Bristol

7 indulgent spa hotels in Bristol | prepare to be pampered

Take some time out and enjoy a weekend break in Bristol where you can explore this vibrant city before coming back to spend an afternoon relaxing in the spa...

Combine a rejuvenating break and quality time with a friend or loved-one at one of these Bristol spa hotels. Our picks offer luxury amenities and treatments to make you feel a real sense of wellbeing: lower your limbs into a Roman-style bath or lie back as sweet-smelling organic creams and potions are rubbed expertly into your skin.

Once you’ve soaked your cares and stresses away in saunas, hot tubs and serene pools, discover Bristol’s busy shopping and flourishing music scene. Wander along the city’s waterfront or cross the steep Avon Gorge over the Grade I listed Clifton Suspension Bridge, followed by a tour of the Victorian arcade in the quaint Clifton Village. Here you can browse antique furniture and hand-painted ceramics or explore second-hand bookshop. Return to your chic city stay for gourmet meals prepared by top chefs in AA-rosette awarded restaurants.

A spa hotel at the heart of Bristol

Sitting right in the centre of town, alongside the medieval Bristol Cathedral with its restored stained glass, this Victorian-style hotel is the ideal springboard for your weekend of urban discovery. Spend a morning exploring the independent shops on Park Street, where you can pick up souvenirs like eclectic loose-leaf tea blends and quirky vintage clothing, before retiring to the hotel for an afternoon of well-deserved pampering. After dropping your bags in your room, which feature colourful artwork, luxury Egyptian cotton linen and dark-wood furniture, be swept back to yesteryear as you stroll past opulent stone archways towards the Lavish Spa. Here, a heated indoor pool, steam room and treatments await you.

On the menu are body scrubs, facials, foot baths, hair and scalp treatments, manicures, pedicures, massages and waxing. As you relax, breathe in the gentle scent of eco-friendly products from Aveda, made with natural plant essences. Soften your hands with a paraffin treatment or lie back as your feet and legs are exfoliated as part of a Lavish Pedicure. When you’re done, recline on a chaise longue by the pool and lose yourself in a book, or take a moment to connect with your holiday companion.

For a satisfying end to the day, visit the restaurant – Walter’s Bar and Grill – and treat yourself to something tasty like a succulent steak garnished with portobello mushroom and tomato. End your evening over a British craft beer in the Brew Bar Lounge, or perhaps a gin-infused cocktail with refreshing raspberry, lemon or lime.

Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel

Top rated
Bristol
8.7 Excellent (2353 reviews)

Spa hotel in Bristol: a rural mansion retreat

Just over the county border, in Gloucestershire, you’ll find a Victorian, castle-like mansion. From this spa hotel, you can access Cotswolds towns like Wotton-under-Edge and Malmesbury, and still be only 18 miles from Bristol’s city centre. The Leaf Spa includes a gym, sauna, steam room and swimming pool, plus a full treatment programme using products by Decléor. Wrap up in your fluffy bathrobe then prepare for a facial, massage, scrub, body wrap, manicure, pedicure eye treatment or waxing.

Ease away your stresses with an orange blossom face massage, inhaling pungent scents of frankincense, myrrh and sandalwood. A chocolate massage is a true treat – this moisturises your skin as you’re smothered in a pure cocoa blend and enclosed in a heated wrap. There are specially-tailored treatments for men, too – try the purifying express energising facial, designed to help overcome damage to the skin caused by shaving. In the dry floatation tank, drift away into a blissful state as your body hovers on the surface, protected and held up by cosy waterproof garments.

In the afternoon, head to the oak-panelled restaurant for fresh scones and Wye Valley salmon sandwiches washed down with a glass of Prosecco. For dinner, share a gourmet pub-style meal, such as ale-battered fish and chips, as you dine in the bistro beneath indoor trees and a 60-foot high glass roof. When dusk falls, dim the lights in your room, decorated in British heritage style with wildlife-themed artwork and gentle grey tones, then sink into a soft leather sofa and pull a snug blanket over your legs.

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Hotel De Vere Tortworth Court

Wotton-under-Edge
8.4 Very good (1990 reviews)

A historical underground spa hotel in Bristol

This imposing building was formerly two iconic banks – you’ll see the evidence in the sculpture of the original facade, in which angels perch around arched windows crowned by solemn, Roman-style figureheads. With its interiors restored in bright, neutral tones offset by Mediterranean blues, today the hotel houses – among other things– the colourful Gold Bar. Here you’ll find charming hotchpotch sofas, retro lamps and ornate stone pillars. Before dinner, order a cocktail bursting with ingredients like quince liqueur, angostura bitters and creme de violette blended by an expert mixologist; then make your way to the award-winning restaurant, the Jetty, where you can feast on delights such as truffle arancini, haddock fishcakes and confit duck.

Next morning, a trip down into the 16th-century vaults will lead you to the underground spa, with a sauna, steam room, relaxation areas, a mood-lit indoor pool and accompanying hydrotherapy bath with pressure jets. Opt for a deep-cleansing or collagen facial or a radiant eye treatment. Body treatments include a full exfoliation with salt and oil, or try a back, face and scalp massage, hot stone treatment, aromatherapy or deep tissue reviver massage. Manicures, pedicures, eyebrow and eyelash tinting and waxing are also on offer in this subterranean haven.

When it’s time to turn in for the night, head to your room with a view over the St Nicholas Market or Bristol Crown Court – look out for features such as standalone baths and period furniture that add individuality to the space.

Bristol Harbour

Top rated
Bristol
8.6 Excellent (1449 reviews)

A Bristol spa hotel with a view (or two)

Open your door at the Doubletree by Hilton Bristol South hotel and you’ll be drawn straight to the windows to admire the lovingly manicured grounds. Other notable features are walk-in power showers and huge king-sized beds dressed with 400-thread count linens – something to look forward to while you’re being spoilt in the spa.

Treatments include facials, body wraps, scrubs, massages and nail care, and are carried out using products from brands like Pevonia and Moroccanoil. Relieve strain in your back with an aromatic moor mud ritual, where thermal mud helps alleviate muscular tension. Or choose a manicure, and sit back while your hands are soothed under thermal mittens – this helps them better absorb the lotions. Throughout your spa session, you can alternate between the relaxation room, outdoor hot tub, eating area and sundeck.

A quiet pre-dinner stroll will help you get acquainted with your surroundings. Set in the green countryside 13 miles south-west of Bristol’s city centre, this boutique hotel and spa is a rural hideaway with views across North Somerset and the Bristol Channel. The buildings sit in an expansive garden with its own lake. For something light to eat, head to the Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar & Grill for a dish such as a salad of poached pear, endives and walnut vinaigrette. For a more substantial meal, try something like beef and pancetta brioche sliders with melted cheese as part of an Italian-style afternoon tea, followed by a zingy lemon tart.

Doubletree by Hilton Bristol South - Cadbury House

Congresbury
8.2 Very good (2419 reviews)

A conveniently located luxury spa hotel in Bristol

Mercure Bristol Holland House offers a thoughtfully put-together range of spa treatments to suit you and your partner, your best friend or your mum. Plan a day of pure relaxation and indulge in luxurious massages, facials, body scrubs, manicures and waxing. Facials here are carried out using high-end ESPA products, expertly made with the input of dermatologists, biochemists and aromatherapists – other ingredients include Himalayan salt and fragrant aromatherapy oils. An aromatherapy back massage and facial will relieve tension, or you can prepare for an evening out by having your nails filed, buffed and painted with a gel polish. There’s also an indoor pool and a gym for gentle workouts. When you’re finished being preened and pummelled, relax into your cosy room or suite, with its wood panelling, ambient lighting and carpeted floors.

The Urban Bar & Kitchen offers cuisine with locally sourced ingredients – and they also provide vegetarian and gluten-free options. Want to explore further afield? This city sanctuary is ideal for couples or groups who want to make the most of Bristol’s thriving nightlife or theatre scene. The hotel is located just minutes from the grandeur of Queen’s Square and the popular waterfront area that buzzes with bars and restaurants (look out for those operating out of shipping containers) as well as the Sunday market. You’ll also be steps from the Bristol Old Vic and the Hippodrome. If you’ve had a late night – perhaps you’ve been dancing to your (or your daughter’s) favourite band at the 19th-century Colston Hall – you’ll benefit from that pampering session even more.

Mercure Bristol Holland House

Bristol
7.9 Good (642 reviews)

A Bristol spa hotel on the city's northern outskirts

Bristol’s suburbs also have much to offer the curious traveller – be it Ashton Court Estate to the west, home of the annual Balloon Fiesta or the oft-overlooked St George park to the east. This spa hotel10 miles north of the centre and nestled between two golf clubs – is a chance to discover the town’s northern parts. On arrival, pop to your room and deposit your bags, taking a moment to note the details: some proper chunky biscuits; a teapot complete with hand-knitted tea cosy. Then, head to the hotel’s AA-rosette restaurant and savour sweet delights like lemon, blackberry and polenta mille-feuille.

When the spa calls, swim a few lengths of gentle breaststroke in the pool, then move to the super-hot steam room and feel your tension disappear as the warm air boosts your circulation and brings toxins to the surface. In the sauna, choose from two different heights depending on your heat preference. The frothy Jacuzzi awaits now – once your muscles have been soothed, take afternoon tea in the lounge area while you’re drying.

Treatments here include aromatherapy, detoxifying or destressing massages, facials, nails and tanning. Awaken your skin’s natural luminosity with a complexion-correcting radiance facial, which uses hot and cold basalt stones to gently massage your face, or relax into a cranial massage, where hands are placed carefully on your skull to help free energy blockages and encourage relaxation. With a fleur de vigne massage, delicately scented grape blossom oil is rubbed into your skin. Or, step straight into summer with a full-body manual tan, and take a healthy sun-kissed glow home from your Bristol trip.

Aztec Hotel & Spa

Top rated
Bristol
8.8 Excellent (2186 reviews)

Head from Bristol to Bath for a relaxing spa retreat

Bath’s name says it all: this town sits over a hot spring whose waters have attracted visitors for centuries. To ‘take the waters’, stay at the elegant, Grade II listed The Gainsborough hotel where you can reap the benefits of mineral-rich heated waters straight from the ground below.

Once you’ve stopped to admire the hotel’s intricate Georgian and Victorian stone facades, head to the spa and enter a naturally heated pool. The water here contains 42 minerals including calcium, sulphate and chloride, said to aid muscular relief. Take a moment to admire your surroundings; this room has a towering glass atrium and is adorned with pillars and tiles, with a nod to the city’s historic Roman baths. You’ll have access to three thermal pools at a glorious 35-40°C, as well as an infrared and a traditional sauna, a thermal water fountain, an ice alcove and a relaxation terrace.

Choose a treatment from a menu inspired by the area’s natural resources. A rose facial will nourish and revitalise and includes a soothing scalp, hand and arm massage. Mineral-rich body therapies are available too, designed to invigorate, heal and restore. When you’re peckish, take a table at the three AA rosette Gainsborough Restaurant and prepare to savour dishes like butternut squash samosas with cucumber and mint raita, followed by chocolate ganache with honeycomb and orange sorbet. Later, relish some quiet time in your custom-furnished bedroom, with luxury bedding, heated bathroom floors and black-out curtains – all the ingredients you need for a restorative night’s sleep.

The Gainsborough Bath Spa

Top rated
Bath
9.4 Excellent (2105 reviews)