Solent Hotel and Spa in Whiteley has recently undergone a significant transformation to its wellness facilities, designed to enhance the guest experience while reflecting the property’s South Coast roots.
The renovation, which introduced a new pool, salt sauna, eight-person hot tub, tropical rainforest storm shower and outdoor cabanas, has repositioned the spa as a key wellness destination for locals and hotel guests alike.
Spa operations manager Michelle Young shares insight into the spa’s new direction, how the redesign came together, and what this refreshed space means for members and visitors.
Supporting local wellness in Whiteley
Solent Hotel and Spa is a hub for wellness in the Whiteley area, actively supporting the wellbeing of its surrounding community.
“We work quite closely with a lot of different businesses. We're quite central in our location – obviously being close to Whiteley Shopping Centre,” says Young. “We also work with a lot of the businesses in the Whiteley Business Park area. We've linked that with memberships.”
The spa offers local business employees a corporate membership rate, enabling them to access the spa facilities, including the sauna, steam room, gym, and a programme of holistic classes such as meditation and yoga.
“My lovely membership advisor, she goes round and does outreach to different places, so they can come in and use the facilities,” Young adds.
As a result, Solent Hotel and Spa, which is part of the Daniel Thwaites group, attracts a diverse mix of visitors, from day guests to hotel residents and families enjoying tailored packages. “We’ve got a Little Miss VIP package offered to children who can come in and have their nails painted with a little glass of orange fizz,” says Young. “We incorporate a variety of guests.”
A wellness philosophy focused on mental wellbeing
The spa’s approach to wellness goes beyond skin-deep, with a strong emphasis on supporting mental wellbeing.
“I would like to say we are all about encompassing mental health and working on that side of things,” explains Young. “With meditation and yoga – and even just working out in the gym – it can have a massive impact on your mental health and how you feel daily.”
Recognising the stress and busyness of modern life, the team places high value on providing moments of calm and restoration through spa days and treatments.
The renovation: why the spa needed a refresh
The decision to renovate the wellness space had been in the works for some time, prompted by practical needs as well as the desire to modernise and elevate the offering.
“It had been on the cards for a long time. We had some issues within the pool plant area,” says Young. “Management decided to put us back on the map again as a spa hotel.”
What the team hadn’t fully anticipated was how much of an impact temporarily closing the spa would have on the wider hotel business.
“Lots of guests come and stay here purely because they want to swim and relax,” Young shares. “If they're working, they want to be able to take an hour’s break out of their day and have that time to themselves. It had a huge impact on our business when we didn’t have that offering.”
Since reopening, however, the spa has bounced back with strength – and the enhanced facilities are playing a key role.
What’s new: salt sauna, storm showers and cabanas
From the start, the renovation was focused on delivering standout features that would add value to the guest experience.
“We knew that we wanted a new pool and to add something a little bit extra so that we have a unique selling point,” says Young. “With our lovely new salt sauna, that enhances the detoxifying element. We've also added the tropical rainforest storm shower, which is a lovely touch too.”
Further elevating the outdoor space, the team is adding two nautical-themed cabanas to the patio area, which will be bookable as part of spa day packages.
The planning and design was a collaborative effort between Daniel Thwaites’s head of interior design Rachel Wootton and group spa director Gemma Barratt.
“They wanted to have a wellness feel alongside a homely, welcoming hotel feel,” says Young. “They always go on about our lovely South Coast, so it’s got a few features that reflect that too, with stripe patterns – like stripe cushions – tying back to the nautical theme.”
Managing a challenging renovation process
Delivering the refurbishment wasn’t without its challenges, particularly as parts of the spa had to remain operational.
“We were still partly open, so we were still delivering treatments – and treatments and building noise don’t really go together,” Young recalls. “It was quite a mission to do.”
The total part-closure lasted three months, but the project involved detailed weekly meetings with contractors, complex logistical planning and careful consideration of how the space would function behind the scenes.
“It’s not just about how it looks aesthetically – it’s about the actual running of the place as well,” says Young. “Plumbing, plant rooms, pools, sauna and steam rooms – it all quite in-depth and needs to be functional.”
One unexpected challenge was the closure of the spa’s front reception for six weeks, which forced the team to reroute members through an alternative entrance.
“You don’t necessarily think until you’re in that situation that you’ll need to organise all the different routes and access points,” Young says. “It was a lot to manage – but it was worth it.”
Coastal inspiration at the heart of the design
From the moment guests enter the spa, the design takes cues from the hotel’s seaside location on the South Coast.
“You'll see along one of the walls we’ve got a built-in booth with extra seating and striped cushions,” says Young. “We have some lovely artists’ paintings on the wall with a seaside theme as well.”
Even smaller design elements, such as coral-inspired décor and the nautical theme of the new cabanas, all tie back to the sea and the surrounding Hampshire landscape.
“In the hotel in general, they have a lot of nautical things linked in too,” Young adds. “It all connects.”
A fresh chapter for Solent Hotel and Spa
The investment in the spa’s renovation has already begun to pay off, not only in guest satisfaction but in reaffirming the hotel’s status as a wellness destination on the South Coast.
With its new salt sauna, tropical showers and nautical-themed aesthetic, Solent Hotel and Spa is embracing a refreshed, experience-led approach to wellness – one that champions relaxation, local connections and meaningful moments of self-care.
As Young reflects, “It was a rollercoaster to oversee – but seeing the space now, it really was worth it.”
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