Put yourself first with a spa-and-stay at these luxe locations.
The only downside of a spa day? Having to return home at the end of it. Much better to hustle in your robe straight from the spa to your room, perhaps with some dinner thrown in. That’s what these Yorkshire spa breaks are all about – uninterrupted bliss.
Yorkshire’s gorgeous array of spas can relax you with pools and chill-out areas, lift you up with treatments and pamper you with all manner of perks. All that and a sumptuous bed to sink into at the end? Heavenly. Here’s our pick of 10 to try – which one takes your fancy?
Grantley Hall
Credit: Grantley Hall
Looking for a bargain? Look elsewhere. Grantley Hall has all the self-assured swagger of a real looker, and it’s priced accordingly. But since when was a proper spa break all about cutting corners? No, they do things properly here, whether it’s an afternoon tea, meal, spa or the roof over your head.
The 17th-century hall, the manicured grounds, the century-old Japanese garden – it all sets the scene and the tone for a wellness retreat that really goes above and beyond. Check into your room and you’ll be met by a cornucopia of cushions to sink into, and a bathroom nattily clad in Italian marble.
So, what is going to chill you out? The Three Graces Spa will soothe your soul from the moment you dip into the 18-metre indoor pool, surrounded by pillars that may whisk daydreamers back to the glory days of Greece. The Nordic Spa Garden has two chilly ice baths, or you can warm up in the outdoor hydrotherapy pool.
Treatments run the gamut from Swedish massage through to salt scrubs and everything in between. Their ELITE gym package takes in treatments, personal training and cryotherapy, while the Health Enhancer is a four-day budget-busting delight that includes dinner in their Michelin-starred restaurant.
Facilities: Pool, hydrotherapy pool, ice baths, sauna.
Budget: Full spa days begin at £245. Wellness retreats with overnight stays from £845.
Location: Grantley Hall, Ripon, North Yorkshire, HG4 3ET.
Book it: grantleyhall
Swinton Country Club & Spa
The verdant beauty of the Yorkshire Dales stretches as far as the eye can see at the Swinton Estate – all 20,000 acres of it. So, where you do want to lay your head for the night? In the Grade II-listed castle? In a cottage? In the Swinton Bivouac glamping spot? They’re all lovely.
But first things first, the spa. There’s a range of wellness retreats and spa breaks on offer, from one-nighters with two days of spa access through to two-nighters. One of those is a digital detox retreat that includes reiki drumming and a silent forest walk. But does this mean you can’t read Leeds-List for 48 hours? The very thought of it!
The spa inside the country club boasts an 18-metre indoor pool, an outdoor hot tub for poaching yourself in the clear Yorkshire air and a ‘natural’ pool for outdoor laps. That’s alongside an array of treatments, from massages to exfoliations, pregnancy rituals to all the usual mani-pedi stuff.
What really sets Swinton apart, however, are the holistic outdoor treatments, that range from forest bathing with Faith to wild swimming and a woodland wellbeing space dotted with hammocks suspended from trees, so you can find your own little corner of serenity.
Facilities: Pool, hot tub, gym, steam room, sauna, outdoor spaces.
Budget: Spa breaks start at £275 per person, per night.
Location: Swinton Country Club & Spa, Swinton, Ripon, North Yorkshire, HG4 4HJ.
Book it: swintonestate
Feversham Arms Hotel & Verbena Spa
Credit: Feversham Arms
Helmsley is an incredibly cute market town hewn from Yorkshire stone, and the Feversham Arms is very much the spa destination to match. You can spend a day pottering among the independent pubs and shops (the cheese twists at Thomas the Baker are legendary), or you can head to the spa for a fortifying break. Best of all, you can do both.
Take your pick of thirty-three rooms ranging from cosy classic doubles all the way up to spa and poolside suites that put you close to where the magic happens. You can even dine poolside when the weather is playing ball, or indulge in afternoon tea as you watch people doing lengths.
Your own journey into relaxation begins in the Verbena Spa, which delivers bliss in bijou form. There’s that outdoor pool, an aquatic haven only seconds from the centre of town, but also aromatherapy and steam rooms, a saunarium and even foot spas to give your tootsies a treat.
It’s ideal for couples – trust us, we’ve tried it out – with the rasul mud experience a particularly good one for you and your significant other to book in for. Keep your eye on their offers page for spa break deals that include treatments, dinner, breakfast and a stay as well.
Facilities: Pool, sauna, treatment rooms, jacuzzi, aromatherapy room.
Budget: Overnight stays with spa access begin at £239 per couple.
Location: Feversham Arms Hotel & Verbena Spa, Church Street, Helmsley, York, North Yorkshire, YO62 5AG.
Book it: fevershamarmshotel
The Bridge Hotel & Spa
Fancy some understated but unbridled luxury in North Yorkshire? Of course you do. The Bridge Hotel and Spa is a thoroughly modern destination dressed in original 17th-century trappings, combining the old and the new to winning effect.
Checking in for the night? Take your pick of comfortable standard rooms, larger club rooms or, most extravagant of all, a suite that has its very own jacuzzi bath so you can bask in bubbles before you’ve even stepped outside. Best of all, the perfect Yorkshire spa break here can be a bit of a steal.
An overnight stay with access to the spa, a treatment, a carvery dinner and a hearty Yorkshire breakfast the following morning starts at £112 per person. Heck, they’ll even throw in the flip-flops. Want to make a weekend of it? They’ve got a great two-night package on offer as well.
All that sweating in the sauna deserves some reward, so book in for some afternoon tea or dive into the Courtyard Restaurant’s menu of salt and chilli chicken, fab burgers and more. Suitably chilled and filled? Retire to your room and sleep the sleep of the truly relaxed.
Facilities: Barrel sauna, steam room, foot spa, hot tubs, treatment rooms, massage chairs.
Budget: Spa breaks from £112 per person.
Location: The Bridge Hotel & Spa, Walshford, Wetherby, North Yorkshire, LS22 5HS.
Book it: thebridgewetherby
Rudding Park
Credit: Rudding Park
You’ll sweep in from a grand drive after a bracing countryside trip when you head to Rudding Park. It all builds up the anticipation, and you’ll enter seamlessly due to the completely on-it staff. They don’t eat into your precious spa time with an endless tour – they just get you situated and leave you to it.
The spa is a three-floor, inside-outdoor affair, taking in an indoor pool for laps, saunas both al fresco and interior, and treatment rooms with hushed lighting and brilliant therapists who talk in suitably soothing tones to match.
It doesn’t matter how many spas you’ve been to, there’s something exquisitely decadent about walking down steps into a hydrotherapy infinity pool, plastic glass of Taittinger in hand. It speaks to the way you’re cocooned in luxury here, even more so if you stay over.
From lodges to lavish suites, standard rooms to spa rooms with private steam rooms, your break feels a world away from the stresses of life. A trio of dining options tops out at Fifty Two, Adam Degg’s immersive dining experience served up in a converted shipping container.
Facilities: Pool, hydrotherapy pool, treatment rooms, foot spa, hot tub, saunas, steam rooms, sunlight therapy room.
Budget: Overnight stays with dinner, breakfast and spa access from £147 per person.
Location: Rudding Park Spa Hotel, Rudding Lane, Follifoot, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG3 1JH.
Book it: ruddingpark
Devonshire Arms Hotel & Spa
Butting up against the Yorkshire Dales, close to Bolton Abbey, you couldn’t wish for a more serene setting than the one The Devonshire Arms has placed itself in. 30,000 acres of greenery disappear into the distance, and you’ll see immediately why this is such a popular spot for weddings as well as Yorkshire spa breaks.
Where to start with the rooms? Even the classics are comfy and plush, while you can go all the way up to four-poster beds, stellar suites and even boltholes in converted chapels and farmhouses. If you want to take your pooch with you while you get pampered, it’s a hugely pet-friendly place to stay.
There’s a refreshingly different take on the spa experience here, too. You can do the traditional indoor circuit, which is suitably lavish, or you can opt for the ‘secret spa’ where you get your own bell tent in the grounds, complete with loungers, beanbags and refreshments.
You still get to spoil yourself and you can really get into the relaxation zone by booking in for a Temple Spa treatment to leave you feeling refreshed and raring to go. Last but not least, dining is divine here too. The AA rosette brasserie does a mean line in treats like charred monkfish tail, crayfish tartlet and a steak, chorizo and mushroom pie you may want to marry.
Facilities: Vitality pool, rasul room, steam room, sauna, treatment rooms.
Budget: Overnight spa breaks from £175 per person.
Location: The Devonshire Arms, Bolton Abbey, Bolton Bridge, Skipton, BD23 6AJ.
Book it: devonshirehotels
Wood Hall Hotel & Spa
Velvet sleigh beds, dining tables with sensational views of the valley and a spa that ticks all the boxes – Wetherby’s Wood Hall is pretty much the perfect place for a Yorkshire break. It’s sat sweetly in a handsome corner of Yorkshire greenery and, once ensconced, you won’t want to leave.
The spa is small but perfectly formed, with an indoor pool big enough for laps and a steam room for sweating out your stress. Where it really delivers is in terms of treatments, with scores available. ELEMIS facials, hot stone massages, scrubs, pedicures – you name it, they do it.
Once you’re suitably pampered, you can retire to your pick of the rooms – the deluxe rooms are where you’ll find the handcrafted beds, and a separate seating area. It’s all furnished and finished with a touch of class, all muted colours and gentle grace notes to help you unwind further.
No spa break is complete without a royal repast, and The Georgian Restaurant, Wood Hall’s 2 AA rosette eatery, is just the place for that. Go a la carte or go big with the seven-course chef’s menu. The exceptional wine list is a better page-turner than the latest Richard Osman novel.
Facilities: Indoor pool, spa pool, treatment rooms, gym, steam room.
Budget: One-night spa breaks start at £238 per person.
Location: Wood Hall Hotel & Spa, Trip Lane, Wetherby, West Yorkshire, LS22 4JA.
Book it: woodhall
The Grand York
Not all spa breaks come with a side serving of epic countryside. Opt for The Grand in York and you get the historical hotel vibe, with one of Yorkshire’s prettiest and most interesting cities all yours for the taking too. Although, to be honest, you might not want to venture beyond the confines of the spa or your room.
The spa is subterranean, carved out of the hotel’s vaults in a way that really separates you from the surrounding city. Dip into the cerulean pool, bubble away in the whirlpool or book a treatment. We can recommend the outer glow exfoliation, your old epidermis sloughed off to be replaced by smooth, scented skin.
Take the new you for a feast after your spa day, with the Grand Afternoon Tea a real highlight and a cut above the usual. For the evening, take your pick of The Rise with its modern British menu, or book in at Legacy, the hotel’s triple AA rosette awarded restaurant, where the tasting menu includes glazed veal cheek, butter-poached Whitby lobster and oh so much more.
A bed to sink into? Well, you are in a grand hotel, after all. Classic bedrooms are a solid entry-level choice, but if you’re taking a spa break seriously, have a look at the much more spacious suites with their own lounge area and Nespresso machines. You deserve it.
Facilities: Swimming pool, whirlpool, steam room, sauna, treatment rooms, gym.
Budget: One-night stays with breakfast, afternoon tea and a spa treatment are from £470 per room.
Location: The Grand York, Station Rise, York, North Yorkshire, YO1 6GD.
Book it: thegrandyork
The Coniston Hotel
With pretty Coniston Lake for a neighbour, The Coniston Hotel has an unbeatable location. And if you feel like going for a walk in between all the spa stuff you should be doing, there’s some 1,400 acres to discover, the Yorkshire Dales at its most invigorating.
There are 70 rooms to choose from – try and a reserve a lake view to really make the most of the setting. The Dales Rooms sit at the top end of the spectrum, with a super-king Hypnos bed, private patio and even a pillow menu so you can optimise your kip.
And who wants the wrong pillow after a day in the sensational spa? The outdoor infinity pools blur the line between you and the landscape, while inside you can do the whole therapeutic hot/cold thing with saunas, steam room and an ice fountain. When it comes to treatments, Aromatherapy Associates therapies are designed for inner peace.
Fresh air and schlepping from one well-appointed bit of the spa to another given you an appetite? You can kick back in The View, Macleod’s Bar & Lounge or put the chefs through their paces at the pan-Asian Blossom Kitchen. The bao buns are so soft they should be on that pillow menu.
Facilities: Indoor pool, sauna, steam room, ice fountain, treatment rooms, spa garden, outdoor infinity pools.
Budget: Spa breaks start from £399 for a couple.
Location: The Coniston Hotel Country Estate and Spa, Coniston Cold, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 4EA.
Book it: theconistonhotel
Saltmoore
Credit: Saltmoore
The evocatively named Saltmoore is hot off the presses. Opening in November 2024 in place of Raithwaite, it aims to be a sanctuary in Sandsend, just down the beach from Whitby. The holistic approach means luxe rooms, a state-of-the-art spa and some seriously good food options – with even more to come.
Head chef Adam Maddock is already pulling stuff from the kitchen garden for The Brasserie at Saltmoore where the Whitby crab tart speaks to the welcome emphasis on the local. He’s also working closely with consultant chef Tommy Banks on plans for Calluna, a fine-dining restaurant destined for 2025, with a pizza offering a couple of years further away.
A stay in 19th-century Saltmoore House is set to be an exercise in pampering, with rooms ranging from ‘Snug’ to ‘Divine’, ‘Classic’ to ‘Master’, and some lavish suites in the mix too. Look out for emperor four-poster beds and heartbreakingly beautiful freestanding baths placed ‘just so’ for perfect views as you soak.
Speaking of which, the spa is all about easing the stress from your soul, doing so with a lake to ramble round, pools both indoor and out and even a cryo chamber. Wildsmith treatments range from salt scrubs to full body exfoliation and muscle recovery massages. There’s a wellness cafe on site too, so you can make sure you’re only taking in good stuff.
Facilities: Indoor pool, sauna, steam room, cryo chamber, ice bath, spa pool.
Budget: A full spa day including a 90-minute treatment and snacks starts at £250 per person.
Location: Saltmoore, Sandsend Road, Whitby, North Yorkshire, YO21 3ST.
Book it: saltmoore
