The UK summer spa openings to know

Cottonmill Spa, Sopwell House, St Albans

Opening: Summer 2019 

Size: 16,000sq ft inside, 4,305sq ft outside 

Facilities: 14.5m indoor pool, two vitality pools, two saunas (one organic), steam room, salt steam room, botanical steam room, experience showers, relaxation rooms, gym, fitness studio, salon, garden room, spa garden

Treatment rooms: 16

USP: Sopwell House will open its three-storey, £14m spa this summer. Standout features include a spa garden designed by an RHS Chelsea Flower Show gold-medallist, dressing rooms with Tom Dixon lighting fixtures, and the Rose Relaxation room, accented with rose-tinted glass screens and sheer cotton fabrics.

Billed as “a unique and exclusive sanctuary”, the members-only spa houses a separate space for an “elite community”, The Club at Cottonmill. This includes a Deep Relaxation Room with Inviion Four Senses loungers, programmed with sonic and aroma compositions, a Dornbracht sensory shower; and thermal suite with organic, panoramic sauna and salt and herbal steam rooms. 

Grantley Hall, Yorkshire 

Opening date: July 6, 2019

Spa size: 10,411sq ft

Facilities: 18m indoor pool, hydrotherapy pool, sauna, steam room, snow rooms, relaxation room, spa lounge, outdoor terrace 

Treatment rooms: Five 

USP: Grade II-listed Grantley Hall will open after extensive restoration this July. Located in the Yorkshire Dales, the property has a lake and English Heritage-listed Japanese garden surrounding the hall, with its 47 bedrooms and suites.

The Three Graces Spa will offer treatments from Natura Bissé and Ila, with therapies and spa journeys designed to enhance mood, boost digestion and promote deep rest. The Executive Gym and Wellness centre will combine a gym, specific strength and conditioning gym, and a health and performance area; including biometric machines for health and fitness testing and analysis. 

Aqua Sana Longford Forest, Ballymahon, Ireland 

Opening: Summer 2019

Spa size: 26,909sq ft

Facilities: Outdoor pool, reflexology footbaths, various saunas, steam rooms, sensory showers and relaxation areas; outdoor hot tubs, salt steam room

Treatment rooms: 14

USP: Billed as Ireland’s biggest standalone spa, Aqua Sana Longford Forest will be Center Parcs’ first outside of England, part of the Longford Forest holiday village.

The spa will have four zones. The Nordic Forest zone combines Alpine steam with an ice cave and snug room with fire pits; Volcanic Forest has a dry heat sauna and steam room with a glowing amber “volcano”; Hot Springs features outdoor hot tubs situated among pine trees; and Treetop Nesting has a steam room with a cooling mist to simulate a tropical climate, with sensory rainforest showers. 

Milkwood Spa, Luxury Lodges Laugharne, Wales 

Opening: September 2019

Spa size: 6,028sq ft

Facilities: Infinity pool, tepidarium beds, salt sauna, herbal steam room, gym, outdoor hydrotherapy pool, nail treatment stations 

Treatment rooms: Two 

USP: £8m has been invested into Milkwood Spa, situated onsite at the upcoming Luxury Lodges self-catering holiday resort in the Welsh coastal country of Carmarthenshire. The spa’s gym is equipped by Life Fitness, with interior fixtures and fittings supplied by Dale Sauna, and Temple Spa as the core product house.

Guests will be able to enjoy panoramic views of the Taf estuary and Gower Peninsula from the spa, which sits in a club house separate from the lodges and also houses a restaurant, bar and lounge.