Do you know your rocket from your radicchio? Is over cooked meat anathema? For those of us who seek new culinary experiences as part of our spa break, here are 10 spas and spa hotels for foodies.
In London’s cultural heartland, Soho, the five-star W London is a buzzy and vibrant hotel that mixes glitz, glamour and just enough retro style. The chic hotel is flirty, fun, and full of joyful experiences. Rooms offer the height of modern hospitality, while dining is an opportunity to dress up. The Perception is the luxe lounge style restaurant open for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as music and live events. Think high ceilings, theatrical lighting and convivial seating alongside innovative cocktails and mouth watering cuisine. Get ready for an evening out with rest and relaxation in the AWAY® Spa London with a sauna, steam room, and treatments from luxury Italian skincare brand [Comfort Zone].
Pennyhill Park is one of the most famous spa hotels in the land, with the spa, hotel, and restaurant all enjoying reputations in their own right. The five-star hotel is a world of luxury, complete with two restaurants - The Latymer and Hillfield. The Latymer boasts a Michelin Star and five AA Rosettes, featuring a menu crafted by an award-winning culinary team. Meanwhile, Hillfield offers a more relaxed dining experience with a hyper-local menu that highlights fresh, seasonal ingredients and holds three AA Rosettes. The spa is a vast world of wellbeing opportunities both inside and out, standing at 45,000 sq. ft, and offering a suite of pools, including an indoor ballroom pool has underwater music. It too has its own culinary offering, with a spa restaurant - Themis - providing a healthy, nourishing menu.
A magnificent, five-star destination set at Fairmont Windsor Park, Fairmont Windsor Park is an expansive hotel complete with beautiful wellbeing experiences. The spa is a playground of wellness with a 20-metre indoor pool, a thermal suite, a cryotherapy chamber, health assessments with a lifestyle review and 4D scanning, 18 treatment rooms and more. When it comes to food and drink there’s an abundance of choice with six restaurants and bars, including fine dining at 1215 (named in recognition of the year that the Magna Carta was signed just a short walk from the hotel’s location), and Greens Cafe - the wellbeing restaurant situated inside the Spa and Wellness facility. They use superb British fare using locally grown and reared ingredients from The Royal Farms, Windsor artisans and their very own herb and vegetable gardens.
Don’t think it is just about golf at the famous Old Course Hotel, although that is of the highest standard; the spa, the Kohler Waters, also has five bubbles to its name amongst other awards. The appeal for the foodie in you is the six dining experiences on offer at this five-star setting, including triple AA Rosette-awarded dining at the Road Hole Restaurant, offering the best of Scottish cuisine including delicious local seafood. The Spa Cafe serves healthy and nutritious fare during the day, while the Swilcan Loft serves grazing plates and light bites with exceptional views. West Deck is where you can experience casual dining under a canopy of twinkling lights with unique pods and outdoor tables as you tuck into heaped charcuterie boards, and The Hams Hame Pub & Grill is the place for casual pub-style dining.
Luton Hoo is famously one of the most luxurious spa hotels around, with beautiful grounds, interiors, and experiences at every turn. Dining is just one of the exceptional offerings that they have with The Brasserie offering informal but stylish dining in the historic Stables building. There's also the option to upgrade to fine dining in Wernhers, named after one of Luton Hoo's most distinguished former owners, and with interiors reminiscent of the Palace of Versailles. Leisure and spa facilities include the chance to roam or cycle in over 1000 acres of parkland, or play a round of golf. There’s a huge hydrotherapy pool which links to the beautiful indoor pool, a technogym, the latest in spa technology and treatments and a relaxation room where you can sleepily watch the display of stunning tropical fish. No wonder this former stately home and its grounds have been the setting for many a film and television show.
For all you fitness fanatics looking for a foodie spa break have a think about Hoar Cross Hall. Relax anywhere in the hotel in your dressing gown if it takes your fancy, taking in the spa facilities where every element of detoxification and relaxation is covered. Time later to dress for dinner. There are two restaurants at the hotel. The main one is in the former ballroom, decorated with William Morris wallpaper, Sienna marble mantelpieces, and the 19th century ‘wedding cake’ ceiling. The second is Henry's - a luxe lounge open for breakfast and throughout the day. Either way, food's a decadent experience.
A trip to glorious Devon can only be enhanced by a foodie spa break at Grade one Manor House Boringdon Hall near Plymouth. After a morning’s tootle around this interesting hotel and spa, and whilst looking out over Dartmoor, try the grazing menu in the Spatisserie with awakening, balancing and calming options. The modern Gaia Spa offers a wide range of facilities and treatments including an infinity pool, hydrotherapy pool, sauna and more. Highly trained therapists are there to carry out treatments including Gaia Rituals Raindrop, crystal or totally holistic amid a huge choice. Evenings can be spent enjoying five-star dining in the Àclèaf restaurant.
A four-star country house hotel in Buckinghamshire, Horwood House is a romantic retreat that also offers an abundance of charm for groups and families. The H Spa is the pièce de résistance, drawing inspiration from the gardens. Meanwhile, food also takes its lead from the property's horticultural heritage. Harry’s Bar & Kitchen, named after Harry Thrower - the original Head Gardener, zoned seating areas, an outdoor terrace, a large country kitchen table for convivial dining, imaginative menus and plenty of cocktails. It's relaxed, but it's a treat.
A four-star retreat complete with a modern, adult-only spa, Manor House Hotel - Alsager is a fun, flirty and really unique spa experience. The spa itself is a treat, complete with the only swim-up bar in the UK, a unique English Country Spa Garden experience and delicious treatments such as a Salt Grain Massage, a Warm Honey and Helichrysum Facial. Meanwhile, foodie fans will love the Stables Bar & Grill, in a former 17th-century farmhouse building. It's convivial, relaxed and while offering a sense of occasion, they also excel at pub classics, cocktails and bottomless brunches.
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