Though the capital is close by, you’ll be transported to a serene and tranquil world while staying in hotels surrounded by refined landscaped gardens or nestled in the county’s rolling hills.
Discover the healing properties of heat in saunas and steam rooms, soothe muscles with massages in hydro jet pools and hot tubs, and feel rejuvenated after a treatment with luxurious products.
Leave the world behind as you enter the 123 acres of sweeping grounds surrounding the elegant Pennyhill Park Hotel & Spa. The historic building boasts two award-winning restaurants and a decadent lounge where you can enjoy afternoon tea.
A tranquil haven, the hotel’s spa has eight pools including a ballroom pool with underwater music and three Canadian hot tubs. Enjoy the delicate aromas of the herbal sauna and steam rooms before relaxing in the sensory room with warm gel-filled beds. To cool off, try the ice igloo or head to the experience shower, which emulates tropical rainfall and mists from the Highlands.
Treatments in the spa include facials, body scrubs and wraps using luxurious products, a selection of specialist and signature massages plus holistic therapies, including a hot-stone massage for de-stressing.
The grand Great Fosters is nestled in 50 acres of skilfully designed gardens and green parkland. This Grade-I listed, 17th-century building has been sensitively decorated with antique furnishings and vintage tapestries. Sleep in a decadent feature room with modern touches including an iPod docking station and chic bathroom with freestanding bath.
Wander among the formal gardens, with a layout imitating the intricacy of a Persian rug, and discover the outdoor swimming pool with listed 1920s bathing boxes. For a relaxing treatment you can arrange to have a massage, facial or manicure and pedicure in your room (available in a junior suite or historic room only).
During your stay, visit the Michelin-starred Tudor Room restaurant for a refined meal. Alternatively, choose the more contemporary Estate Grill which specialises in dishes using locally sourced ingredients where you’ll be surrounded with British art.
One of Surrey’s top country clubs, Foxhills Club and Resort is a historic manor house within a 400-acre estate. Here you can enjoy a gourmet experience in the sophisticated restaurants, with mouthwatering dishes such as pedigree lamb or sea trout with crayfish and citrus salsa.
Experience pure bliss in the award-winning spa by letting your stress float away in the spa’s hydro-pool with massaging jets. The dry and wet heat of the Finnish saunas, Rasul and Hamman helps ease tired muscles. Outside in the spa garden, you can soak in the hot tub before taking a refreshing dip in the natural swimming pool filled with water purified by minerals and plants – one of England’s first.
To help you feel truly refreshed and revived, choose a treatment from massages, facials, scrubs and wraps to holistic treatments and thermal therapies. The hotel’s Signature Seaside Treatment involves a sea-salt scrub, a massage with hot pebbles and is topped with a vanilla ice-cream body wrap. Add the finishing touch to your look with beauty services at the spa including tanning, waxing, make-up application and eyelash extensions.
By way of location, the Elizabethan country house of Ockenden Manor has the best of both worlds: it’s positioned a short distance from bustling London and also close to the coast. As well as having its own elegant grounds, the estate also enjoys wonderful views out over green Cuckfield Park. Take a seat in the elegant drawing room, restaurant or bar and admire the dreamy landscapes. The restaurant is also inspired by the lush Sussex surroundings and uses locally sourced ingredients like seafood and game for the freshest cuisine.
It’s easy to escape from day-to-day life in this grand manor and its award-winning spa. Built within the hotel’s 19th-century walled garden, the contemporary spa is a calming haven. Swim in the heated indoor-to-outdoor pool with views out over the garden foliage or view the rolling meadows from the relaxation space, specially designed to bring calm.
Feel invigorated after walking through the rainforest shower – fed by a natural spring – or experience a weightless sensation in the saltwater flotation tanks. Facial and massage therapies, body treatments and beauty services will have you feeling reborn, especially the Botanical Booster Facial which plumps up the skin for an all-day glow.
Set within 120-acres of manicured gardens dotted with wild rabbits and surrounded by sweeping countryside is the historic manor of Alexander House. One of the highest-rated hotels outside London, the 17th-century estate boasts two AA Rosette-awarded restaurants serving dishes that’ll delight your taste buds and a Champagne bar with 30 hand-picked types of this most fabulous of sparkling wines.
Regenerate in the Grecian-inspired Utopia Spa where you can take time out in the bespoke outdoor barrel sauna before enjoying the bubbles of the outdoor hot tub set amid relaxing Zen gardens. Inside, float for a while in the hydrotherapy pool, unwind on a chaise longue in the relaxation lounge or feel the benefit of heat therapy in the steam rooms.
The spa offers an extensive menu of Mediterranean-infused or Ayurvedic-inspired massages as well as facials, body treatments, couples’ experiences and manicures and pedicures.
Set high on Nutfield Ridge, amid 12 acres of graceful grounds, is the grand Nutfield Priory hotel. Beside the 19th-century house is the estate’s modern spa which offers revitalising facials, body wraps and massages using Elemis products and techniques. You can always opt for something smaller such as an indulgent manicure and pedicure – therapists use high quality Jessica Nail polishes and you’ll leave feeling a million dollars.
Inside the spa, while away the hours in the pool or take a seat in the hot tub where hydro-jets will help to loosen any knots of tension in your muscles. To detox your body, visit the softly lit and scented steam room and spend time in the sauna for dry heat sessions to thoroughly cleanse your skin.
Choose a suite – named after renowned writers and poets – featuring ornate beds, roll-top baths or panoramic views of the countryside. The Cloisters Restaurant offers a menu of traditional dishes that you can sample while looking out over the hotel’s lush grounds.
Just 30 minutes from London lies the relaxing retreat of Brooklands. The bold Art Deco-style building – inspired by its location on Britain’s first motor-racing track – is decorated with modern details alongside furnishings that nod back to the era of glamour. Make yourself at home in a room with a king-size bed, designer bathroom with rain shower and soft waffle bathrobes and slippers.
The hotel’s spa has state-of-the-art facilities including an outdoor hydrotherapy hot tub with deep tissue massaging jets. Let your body and mind relax in the meditation room while lounging on heated waterbeds or dip in the sauna and steam rooms for a detoxifying experience.
Choose from the list of innovative therapies and favourite treatments including facials and massages, body scrubs, wraps and brushes. As you sit in specialist chairs that look out over the notable track, you can have your nails painted in bold colours to match the racing cars.