feel like secret hideaways, and treatments designed to either energise or lull you into a blissful stupor.

Cliveden House, Berkshire

If walls could talk, Cliveden’s would say enough to fuel a BBC miniseries. This grand estate has played host to aristocrats, royals, and politicians behaving badly for centuries. There's a fabulous weekend to be had taking in the views over afternoon tea. The spa is suitably impressive, featuring an outdoor pool with a political legacy, a UV sauna, and treatments that transport you to another era of glamour.