Summer edit: spa gardens

There are few things as blissful as an English garden in summer time, but what really takes the cake is a spa garden. Replete with more than just swimming pools (although we love those), they take you from swim-up bars to rooftop infinity pools, private poolside cabanas with their own outdoor fridges, and even saunas with panoramic views. Here are a few favourite spa gardens for summer.

The Spa Hotel at Ribby Hall Village, Lancashire

The Spa Hotel at Ribby Hall Village is quite literally a whole village of spa and leisure experiences. Alongside a smorgasbord of indoor wellbeing opportunities, this expansive retreat has a Zen Garden with an outdoor hot tub, its own bar, a beautiful seating area, a Himalayan salt sauna and an outdoor experience shower with mood lighting and body jets.

Cottonmill Spa at Sopwell House, Hertfordshire

The perfect mix of grandeur and comfort, this country house hotel is the height of luxury with an emphasis on hospitality at its warmest. Housing the UK’s first private members’ spa, Cottonmill is a luxurious sanctuary with state-of-the-art facilities and truly decadent spa experiences delivered by world-class experts. Alongside all that luxury however, the gardens are exceptional. Enjoy poolside terraces bedecked with cabanas, hot tubs and fire pits woven into a landscaped oasis.

Manor House Hotel - Alsager, Cheshire

A real treat is the swim-up bar at Manor House Hotel - Alsager in Cheshire, famously the only one of its kind in the UK. It’s the perfect compliment to their other Secret Garden spa facilities including a pool house, vitality pool, hydrotherapy tub, pavilion, summer house, salt steam inhalation chamber, potting sauna shed, plunge bath and seating areas.

South Lodge, Sussex

This exquisite hotel has so much to offer in the way of beauty, service and activities, however The Spa at South Lodge is a destination in its own right. Designed with sustainability in mind, the spa lets the outdoors in as much as possible, so you can expect spectacular South Downs views from many vantage points including the indoor pool and relaxation space. Outside, the luxury continues, with an infinity edge pool, natural wild pool and a hydrotherapy pool. Inside, the spa has a superb thermal suite and 14 nature-themed treatment rooms to enjoy massages, facials and body rituals.

The Buxton Crescent Hotel, Derbyshire

The Buxton Crescent Hotel in Derbyshire is a really special place to spend time. Inspired by Buxton's heritage as a spa town thanks to its healing thermal waters, it has a serene indoor relaxation pool that sits under a ceiling of stars, as well as a beautiful rooftop pool, and a heated outdoor area with two integrated Jacuzzi zones.

Rudding Park, North Yorkshire

Rudding Park is well known for being a luxury hotel and spa, but the spa acts as a destination in its own right. Contemporary and immaculate, it offers a wealth of wellbeing experiences, from 11 treatment rooms to four relaxation suites - it even uses natural spring water from the grounds in many of its facilities. Amongst its many features is the spa garden in a rooftop position surveying the grounds. Here you will find an infinity pool, oxygen pod, Kneipp footbaths, saunas and steam rooms that use herbs from the garden. There’s even a Cabana with soft sofa seating for 14, a fire bowl, infrared heaters and electric louvred roof to allow sunlight in and automatic sensors to keep rain out.

Rockliffe Hall, County Durham

Rockliffe Hall is another exceptional, luxury retreat offering world-class pampering. The hotel, the restaurant - it's all mesmerising, sitting on the banks of the River Tees and dating back to 1774 (think stained glass windows, marble pillars, and ornate ceilings). The spa is 50,000 square feet of flawless wellbeing experiences, but the dedicated spa garden is a little world of its own. Here alone, you will find an outdoor infinity edge pool, warmed loungers, glass fronted sauna and sumptuous daybeds. You need to pre-book your space and it can accommodate up to 16 people, so it's perfect for a group of friends.

The Spa at Carden, Cheshire

Carden Park is a 1,000 acre estate in the Cheshire countryside, where guests enjoy all manner of experiences from two on-site, 18-hole golf courses to the hotel's own vineyard. The Spa at Carden is also vast and plentiful, a two-storey building brimming with modern facilities to delight and soothe. Alongside it however, is a 2,500 square metre spa garden designed to be used all year round. This unique, adult-only escape includes an outdoor vitality pool, three hot tubs, a panoramic herbal lounge, a fire pit, thermal pods, sun loungers and an all-weather Bollinger champagne bar.

Pennyhill Park, Surrey

Pennyhill Park's ranking as one of the best hotel spas in the UK remains unaltered over the years, nestled into 123 acres of grounds and with everything from magnificent hotel suites and dining experiences to 45,000 sq. ft of wellness to enjoy in the spa itself. Alongside 23 treatment rooms, a Natura Bissé ‘bubble’, tennis courts, its own spa cafe and a famous ballroom pool with underwater music, there are the outdoor spa facilities. Thermal pools flow from inside out into the gardens, an 18-metre open air pool takes in views of the mansion, flanked by loungers and The Pool View Bar. There's an outdoor hydrotherapy pool, Canadian hot tubs, and private cabanas with two loungers, a fridge stocked with soft drinks, tea and coffee making facilities and a large copper bath complete with spa jets for the ultimate outdoor bathing experience.

Hoar Cross Hall, Staffordshire

Hoar Cross Hall has long been known for being a luxury hotel and spa destination, with acres of landscaped grounds, a wealth of activities, award-winning dining and unquestionably romantic style. However, now that they have added their brand new Spa Terrace into the experience, it takes wellness to new heights. The outdoor space features three 15-metre pools wrapped in lavender planters and heated to a soothing 38-degrees, as well as two Brass Monkey Cold Barrels for cold water immersion therapy. Then head to the glass-fronted juniper log sauna, or relax on one of six spacious cabanas complete with a ‘ring for refreshments’ bell. There’s a calming Relax Room just off the terrace with eight beds, a Mediterranean-inspired bar and lounge featuring reclaimed tiles from the vineyards of southern Spain, and two fire pits surrounded by comfy seating so you can relax under the stars late into the evening.

Thornton Hall, Wirral

A luxury hotel with an award-winning spa, Thornton Hall is nestled into the Wirral countryside, inviting guests to enjoy four-star hospitality and a world of wellness. There a 20-metre pool with a satellite whirlpool, a spa pool, and two outdoor hot tubs with power jets, as well as a hemlock sauna, fibre optic steam room, outdoor barrel sauna and a snow cave. The combination of indoor and outdoor experiences is enhanced by views of the gardens from indoor pools, and as well as a host of treatments, there's a mud therapy suite for seasonal mud treatments that are perfect for sharing.