Tucked away in the glorious New Forest, Lime Wood hotel is home to the wonderful Herb House spa, a haven of relaxation surrounded by woodlands and beautiful wild-flowered gardens – even the hardiest of stressed-out souls wouldn’t be able to resist relaxation within these beautifully crafted 18th century walls. 

With a strict policy of not over-crowding with too many visitors, the spa has a gentle, cocooning buzz yet also feels spacious and calming. From the sensational hydrotherapy pool and sauna that boast huge views over the forest – the perfect place to watch the changing seasons whilst relaxing in the warmth – to the 16 metre pool where, on sunnier days, the doors are opened out onto the gently bubbling outdoor hot pool, which is surrounded by plump sun loungers nestled into the flower-filled gardens. 

Lunch is served at Raw & Cured, where a glass of Hambledon Sparkling wine is the perfect accompaniment to salads and cured or poached meat and fish, as well as zingingly fresh juices and smoothies. Fresh and packed with flavour, I could have happily devoured every dish on the menu. 

Alongside the relaxation areas there’s a gym and expansive menu of yoga, pilates and exercise classes, some of which take place in the Wellness Hideout – a canvas covered exercise space surrounded by trees.

Spa days start at £230, including lunch at Raw & Cured.

Signature treatment: You’ll be spoilt for holistic treatments at this luxury spa, with wonderful offerings from Bamford, Voya and face-whizz Sarah Chapman. However, Herb House is also the only place in England offering treatments from GROUND Wellbeing, carefully designed to address health, anxiety and insomnia issues as well as more traditional therapeutic beauty and relaxation benefits. The GROUND Wellbeing Balancing Ritual is a unique massage that uses long strokes from foot to shoulder, breathwork, massage therapy and reflexology to create a truly escape-from-it-all, stress-relieving experience.

Reviewed by Lisa Smosarski

Luxurious in nature and cosy by design, Moddershall Oaks Country Spa Retreat is everything you want from a countryside escape.

Set on 72 acres in the middle of the Staffordshire countryside, the retreat offers a whole host of relaxing activities for guests to enjoy, from a heated outdoor pool (kitted with jets) to a sauna and steam room. There’s even a private vitality pool for overnight guests to enjoy – you’ll be given the chance to reserve a 30-minute period when you check in.

There are, of course, a whole range of treatments available, too – but the cosy, welcoming atmosphere the retreat exudes plays just a big a part in the overall experience. The Oak House restaurant offers an impressive range of food, and the on-site deli bar allows guests to order food and drinks to the outdoor pool and adjacent heated lounge. Outside, there’s a tennis court, hiking trail and bikes available to hire, so you can get in touch with nature, too.

With friendly staff and impressive rooms to boot, Moddershall Oaks is the ideal destination for a night or two away – especially if you’re looking to escape from the busyness of day-to-day life.

Signature treatment: the Enlightenment Signature Massage is said to symbolise the “epitome” of Moddershall Oaks.

Reviewed by Lauren Geall, Digital Writer 

Just an hour by train from central London you’ll find the award-winning Down Hall hotel. Boasting a truly breathtaking exterior, this classic country house is the ultimate destination for a serene weekend getaway. Start by embracing ultimate relaxation in the pool, steam room and sauna at hotel’s Eden Spa (fluffy robes are included), or opt for a bespoke massage to help with everything from stress to menopause. Later in the evening, enjoy a French Martini in the Fox Bar before heading to a delicious dinner in the Garden Room, followed by a great night’s sleep. 

Signature treatment: From £125pp you’ll find the Mindful Retreat package, which gives you two hours use of the wet spa along with a 65-minute massage to ease stress and anxiety out of your life, as well as a glass of prosecco. We guarantee you’ll leave feeling much more zen than when you arrived. 

In the bustling centre of London, you’ll find a slice of bliss in Jiva Spa, a space that is truly designed to relax, restore and refresh. Made up of a unique fusion of Indian wellness philosophy and luxury British innovation, its pools, saunas, steam rooms and treatments make for the dream spa experience.

Signature treatment: the deep muscle Vishrama massage. Enjoy a hot compress of therapeutic Indian herbs that really gets to work on tired and sore muscles. Focusing on realigning your body and restoring your energy flow, you’ll leave feeling lighter and stress-free.

Located just 40 minutes from Central London, The Grove offers a true escape from hectic city living. Surrounded by 300 acres of luscious gardens (and a golf course), the award-winning Sequoia spa is based in the luxurious surroundings of the 18th century manor house hotel. Alongside a host of treatments, a day at the spa includes access to the invigorating hydrotherapy pool, a dip (or a laze alongside) the Instagram-friendly black tiled pool, access to the sauna, steam rooms and a very zen relaxation room. Most packages include a delicious bento box lunch too. 

Signature treatment: OSKIA Luxury Face & Body Treatment, (£180 for 150) This deeply relaxing and indulgent treatment not only leaves your body feeling fantastic thanks to the long deep pressure massage, but the hydrating facial ensures you leave with a plump dewy skin and a healthy glow too.

Reviewed by Lisa Smosarski, editor-in-chief 

The spa at Pennyhill Park boasts eight indoor and outdoor pools (one even has underwater music) along with an ice cave, laconium, tepidarium and steam rooms.

There are 21 treatment rooms and a huge menu of treatments, including some seriously hi-tech facials from Elemental Herbology. And, if you’ve got cash to splash, head for the brand new Acacia or Silver Birch suites, both of which have enormous bathrooms with under floor heating and state-of-the-art bath tubs with horizontal shower settings.

Signature treatment: Oxygen Facial by Natura Bisse (from £100). Ideal facial for congested and stressed skin, this facial uses the Natura Bissé Oxygen range, which releases molecules of pure oxygen deep into the skin to help remove toxins and deliver hydration.

Reviewed by Lucy Partington, beauty editor

Holidaying at this impeccably located spa hotel will make you wish for at least one rainy day so you can fully luxuriate in its world-class facilities without the guilt of missing out on south Devon’s stunning coast. The stylish refurbishment offers a huge indoor pool with private cabanas, hydrotherapy pool, a sauna, steam room, hot tub and pebble room.

Signature treatment: The Ocean Spa Ritual is all about two hours and 20 minutes of pure relaxation. Even the mini consultation comes with a foot soak. You’ll have a full body brush and polish using luxury Espa products containing seawood, mandarin and orange before a long, slow massage. Then comes a massage targeted at problem areas before you undergo a personalised facial, scalp massage and detoxifying mask (£185).

The award-winning Bedford Lodge Spa Hotel sits just a 20-minute drive from the cobbled streets of Cambridge and five minutes from Newmarket. Renovated from a Georgian hunting lodge, the beautifully designed spa opened in 2013 with a hydrotherapy pool, rooftop hot tub and unparalleled views of the Suffolk countryside. 

Signature treatment: Espa Time – hours of being pampered with luxurious, natural products by a therapist who has tailored the session to your personal needs (from £80).

Galgorm Resort and Spa opened its luxury £11 million Thermal Spa Village in 2015 with the intention to make the most of the hotel’s picturesque riverside setting.

There are outdoor hot tubs and heated pools (where Champagne is available), while indoor facilities include steamrooms, a Celtic sauna, a sanarium, an Orangery relaxation room, and a yoga studio. The jewel in the crown is a fantastical snow room designed to help boost the immune system.

Signature treatment: The Ultimate EGF ritual promotes anti-aging with a nourishing facial cleanse, exfoliating treatment and eye ritual. After this you can enjoy a skin calibrating massage which incorporates warm basalt stones and a hydrating mask. To finish off, and make the most of the quoted 33% increase in around-the-eye firmness, you are treated to a hand and arm massage while a cool crystal eye compress is applied, followed by serum (from £125). 

Join the Chipping Norton set at this swanky members’-club style retreat set in 100 acres of Oxfordshire countryside. With a Cowshed spa set in a woodland cabin theme, there’s a sauna, steam room, indoor and outdoor pool, hot tub and a restorative ice shed

Signature treatment: Cowshed’s signature facials (from £48) are always a winner but the real takeaway from the Farmhouse spa experience has to be the dial-a-cocktail option that comes with the hot tub.

This luxury five-star hotel opened in everyone’s favourite spa city in 2015 at a cost of £16 million – and luxury is the keyword. It’s the only hotel in Britain to offer guests and visitors access to Bath’s famous natural thermal waters.

Signature treatment: Cocoon yourself in the restorative and reviving powers of ginger. For 90 minutes you’ll be exfoliated, massaged head-to-toe and treated with warm healing stones (from £180).

Lucknam’s spa, with its thermal cabins, saltwater plunge pool and herb garden (the herbs are used in various treatments) was already impressive, but things got even better with the addition of a Wellbeing House.

Guests can head there for a wide range of alternative therapies, including Haslauer Sunlight Therapy sessions and dry flotation. Visiting experts host sleep and nutrition clinics throughout the year.

Signature treatment: The Original Dramatic Healing Facial (£155), in collaboration with 111Skin, includes deep, ultra-relaxing facial massage along with the iconic Y Theorem Repair Serum to completely restore and revitalise tired skin.

Nestled in the heart of a country estate hotel, Seaham Hall’s Serenity Spa is enormous and every inch as indulgent as you’d hope.

Don a fluffy gown and book in a treatment at one of the 17 exquisite suites (many with garden views) or grab a glass of bubbly and head for one of the balcony hot tubs. Surrounded by woodland and a refreshing alfresco breeze, you can’t help but unwind before heading to the spa’s excellent pan Asian restaurant.

Signature treatment: Ultimate Serenity (£140). Cocoon yourself in a comforting wrap - excellent for smoothing and softening the skin - combined with a pressure point facial massage and de-stressing scalp massage.

Manicured gardens are all well and good but for something totally different, how about a spa located in a former moat? That’s exactly where you’ll find this unique set-up, which offers a range of facials, scrubs and wraps. There are plenty of hidden surprises too, including a sauna tent and a cocoon seat hanging from the trees outside the spa.

Signature treatment: Rasul Experience (£85 for two). Spa breaks are much more fun with two, so pick this treatment and enjoy with your BFF or other half. The mud bath opens up your pores while the tropical shower and Welsh sea salt scrub exfoliates your skin until it’s polished to perfection. 

The Tor Spa Retreat is a small, Ayurvedic health haven in the rolling hills outside of Canterbury, Kent. Treatments are incredibly well-priced, with salt brushing sessions starting from £15 and facials starting from £30. There’s a hydro-therapy pool and construction of a yoga island will be completed in early 2014.

Signature treatment: Alepam Fresh Fruit Facial (£55). Apple, carrot, grape and avocado are combined in a cooling and refreshing mask to make this facial a true sensory experience.

A visit to the One Spa at the Sheraton Grand Hotel and Spa in Edinburgh is worth it just for a dip in the rooftop hydro-therapy pool. Afterwards, warm up with a visit to the spa’s cocoon-like thermal suite, where you’ll find a fragrant bio sauna, a laconium, a tepidarium and steam-infused “aroma grotto.” There are 17 treatment rooms at the One spa, which is one of the more spectacular places to get a massage thanks to vast expanse of mosaic tiles.

Signature treatment: Ayurvedic Body Wrap with Hot Stones (£155) will leave you blissfully relaxed and your skin silky soft.

Housed within a former coach house, the Royal Crescent Hotel's spa treatments are inspired by the natural elements of earth, air, fire and water. The spa menu is diverse and includes cryotherapie facials from Anne Semonin alongside Watsu water-based treatments and detoxifying mud wraps from Comfort Zone.

Signature treatment: Elemental Herbology Five Element Facial  (from £90). Incorporating deep cleansing, exfoliation, a luxurious facial massage and nourishment, this treatment replenishes the skin giving you immediate and long lasting results.

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The spa at the Four Seasons Park Lane is located on the hotel’s 10th floor, and the nine treatment rooms all have floor-to-ceiling windows. The range of treatments on offer includes facials from Omorovicza, ESPA and Vaishaly and body treatments designed to detoxify, re-sculpt and de-stress. The Green Coffee and Chilli Re-sculpting Treatment is a fabulous winter warmer.

Signature treatment: Four Hands at Four Seasons (£245). Why have two hands when you can have four? For eighty blissful minutes, two therapists will carry out a synchronised massage designed to soothe aching muscles and restore energy levels.

Small is beautiful when it comes to this gorgeously tranquil spa at the end of this hotel’s charming Cotswolds garden.

Set in an Orangery-style building, it comprises a quiet pool surrounded by wicker chairs and loungers, with a mix of traditional and contemporary treatments from La Sultane de Saba Spa brand.

Signature treatment: Ultimate Vitamin Glow (from £70). This internationally renowned, multi-award winning facial is power-packed with vitamins and anti-oxidants to cleanse and replenish skin. 

Treatment rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows and roaring log fires await at The Gilpin’s newly-opened spa, where treatments use combinations of oils which have been hand-blended by staff.

Signature treatment: The Jetty Spa Trail (£140). This three hour pampering extravaganza includes an aroma consultation, a swim in the lakeside pool, homemade slush puppies in the spa’s snug, an invigorating salt scrub shower, an aromatherapy massage and a glass of champagne.

The fact that the Scarlet Hotel feels more like a luxurious family home than a hotel shouldn’t come as a surprise - the three sisters who founded it were keen to create a homely sanctuary where guests could escape everyday life.

The treatments offer traditional Ayurvedic wisdom with a Cornish twist, and the changing rooms, with their cocoon-like pods hanging from the ceiling, are the perfect place to relax post-treatment.

Signature treatment: True, a Scarlet Facial Therapy (£110). A delectable mix of citrus, pomegranate, rosemary and basil will encourage you to breathe new life into your skin and to deeply restore. 

If you’re in need of an MOT head to this quirky spa in County Durham. The spa’s Body Shop menu offers a wide range of facials and massage treatments including the Formula One, the Refuel and the Classic MOT. The Paint Shop menu, meanwhile, offers a spectacular range of manicures, pedicures, eyelash and eyebrow tinting.

Signature treatment: Rose Skin Zen Calming Facial (£60). A delectable mix of citrus, pomegranate, rosemary and basil will encourage you to breathe new life into your skin and to deeply restore. 

If you thought “taking the waters” was just something they did in Victorian times, think again. The spa at the Old Course Hotel is based around the healing benefits of the local spring water. There’s an enormous indoor waterfall, a Japanese steam room, a hydrotherapy pool and a plunge pool. Treatment-wise, expect a generous clutch of facials and massage therapies alongside water-based treatments such as the lavender rain massage and Polynesian water facials.

Signature treatment: Aromatic Infusion (£103). This is one of the hotel’s newest treatments and comprises a pressure point massage performed under a warm Vichy shower.

Visitors to Blythswood Square’s spa will find nine spacious treatment rooms plus a tepidarium, rhassoul mud chamber, laconium heat room and an ice fountain. Although many of the treatments have a distinctly Scottish feel (Scottish seaweed bath anyone?), there’s a wide range of facials and body treatments from Ila, Elemis and Anne Semonin.

Signature treatment: The Turus Seaweed Bath (£30). The seaweed used in this treatment comes from the Scottish islands and is rich in minerals and nutrients. Soaking in a bath of this seaweed will help to soften skin.

This Chester spa’s thermal suite is seriously impressive - there’s a herb sauna, ice fountain, crystal steam room, salt grotto and foot baths.

The themed shower is designed to replicate a rainforest downpour, while the adjustable lighting and seasonal fragrances make it one of the more memorable spa experiences.

Signature treatment: Elemis Sensitive Skin Soother (£70). The soothing properties of Moroccan rose, chamomile and apricot are combined to gently cleanse and exfoliate, whilst the deeply nourishing neroli mask leaves skin nurtured and comforted. 

You can’t fault this award-winning spa.

It’s joined forces with Chelsea’s uber posh Balance Clinic and organic skincare brand Ila to offer a seriously impressive range of services, whether it’s the chakra wellbeing treatments, lymphatic drainage or - for the brave - colonic hydrotherapy.

Signature treatment: The Collagen Facial (£127) restores elasticity and helps to brighten, re-hydrate, tone and revive.

Lovers of the great outdoors should head to this Welsh spa hotel, where they’ll find 24,000 acres of woodland, fields and mountains - much of which is an RSPB nature reserve. The 52 bedrooms are designed for relaxation and many have four-poster beds and balconies, while the spa’s thermal suite, with its mud therapy chamber and salt inhalation room, is equally impressive.

Signature treatment: Re - Hydrator Facial (£60). An intensive and regenerating facial for dehydrated skin leaving it supple and nourished.

This country house hotel has an interesting past - it was once the home of the founders of Barclay’s Bank before being purchased by Middlesbrough Football Club, who train within the grounds. The 50,000 square feet spa offers treatments by Murad and Comfort Zone, and there’s an army of spa butlers on hand to cater to guests’ every need.

Signature treatment: Tibetan Sound Massage by Comfort Zone (£120). Inspired by traditional Tibetan medicine, it uses resonating bowls and massage techniques to relieve stress and increase vitality.

We don’t know what we love most about the Culloden Estate’s spa; the funky Zest Juice Bar, the enormous range of treatments (if you opt for a wrap, for example, you can choose from algae, mud or clay), or the enormous, Grecian-style pool.

Signature treatment: Be Nurtured Facial (£90). This facial expertly combines the most suitable selection of cleansing, massage, mask, serum and moisturiser according to your needs.

Widely regarded as the UK’s first eco-spa (the Titanic has its own water source and electric car charging points), this is a spa with accommodation - 30 apartments - rather than a hotel with a spa.

There are 20 treatment rooms and the extensive menu doesn’t disappoint, with treatments from Elemis, Decleor and Carita alongside reflexology, Reiki, Hopi ear candling and fish pedicures.

Signature treatment: Elemis Moisture Dew Facial (£65). Following a specialist facial massage, the skin is fed with thirst-quenching actives that will bring back that healthy, dewy look to the skin.

There’s a huge range of Elemis treatments available at this Leeds spa hotel, but the treats by lesser-known spa brand Ytsrara are equally tempting - there’s a Samunprai Thai Herbal Heat Energiser, a Maphrao Warm Coconut Soother and a YTSARA Lawan Facial.

Signature treatment: The Traditional Full Body Massage (£65) will quickly banish any aches and pains.

This cliff top hotel has recently undergone a huge renovation, and the spa is sparkingly new. There are just two treatment rooms at the moment but three more will soon be added. We recommend making the Cornish salt steam room your first port of call, but the aromatherapy showers are pretty cool, too.

Signature treatment: Dynamic Resurfacing Precision Peel (£80). Clinically proven to target the signs of ageing and uneven skin tone, this pioneering precision treatment uses layers of enzymes for powerful exfoliation and renewal.

This chic spa offers an enormous range of Elemis treatments alongside reflexology, hot stone massages and beauty treatments. The Dry Flotation Therapy Bed is a must for those hoping to recharge their batteries - 20 minutes spent in the bed is equivalent to three hours of sleep.

The spa also uses chromatherapy, a form of colour therapy. Treatment rooms can illuminated using a range of coloured lighting - for example, blue light is used to create a calming effect and green is used to promote healing.

Signature treatment: The Lime and Ginger Salt Glow by Elemis (£45) will leave skin super soft and glowing with health.