Known for its stunning countryside, the Lake District is synonymous with long rambling walks and challenging hikes and what could be better after a day of exploring than to return to your hotel for a few hours indulging in the spa?
So, without further ado, allow us to introduce you to some of the best spas in the Lake District, perfect for a rambler’s rest.
We’ve featured this hotel before in our article about Outdoor Hot Tubs in the Lake District and it really is one of the most stand-out hotels in the UK. The Gilpin consists of three separate accommodation options; the Gilpin Hotel, plus a large country house hotel called The Lake House, and the individual Spa Lodges. If you are looking to celebrate a special occasion or simply to treat yourself then definitely choose one of the detached Spa Lodges, which are private cedar wood houses, complete with their own en-suite spa. The spa includes a rainmaker shower, steam rooms, saunas plus your own private outdoor hot tub.
The hotel also includes its own spa, for the guests who aren’t staying in a lodge but at the Lake House and wish to try some of the more specialist treatments and the spa facilities of a pool, sauna and hot tub. Designed with couples in mind, the Jetty Spa includes an idyllic Swedish-style spa treatment room raised three metres into the tree canopy and perched on the edge of a small lake. Here you can enjoy an Indian head massage, holistic facial and Swedish massage or simply a shape and paint of your nails.
Located on the shores of Lake Windemere, Beech Hill Hotel offers superb accommodation options, many with private balconies, access to the gardens and of course, panoramic views over the lake itself. Alongside its fabulous rooms, the hotel also offers a luxurious spa, plus, delicious French and English cuisine served in their fine-dining restaurant, Burlington’s.
The Lakeview Spa offers opulent facilities such as an inviting indoor pool, an outdoor vitality spa pool in the herb-scented garden, a Himalayan Sauna, an aromatic steam room, and two treatment rooms where you can indulge in a host of specialist treatments and massages to leave you feeling like a new person.
Each of the rooms includes complimentary Wi-Fi access, en-suite bathrooms with power showers and Gilchrist Soames Toiletries. Relax in fluffy bathrobes whilst leafing through the room service menu and taking in the view from your private balcony or terrace.
Combining the grandeur of a country house estate with the modernity of a stylish spa retreat, the Daffodil Hotel is the perfect place to escape from the pressure of daily life and enjoy some pampering and pure relaxation.
The spa includes a brand new thermal pool, steam room, sauna, and Tepidaiurm, and an incredible Rasul Mud Chamber, where you can slather yourself in mud without worrying about messing up the décor. What’s a Tepidarium, you ask? Well, research shows that tepid air induces relaxation, so it’s nothing complicated; just simply a warm relaxing room, where you can lie back and take a nice snooze for as long as you like.
The delicious hotel restaurant offers a lakeside terrace where on warm days you can sit outside whilst enjoying delicious homey food (plenty of sausages and cheese) organised into elegant dishes, with tantalising flavours.
A beautifully traditional country house that is perfectly situated between Ambleside and Windemere, Holbeck Ghyll Spa Hotel offers an experience very much out of the ordinary. The hotel’s location really is superb, the surrounding scenery is breath-taking and the spa really makes the most of this.
The Spa at the Holbeck Ghyll hotel is a haven of relaxation, including two treatment rooms, steam room, sauna, a relaxation lounge with views over the lakes plus a luxurious outdoor hot tub so you can take in the views whilst remaining cosy and warm.
The rooms at the Holbeck Ghyll each combine luxury amenities with a sense of bucolic bliss – think floral fabrics, soft tartans, large springy beds, and if you opt for a suite, you can enjoy large windows or even a balcony featuring breath-taking views of the Lake District.
Located in the sublime Eden Valley, on half a million acres of pristine countryside, is the four-star Appleby Manor Hotel. Offering a flawlessly luxurious service from start to finish, Appleby Manor is the perfect hotel to enjoy some R&R in the spa and some delicious cuisine in the 1871 Bistro.
The hotel’s Garden Spa is brand-new as of 2016 and absolutely exquisite. The facilities range from a spacious indoor hydrotherapy pool, a sheltered garden spa that includes a fire pit surrounded by comfy lounge furniture and private-hire hot tub, a thermal area with heated seating, a sauna, steam room, salt inhalation room and monsoon experience showers.
After a day of relaxing and enjoying all that the spa has to offer, head to the 1871 Bistro for tasty dishes such as slow-cooked beef goulash or smoked haddock with creamed leeks and potato cakes, whilst taking in the incredible Cumbrian views from the French windows opening on to the award-winning garden.
Located on the Eastern edge of the Lake District, the North Lakes Hotel is both warm and inviting, offering a luxurious experience without the slightest hint of pretension or stuffiness.
The spa at North Lakes combines rustic exposed wooden beams and natural materials to create a spa that seems at one with nature. Relax in the large indoor pool, detox in the steam room and then lounge in the whirlpool before drifting off to sleep in the relaxation area.
The restaurant sources local ingredients such as Hootenay goats cheese from Appleby Creamery and Herdwick Fellside lamb plus seafood dishes, all served up in the light-filled dining room, surrounded by cosy tartan upholstery and the trademark wooden beamed ceiling.