We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.

For perfect pampering on home soil, look no further than the UK’s best spa hotels

If you’re looking for your next spa holiday on home soil, we’ve found the best spa hotels to head to here in the UK.

There are indulgent spa hotels all over the country, whether you’re looking for one amid the honey-coloured villages of the Cotswolds, a seafront spa along the rugged coastline of Northern Ireland or a stately spa hotel in Scotland.

In London, the subterranean Agua Spa at Sea Containers has its own line of products, the ingredients for which change with the seasons. The serene all-white space is oblivious to the hectic city outside, despite being right on the South Bank. It’s also where to head for facials by therapists trained by renowned skincare specialist Alexandra Soveral and brightening quick-fixes by Natura Bissé.

Some of the UK’s spa hotels have every bell and whistle imaginable, such as the fabulous Grantley Hall in North Yorkshire, where you’ll find a cryotherapy cubicle, altitude chamber and snow room, as well as the regular saunas, swimming pools and steam rooms.

Up in Scotland, treatments at the Gleneagles estate in Perthshire make use of the wild heather and herbs that grow on the estate’s doorstep.

Here are some of our favourite spa hotels in the UK…

This grand manor is on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, which means spa holidays can be combined with wonderful walks, including down to Fountains Abbey and its magnificent water garden. The Three Graces Spa is in the new wing (the rest of the hotel is in a 17th-century building), which looks like a Roman villa. There’s a heated indoor-outdoor pool, treatment rooms for Ila facials and massages, and hi-tech equipment such as a snow room, an altitude chamber and a cryotherapy cubicle, as well as regular fitness classes and resident trainers. And if a spa day for you just has to be accompanied by fizz, you’ll be pleased to hear that the hotel has recently partnered with a champagne house to create the Krug Studio: an immersive music experience accompanied by bubbles, available until the end of August.

The all-white Agua Spa at London’s riverside Sea Containers hotel is a temple of calm right in the centre of the city. The signature Bodywork treatment uses bespoke Hedgerow products, made using homegrown herbs and ingredients that change with the seasons (the summer blend is camomile, lemongrass and elderflower). Excellent therapists such as Ilaria are masters of the art of draping, tucking and wrapping – it’s especially heavenly when hot towels are introduced, such as the warm camomile compress that commences the treatment. There’s no pool, but the spa has a Tom Dixon-designed relaxation space, a gym, a mud room and a glamour bar for breathable manicures and pedicures.

The expansive Dogmersfield estate in Hampshire is home to a Georgian manor, which houses the Four Seasons hotel and its superb spa, in the former stables. It has an indoor pool in a conservatory, a smaller outdoor pool, and various steam and shower experiences. Treatments, which change with the seasons, range from regular facials and massages, to sessions with the hypnotist in residence. The spa has a café for light lunches and juices, or you can hold out for a more indulgent meal at the hotel’s Wild Carrot restaurant. The great outdoors will assist with your wellbeing journey, too – the 500-acre grounds are home to a lake, an equestrian centre and some ponies to befriend.

Gleneagles has lots to shout about, from the only restaurant in Scotland with two Michelin stars, to a championship golf course and acres of grounds – so it’s inevitable that it has a super spa, too. The renowned aesthetics brand Dr Barbara Sturm has a studio here for restorative facials, there are regular retreats hosted by experts such as the nutritionist and naturopath Rosemary Ferguson, and the heated pool has an outdoor area for refreshing dips. And ingredients such as heather and herbs grown on the estate are put to good use in the treatments.

The Cotswolds has lots of lovely spa hotels, and Thyme is among its finest. The Meadow Spa focuses on botanicals: treatments use essential oils created by the hotel’s sister brand Bertioli. The Botanical Bothy (pictured) is a space designed to instil a sense of calm, with resin walls, the sound of water, a fireplace and bath tubs for herbal soaks, along with a private veranda and garden to relax in post-treatment. The spa retreat, in the village of Southrop, also has an outdoor pool, a cookery school and meadows to stroll through.

Just outside of Bath in Wiltshire, Lucknam Park is a stately spa hotel with 500 acres of private parkland. A lime- and beech-lined avenue leads to the Palladian mansion, and you’ll find the spa within the walled gardens. The treatment list spans massages and facials by luxury brands Espa and Carita Paris, and there’s an indoor-outdoor pool to enjoy before or after. The spa has a relaxed brasserie – but it’s definitely worth saving space for a decadent dinner at the hotel’s acclaimed Restaurant Hywel Jones come evening. And to continue your wellbeing journey, head in to town to take the waters in the city’s famous Roman baths.

As well as beautiful grounds, a terrace and three restaurants, South Lodge, near Horsham in West Sussex, is home to an excellent spa, which has a steam room, indoor and outdoor pools, an outdoor Jacuzzi, a beauty bar, a fitness studio and spin room, and a hydrotherapy pool. Some of the suites even have hot tubs on their balconies. After your spa experience, you can pay a visit to the UK’s biggest single-stemmed rhododendron, planted 120 years ago in these very grounds, which are also home to walled gardens.

The extensive spa facilities at St Michaels Resort in Cornwall include a deck with a barrel sauna and cedar hot tub, experience showers, a hydrotherapy pool with no fewer than 21 massage stations, and a steam room infused with sea salt. Most spa-day packages include a two-hour hydrothermal experience and lunch or dinner at the hotel’s Brasserie on the Bay. You’ll be able to book treatments such as a rhassoul-mud ritual in a private Moroccan steam chamber, a hot-stone massage, or a detox by Scottish brand Ishga, which uses a pure seaweed gel to cleanse your skin.

One of the best-loved boutique hotels in the country, Barnsley House in the Cotswolds is home to a brilliant spa, secluded in a corner of its gorgeous grounds. There are natural elements throughout, from indoor plants and tables formed from tree trunks to lavender-scented treatment beds. Relaxation is guaranteed in the spa lounge, which overlooks the spectacular surrounding countryside. For treatments, take your pick from wrinkle-minimising facials by brands such as Elemis and Biotec and Swedish massages.

For an Aveda spa with a beautiful backdrop, head to Lakeside Hotel on the southern shores of Windermere and enjoy the view from the fire-pit by the outdoor sitting area (without having to get changed out of your robe). You’ll be able to start your spa day with a coffee (or more virtuous juice) by the lake and a bracing stroll through the gardens, followed by your choice of treatment. The spa’s 17-metre pool has huge windows framing the fells opposite. Come dusk, enjoy cocktails on the terrace overlooking the lake or enjoy classic British dishes in the conservatory restaurant.