Best Cotswold hotels with spas
These spa hotels in the Cotswolds offer a mini retreat experience or the ideal day out of London
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Awash with beautiful country house hotels and a doable journey from London, the Cotswolds sets an unmatchable standard when it comes to its spa scene. Few counties deliver such an impressive choice, and the best hotels with spas in the Cotswolds are among the best in the country. We’ve moved beyond the feather-light massage in a basement and on to high-performance facials and holistic body treatments. Here, spas are given centre-stage attention, and the approach is all about mind-body-spirit healing, products with integrity, and the integration of healthy habits. Of course, you can splash out and stay the night, but our curated collection also offers day spa experiences or treatment-only bookings. This means that locals and day trippers can dip in, ensuring a mini-retreat experience or the ideal day out from London.
Most of us are frantically fast-paced, juggling many roles and dealing with a deluge of information, from social media to the news. While taking care of ourselves is not a natural part of the British DNA (we traditionally prefer a ‘keep calm and carry on’ attitude’), the collective awakening around the importance of self-care as a form of preventative medicine and a means to give – and do – our best, has ensured that our spas today are revered as mini temples of wellbeing. It’s all about reconnecting to yourself to change how you feel inside. So, treat yourself to a transformative experience and reap long-term benefits. Decrease stress levels and increase joy. This is not a wasted luxury. One could almost say it’s a necessity. These are the best hotels with spas in the Cotswolds.
For more inspiration on where to stay, visit the best hotels in the Cotswolds, the best family-freindly hotels in the Cotswolds, or for something more akin to home, consider the best Airbnbs in the Cotswolds and the best cottages in the Cotswolds.
Rachel Smith
HOTEL
Thyme
To experience interactive treatments is a rare thing. Yet, if we are to be our own healers, partaking in the process and actively connecting to our inner self is key. Caryn Hibbert’s idyllic oasis in the Cotswolds takes things deep while at the same time ensuring immaculate simplicity. The well-established Meadow Spa is a glorious refuge centred in a greenhouse. No nasty locker rooms, nothing standard issue. Instead, magazine-worthy interiors, carefully curated treatments including facials from probiotic skincare experts Aurelia, and an ethos which honours nature as the medicine. Star of the show? The cocooning ‘Botanical Bothy’, a treatment room built like a Hamman and set to a dry heat of 30 degrees. For exhausted souls, time spent here is akin to being wrapped in a comfort blanket. The ritualistic in-house treatment starts with diaphragmatic breathing, the therapist gently encouraging you to be in the moment. A scented Bertioli balm (created by Caryn and enriched with botanical oils) is dabbed onto wrist pulse points; breathe again, drop further, and feel your shoulders surrender. The layering of guided meditations, a foot bath, body brushing with jade combs, releasing pressure point massage, heated Chamomile poultices and a soft hair wash is utterly transporting. To finish, loll outside in one of two bathtubs before drying off with the warmth of a flickering fire, hot herbal tea in hand. The serenity and know-how of this private escape are equally matched in the exquisite Ox-Barn restaurant, where humble ingredients (chickpeas, vegetables, salad leaves from the gardens) are elevated to Oscar-worthy status.
Address: Southrop, Lechlade, GL7 3NX
Rooms: From about £410 per night
Spa for non-residents: Open for treatment only bookings
Mr. Tripper
HOTEL
Cowley Manor Experimental
There are few more glorious spots to drink up the Gloucestershire sunshine. This Italianate manor house, set in classical, cascade-filled grounds with a wonderful terrace, grand trees and a lake, is a good bet for both romantics and families, as well as urbanites seeking to retreat in nature. Rambling walks take you through grounds planted with gingko biloba, Atlas Blue cedar and beautiful cypresses. Head gardener David Masters is a well-known local character who leads mini wildlife discoveries. It’s true that the rather quirky graphic-led interiors, recently reimagined by French designer Dorothée Meilichzon, are not for everyone, but it’s hard to fault the post-modernist C-Side spa. Seemingly carved into the land, with a super cool 14-metre outdoor pool, welcome to a touch of Miami in the Cotswolds. Enjoy a green tiled indoor pool, a steam sauna, a perfectly formed gym and confidently delivered spa treatments, all a step aside from the norm. Take the ‘Blissful Back Treatment’, a facial for your back which includes an aromatherapy mask exfoliation and leaves your whole body recharged. Or try a Biologique Recherche bespoke facial. With fingers as strong and as quick as a martial arts professional, your therapist will ease pent-up muscles into submission, boost circulation and contour your cheekbones. Meanwhile, pure, raw, active ingredients deliver nutrient-packed rejuvenation to leave you feeling and looking glowy and healthy.
Address: Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL539NL
Rooms: From about £250 per night
Spa for non-residents: open for treatment-only bookings
HOTEL
Lucknam Park
There is something sacred to the new Sonic Energy Treatment at Lucknam Park. The ritualistic delivery combines breathing, a pink clay body mask infused with essential oils, nurturing Chinese massage techniques, warm sound bowls placed and played on the body, tuning forks, hot towels, even the melodic rattle of a Kenari shaker and an aura cleanse spray to finish. The vibrations of the sound bowls, which you can feel down to your toes, work with brain waves to encourage your body back to its natural state. Stagnant energy is released, and Meridien lines are stimulated. The overall effect is deeply peaceful. It’s a rare thing to be left feeling so rooted within yourself. None of this is the journey you might expect in a hotel reminiscent of a Jane Austen novel, complete with four-poster beds, open fires and silver teapots. Yet, this marriage between the traditional and modern and the holistic and sleek ensures this bubble of beauty remains on top of its game. The spa offers intuitive crystal healing and myofascial release to anti-cellulite treatments. There’s a stunningly cool indoor pool, hydro pools, thermal cabins, an infrared sauna, a Peloton bike and a gym. Do get outside, though, for idyllic English countryside and woodland walks in the arboretum. All that fresh air will ensure you can then enjoy to the fullest the delights of the Walled Garden restaurant, buzzing with bistro-style bites and happy conversations. A triumph.
Address: Colerne, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN14 8AZ
Price: From £295 per night
Spa for non-residents: Spa days from £325 per person
HOTEL
Calcot Manor & Spa
It’s all change at Calcot, one of the most family-friendly boltholes not just in the Cotswolds but in the UK. Sparkling new offerings include the membership-based ‘Club Calcot’, which is attracting an unpretentious local crowd who know their Spin from their Yin. Guests, too, can join the impressive rota of classes – book early for the likes of Vinyasa Flow or Functional Lift, especially at weekends. The state-of-the-art Technogym is beautifully designed; PT sessions are all about learning how to move smart. Afterwards, assisted stretching in ‘The Pod’ increases flexibility and seemingly height. The new Grain Store, built in an old agricultural building using upcycled materials, is home to a holistic studio as well as a health café. Protein shakes by Pulsin, and matcha and mushroom drinks by Dirtea are de rigueur. More sustaining options include the likes of shakshuka with free-range eggs. Over in the separate spa building, electrics are banned, and relaxation rooms invite you to drop. Or, after a swim, steam and sauna, wallow in the outdoor hot tub, the nearby log fire warming your soul. Treatments range from reflexology to reiki. Facials by Comfort Zone expertly release hidden tensions to reveal fresh skin. Successfully blossoming to meet the modern world, Calcot has never been better. Worth every bit of the recent £5 million investment.
Address: Tetbury, GL8 8YJ
Price: From £344 per night
Spa for non-residents: Half Day Spa Rate from £185 per person
HOTEL
Lakes by Yoo
While the giant waterside cabins at this wilderness oasis offer an upscale manifestation of glossy country living, it’s also worth day-visiting just for the spa. Stress cadets will revel in the Moss of The Isles ‘Warm’ massage, ideally delivered by head therapist Caroline whose savvy tips for self-care are as knowing as her hands. Attention can be adapted to suit body needs but expect hot compresses, stretching, sometimes painful lymphatic drainage and deep tissue release of muscles and fascia with oils infused with arnica. You’ll feel lighter of both mind and spirit afterwards, deeply re-energised and able to sleep better. Other highlights? The COSMOSS spa rituals by Kate Moss. Brace yourself for one-minute ice baths up to the vagus nerve – this stimulates your whole system – followed by a massage on an infrared PEMF mat to soothe and smooth. For those seeking scientific skincare, there are also high-performance, results-driven facials from the legend that is Doctor Barbara Sturm. Or, for the holistic, therapies by Wildsmith are as delicious as their products. Don’t forget to get outside the treatment room to enjoy expansive views of lakes, trees and skies. Beyond the Technogym, indoor pool, sauna, steam, hot tub and studio space, there’s something for everyone here. The vision of property entrepreneur John Hitchcox, who himself has described Yoo as ‘a posh commune’, nature lovers will find the likes of open water swimming, guided walks, paddleboarding, fishing, adventure camps and a trim trail. A highly polished oasis just 90 minutes from London.
Address: High Street, Lechlade, GL7 3DT
Price: Two-bedroom cabins start from about £850 per night
Spa for non-residents: Spa days start from £180 per person
Whatley Manor
Whatley’s cream dream Aquarius spa isn’t new, big or especially trendy, but what it does do, it does well. The indoor-outdoor hydrotherapy pool, with varying jets to ease computer shoulders, offers pretty views of the great outdoors and is an easy place to wallow away time and reconnect with something more than your to-do list. An experiential thermal suite, with varying saunas, steams, and showers, delivers a mini journey of detoxification, or just flop out on the blissfully heated moulded stone relaxation beds. Treatment-wise, you may not have heard of British brand Gaia, but their nourishing natural oils, used here in a series of muscle-melting massages, are sensuous enough to want to take home with you. Or opt for Parisian skincare experts Sothys. Their facials utilise the latest in biotechnology which ensures natural but properly powerful ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, peptides, saffron or jasmine extract. Also, look out for the one-day, date-led Bio-Energy Wellness Retreats with yoga teacher Parvati Devi, where trauma-releasing movement and meditations work into the subconscious and encourage liberation. An adult-only zone, the restored manor with 12 acres of grounds, including a rose garden, is an immaculate escape. For an atmosphere of serenity, few hotels invite more headspace.
Address: Easton Grey, Malmesbury, Wiltshire, SN16 0RB
Rooms: From about £379 per night, including breakfast
Spa for non-residents: A Sothys Half Day Spa costs £185 per person
