THE TOP TEN UK SPA GARDENS

REPORT BY WENDY GOLLEDGE

As the wellness industry increasingly embraces the recognised health benefits of nature as well as a growing focus on sustainability and green living, a significant number of operators are taking key elements of the spa outside.

The outdoor trend is being serviced by more creative nature-based wellness programming such as wild swimming, forest bathing or outdoor meditation, as well as al fresco treatments and, most prolific, the creation of many stunning spa gardens. Whether it’s harvesting produce in a kitchen garden to provide plot-to-plate options in the spa restaurant, using the garden’s offerings in treatments, adding forest bathing and mindfulness walks to the treatment menu, or simply developing rejuvenating green spaces in which guests can be at peace, the spa garden is no longer just a nice-to-have accessory. Many modern spa gardens offer breathtaking outdoor poolscapes and unique hot and cold thermal journeys to add an extra dimension to their offer.

We’ve delved into ten truly innovative UK spa gardens to ask those in charge about the experiences they were trying to create and how the addition of a dedicated outdoor space has impacted their business.

BEST FOR AN ALL-WEATHER OUTDOOR SPA EXPERIENCE

Home to the UK’s largest spa garden, Carden Park’s 4,500sqm standalone spa is set within 1,000-acres with unique views over the Cheshire countryside. The spa garden has state-of-the art facilities, carefully curated to provide an all-weather outdoor experience, offering guests a natural reset and allowing them space to experience the benefits of being outdoors.

The original ethos of The Spa was escapism – to create a space in which to pause and take in the surroundings. The outdoor area encapsulates this ethos with a panoramic sauna, complete with a floor-to-ceiling glass wall, fire pits, three outdoor hot tubs, heated relaxation pods that create an all-weather haven, indoor and outdoor vitality pools and the much coveted all-weather Bollinger Garden Bar.

“As the garden is a focal point of the spa, we’ve seen increased revenue across beverage spend and the onsite Elements restaurant allows guests to sit and enjoy a healthy lunch on the terrace whilst admiring the views over the garden,” says spa director Emma Pridding.

The indoor facilities also place nature, and the feeling of being outdoors, front and centre – a wall of windows offering views into the garden from every outlook to give a feeling of space.

“Guests are also drawn to book treatments as they can continue admiring the garden while being pampered in the beauty lounge and many simply enjoy soaking up the outdoors,”adds Pridding.

www.cardenpark.co.uk/spa, @cardenpark

Garden product partners: Rigo Spa, Horizon Tiling, Solus Decor, Urban Planters North West, Bellagio Stone, IMC Bars

BEST FOR A MEDITERRANEAN JOURNEY IN THE ENGLISH COUNTRYSIDE

Designed to recreate the tranquility of the Mediterranean, The Spa at South Lodge embraces nature to stimuate all of the senses. From the rustling of ornamental grasses to the sight of dappled green acers contrasted against white Siberian Iris and blue agapanthus, to the delicate scent of jasmine planted throughout the spa garden, guests are offered a truly sensory journey.

Garden facilities include a mind-body terrace, a 100-seat decking area with loungers, a unique freshwater wild swimming pool, a natural pond with a fountain and a hydropool.

“Originally, we were going to segregate off the garden dedicated to the spa,” says head gardener Paul Collins “but in the end, we opted not to – guests can just wander into the grounds which boast more than 360 species of trees and plants... We thought people would stay in the spa section, so have been surprised by how many take an amble around the property, soaking in the Sussex countryside in their spa robes!”

The Mediterranean spa restaurant, Botanica, mirrors the garden offer, serving fruit and vegetables from the grounds, with many key ingredients often foraged from the woods or specifically grown on site.

“We always knew the spa garden would be a big draw, but we’ve been surprised by how it’s impacted our overall usage,” says spa director Ian Mackie. “Guests stay all day because of the garden. This has a positive effect on secondary spend and how guests perceive the spa as a real destination to unwind and take in nature.”

www.exclusive.co.uk/the-spaat-south-lodge, @southlodge_spa

Garden product partners: Alexander Rose, Gartenart, Sparcstudio

BEST FOR AN AUTHENTIC IRISH SPA RITUAL

Galgorm’s Thermal Village, the first of its kind and the largest in Northern Ireland, is the jewel in the Galgorm crown. Inspired by the understated beauty of the landscape, it delivers feelings of restfulness and calm. Situated across three manicured spaces, the Alpine, riverside and walled gardens each reveal meandering paths that lead spa guests on a journey of rediscovery.

Outdoor facilities include saunas, a snow cabin, a Celtic sauna, the River House relaxation space, eco-friendly riverside bathing tubs, indoor and outdoor pools, cabanas, a salt cave, experience showers and a 10-metre vitality pool perched on the banks of the river. With such an array, 90% of the spa’s guest experiences are located outdoors.

“The Thermal Spa Village has added another dimension to our guest journey,” says Tara Moore, head of spa operations. “As it has grown, we’ve made a conscious effort to develop each garden’s identity with experiences to match. For example, guests in the Alpine garden are very much immersed in the natural setting, especially in the showstopping vitality pool. The walled garden offers a more laid-back luxurious vibe with its ornate Palm House and sophisticated cocktail menu.”

The grounds include a 1,000-year-old olive tree from Tuscany in the riverside garden and a picturesque apple orchard in the walled garden. As well as cocktails at The Palm House, the Elements Spa Eatery offers guests the chance to take refreshment beneath a characterful Halodome structure that is one of only five in the world.

www.galgorm.com, @galgormresort

Garden product partners: Gharieni, Rolf Benz, Connemara marble and oak

BEST FOR CREATING A FLOATING WOODLAND GARDEN

Rudding Park’s rooftop spa garden takes its cues from the woodland glades that border it. With a south-facing sun deck, a warm open-air hydro pool and garden sauna nestled among ornamental grasses, flowering dogwood and mature trees, it was created to evoke the sensation of a garden floating in a woodland.

“A sun-drenched mid-summer day can feel like relaxing in the south of France. Guests love it and love to engage with it,” says designer and renowned horticulturalist Matthew Wilson.

“The garden fundamentally distinguishes us from the competition; it offers a point of difference to our experience,” explains head of spa Sarah Johnson. “From a business perspective, our team deliver lounger service in a space that may have over 100 guests at any one time, generating £60,000 of beverage revenue each month.”

Other outdoor facilities include a hydrotherapy infinity pool, a panoramic sauna infused with birch blossom in spring and rose petal in summer, a herbal bath steam room, an ice fountain, a foot spa and an experience shower.

“Building the spa garden added £250,000 to the cost of the [spa] build,” says Wilson, “but it has paid dividends in terms of guest experience and revenue generation.”

www.ruddingpark.co.uk/spa, @ruddingparkhotel

Garden product partners: Johnsons of Whixley, Rigo Spa, Helo, Akula Living, B&B Italia

BEST FOR A SEVEN-STAGE SENSORY EXPERIENCE BY THE SEA

The sensory spa garden at Bedruthan hosts a unique one-hour experience inspired by thermotherapy. A series of nature-bathing immersions combine the benefits of hot and cold temperatures with the sea air in order to ignite the body’s ability to detoxify and renew.

The experience starts with a dry scrub in a circular room with a heated floor, moving to a group shower to wash off the salt and warm the body in preparation for the sauna. With porthole window overlooking the sea, the 80-degree cedar wood sauna opens pores and slows the mind, allowing deep relaxation. An ice bucket shower follows before guests enter cedar wood hot tubs overlooking the pool garden. More ice then stimulates the lymphatic system and boosts the immune system before a final shower with wet Oula scrub and a warm foot bath at the fire pit.

“Our seven-step journey works directly with the internal cleansing system, encouraging toxins to move through the body, boosting the immune system and stimulating muscles to relax on the inside,” says RED Hotels spa manager Kerris Brimblecombe. “Guests report psychological benefits from stepping outside of their comfort zone and we describe the experience as a state changer – there’s no way you can’t laugh when engaging with the cold element!” SPA STATISTICS

www.bedruthan.com, @bedruthanhotel

Garden product partners Riveria hot tubs, Freeman Sails

BEST FOR A STAR-GAZING SPA EXPERIENCE

The 130sqm spa garden at Rockliffe Hall was developed as part of a £1million investment to offer guests a place to slow down and disconnect.

Mindful of the north-east’s changeable weather, designers Sparcstudio and architects xcite created the garden as a pavilion with a retractable side, providing a year-round inside-outside space. Floor-to-ceiling bi-fold doors extend fully then, when the heavens open, close completely while continuing to provide panoramic views of the garden.

“Rockliffe’s Spa Garden was one of the first of its kind in the north of England and continues to provide us with opportunity to create experiences completely unique to us, with the added commercial benefit of being a saleable upgrade to spa guests,” says spa manager Ashley Freeman.

An outdoor infinity-edge hydrotherapy pool is perfectly positioned to allow guests to soak up the 365-acre estate, watch the sunset and indulge in nightly ‘Twilight Passes’, which take in the night sky’s sparkling constellations from the warmth of the pool. Meanwhile, heated decking and relaxation loungers, a traditional glass-fronted sauna cabin and a fire pit ensure guests are warm as they enjoy their surroundings.

“From sunrise yoga practice to the magical twilight spa experiences the garden allows us to increase the number of guests in the spa at any one time, without impacting users,” says Freeman. “It also increases covers in the newly refurbished spa restaurant, Nu Sana. The secluded location also allows us to hire the space for exclusive use.”

SPA STATISTICS

www.rockliffehall.com, @rockliffe_hall

Garden product partners: SparcStudio, Wharton Construction, xsite Architects, DaleSauna

BEST FOR ACHIEVING A STATE OF EQUILIBRIUM

Designed by Alistair W Baldwin, the spa terrace and surrounding gardens at Three Graces Spa opened to guests in 2019 after a four-year renovation project.

“Every element of Three Graces Spa was thought out with both the customers and therapists in mind,” says spa and wellness manager Rebecca Doyle. “Each treatment room has floor-to-ceiling windows to allow the maximum amount of natural light inside, essential for ensuring therapist wellbeing and allowing guests to soak up the Dales that surround the spa and hotel.”

Aiming to make a feature of the clean air and luscious greenery of the Yorkshire Dales, the wellness philosophy of the spa and gardens is based on balance – achieving a state of balance unique to each guest, their state of mind and their body’s particular needs.

An outdoor terrace extends the indoor spa experience, including a tranquil relaxation area that has direct access to an indoor-outdoor hydrotherapy pool. Designed-in planting around the terrace keeps the area shielded from the rest of the grounds and gardens, while still allowing an extended view.

“The outdoor offering truly reflects the chance to achieve a state of equilibrium and guests comment that the area transports people to enhanced relaxation,” adds Doyle.

www.grantleyhall.co.uk/spa/ three-graces-spa, @grantleyhall_

Garden product partners: Cheshire Wellness, Lapicida, Alexander Rose, Oxley’s Furniture

BEST FOR FOREST IMMERSION

The Herb House Spa roof garden, or ‘Herbery’, is specially designed to reflect the location of the spa and its natural approach to wellbeing. Small, delicate herbs contrast with the majestic trees in the nearby forest. Its proximity to the forest and the rooftop position heavily influenced the planting, which is as unstructured as possible to ensure a natural visual flow from the Herbery.

“The rooftop Herbery isn’t just an aromatic backdrop for yoga, meditation and forest watching – its collection of herbs is extensive and all are selected for a reason,” says spa director Tammy Kenyon. “The aim was to create a comfortable, unfussy outside area – garden-rooms, if you like – that reflects the interior and continues our theme of using living herbs outside to compliment and extend the treatments and therapies received inside.”

Facilities include a Mud House, an outdoor hot pool and a giant forest sauna where guests can feel fully immersed in the woodland. Designed by Lime Wood group director David Elton, the garden complements the 2,044sqm spa, located across three floors.

Over time the roof has evolved into a multi-use space and is in effect a living third floor of the spa that continues to be enjoyed by members, guests and staff alike. All year round a multitude of activities take place from yoga to qi-gong, spinning to stretching, meetings to relaxation and a glass or two of fizz. The rooftop garden is an immersive experience of visual, smell, touch and texture.

www.limewoodhotel.co.uk/spa/ roof-garden, @limewoodhotel

Garden product partners: Barr+Wray, KLAFS

BEST FOR A SOCIAL SPA EXPERIENCE

Although limited in terms of available space, the Spa Hotel at Ribby Hall doesn’t fail to deliver when it comes to outside innovation. Its upper and lower ‘Zen gardens’ offer a number of external facilities to enhance and complement the indoor aqua thermal journey.

Since opening in 2011, the garden has received considerable investment and is now home to the Zen Garden Bar, a garden-view sauna, two hot tubs, a dual foot spa with heated seats, an experience shower and a glass-fronted Himalayan salt sauna. A purpose-built treatment room is used for product discovery sessions and seasonal treatments, while two enclosed areas – the heated snug and the rustic Breeze Hut – house bistro tables and seating.

“The Breeze Hut was created to maximise secondary revenue when we noticed footfall to the garden was increasing,” says spa manager Jane Tregonning. “It enables us to bring retail outside and involve the spa reception and host team – guests can try out products and we can maximise use of therapists in downtime. Because so many people are outside and demand is continually increasing, the Breeze Hut helps prevent any bottlenecks and gives guests more to do outside than congregate in the hot tubs.”

The spa has plans to expand its outdoor facilities further, including building a large glass-fronted covered area with heated loungers.

“We’ve grown the garden so we’re using all the space available to us,” says assistant spa manager Gemma Cartmell. “It isn’t the garden we opened with in 2011 – it now makes up 40% of the aqua thermal journey.”

www.ribbyhall.co.uk/the-spa-hotel/ welcome-to-the-spa-hotel, @ribbyspahotel

Garden product partners: Alexander Rose via Ellisons, DaleSauna, Neil Barnes, IMD Designs, Malcom King

BEST FOR A PRIVATE SPA HAVEN

The walled garden at Fletcher’s Cottage Spa was created ten years ago from an unused piece of scrubland. It now houses two cosy, private single-occupancy bath huts complete with log burners. Each has its own small private patio and the front area of the garden, split by a central path banked by heather and juniper, now leads to a large central pergola covered with climbing roses, clematis and grape vines.

“As soon as the weather is nice guests can’t wait to get outside. Lots go for walks to the meadow, or to the bath huts, or the rest just relax outside at the tables, it’s become a real extension of our offer,” says brand guardian Siân Parry Jones.

The garden was created so guests could look out on nature and to bring life and light into the spa. In the summer, yurts are set up where yoga, Reiki and gong sessions take place.

“I’m all about having every single window looking out onto nature,” says Parry Jones, “so we have lavender beds planted outside all the treatment rooms, climbing roses and even palm trees – we never thought they would survive in Scotland but they have. It’s not a formal garden, it has grown into what it wanted to be. I would love to put some more huts out in our wildflower meadow.”

www.archerfieldhouse.com/spa, @archerfieldhouse

Garden product partner: Vincent Sheppard