For a blissful pampering session in a grand setting, a visit to the Eden Spa at the palatial Down Hall Hotel is a must. This Italianate hotel’s wellness retreat features a hydrotherapy pool with massaging jets to soothe muscles, a sauna with starry lights scattered across the ceiling and a steam room for extra R&R.
The spa has three recently renovated rooms for treatments such as massages, wraps, scrubs and age-defying skin routines. Try a facial that combines breathing techniques with the calming energy of rose-quartz crystals, or book a full or mini manicure or pedicure to add a little polish to your look.
Afterwards, meander through the hotel’s landscaped gardens and mature woodlands before finding a seat on the terrace. This sophisticated spot, dotted with plush chairs and marble-top tables, has an outdoor bar that specialises in gin: there are 25 different options to choose from, including flavoured distillations hand-crafted by Northamptonshire brand Warner Edwards. Evening meals are served in the lavish Grill Room restaurant, where you can dine on British favourites such as aged English rib-eye of beef or marinated leg of lamb, accompanied by fresh vegetables from the garden.
The characterful rooms at Down Hall Hotel complement the building’s grandeur. Marble bathrooms and richly woven textiles enhance the feeling of luxury, while antique-style furniture and decorative prints evoke the hotel’s ornate past – the stately home dates back to 1540. Sleep under the original mansion’s high ceilings, or splash out on a deluxe suite for a soak in a copper roll-top bath.