As Christmas gets closer stress levels inevitably rise – with present shopping, entertaining and parties just some of the things we have to deal with around this time of year. Add in cold, dark weather and escaping to a spa break suddenly sounds a lot more appealing. Here’s our pick of the best.
1. The Principal, Blythswood Square Hotel
11 Blythswood Square, Glasgow
Open Monday-Friday, 7am-10pm and Saturday-Sunday, 7am-9pm
Prices vary depending on treatment, but a signature spa day including afternoon tea is available from £130 per person
0141 240 1622
www.phcompany.com/principal/glasgow-blythswood-square
If it’s sheer luxury you are looking for, then look no further than the Blythswood. From its hydrotherapy pool to its crystal steam room, the 10,000-square-foot spa facility oozes glamour and is perfect for those looking to relax in style. Everything has been thought out to maximise guests experience, with different sauna rooms set at different temperatures, stylishly lit pool facilities and exceptional customer service. Hotel guests have complimentary access to the high-end spa facilities, but there are plenty of treatments and day packages that can be individually purchased to win major brownie points as a Christmas gift (or for yourself, of course).
2. Stobo Castle Health Spa
Stobo, Peeblesshire, Scottish Borders
Prices vary depending on treatment, spa packages start at £59 for a half day and £99 for a full day
01721 725 300
www.stobocastle.co.uk
Describing itself as ‘Scotland’s only destination spa’, Stobo doesn’t treat relaxation as an afterthought. Putting great effort into their facilities, they offer a Swedish sauna, a recently-renovated steam room, outdoor hot tubs, a relaxation suite and an ozone treated swimming pool (complete with views across the rolling Borders countryside). Stobo, crowned the UK’s Best Destination Spa at the Good Spa Guide Awards 2018, also offers an ‘advanced hydrospa’, a kind of supercharged hot tub that gives a full body ‘air massage’ via millions of bubbles, as well as two giant water fountains to deliver a deep neck and shoulder massage. You can purchase day, half day or overnight sessions that include treatments and lunch – but if you can’t get enough pampering then you can also get a Spa Club membership that gets you unlimited use of the facilities for £75 a month.
3. Cameron House Spa at Carrick Estate
Cameron House, Loch Lomond, West Dunbartonshire
Open Monday to Friday, 7am- 9pm and Saturday and Sunday, 8am-8pm
Prices vary depending on treatments, but a Carita Spa Day is £239
01389 310 777
www.cameronhouse.co.uk
Although Cameron House hotel is closed, the spa remains open. The star attraction is the rooftop infinity pool, which offers spectacular views of the banks of Loch Lomond and the golf course below. If it rains (which, being Scotland, is likely) then the experience is no less impressive, as you will feel immersed in nature in the pool’s peaceful surroundings. Indoors, the spa offers an infrared sauna, hammam room (which stimulates blood circulation), an aromatherapy room and even a multi-sensory ‘experience shower’: where you can choose between either an invigorating cold mist shower or a soft scented tropical shower.
4. Malmaison Spa Aberdeen
49-53 Queen's Rd, Aberdeen
Open Monday-Friday, 10am-8pm, Saturday 9am-6pm and Sunday 10am to 5pm
Prices vary depending on treatment, but a ‘Total Indulgence Day’ is £160 including lunch
01224 507097
www.malmaison.com/locations/aberdeen/spa
Offering calm in the centre of the city, the Malmaison offers both all-day and ‘quick fix’ treatments to help guests escape the stress of busy life. Treatments on offer include an oriental scalp massage, an exfoliating salt scrub and a ‘life saving back treatment’ that involves marine mud and aromatherapy oils. To ensure women aren’t the only ones getting pampered, the Malmaison also has a range of male-focused treatments that includes a stress-reliver body care, gentlemen’s hand care and executive foot care. And, if you can bear it, they also offer chest, back and shoulder waxing. Ouch.
5. Carnoustie Golf Hotel & Spa
Links Parade, Carnoustie, Angus
Prices vary depending on treatment, but a spa day package for one is £39 (not including lunch)
01241 411999
www.bespokehotels.com/carnoustiegolfhotel
It might have returned to international attention hosting The Open earlier this year, but locals know that the Carnoustie Golf Hotel has an impressive spa alongside its famous golf course. Despite its iconic location the treatments are relatively reasonably priced, and you can choose from a range of facials, massages and body scrubs as well as waxing and beauty treatments. And, in a nod to its location, they also offer a ‘golfers tonic’ treatment: a peppermint scrub followed by a deep tissue massage to solve any aches and pains that might be caused by a round of 18 holes.
6. One Spa at Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa, Edinburgh
8 Conference Square, Edinburgh
Open Monday-Friday, 6.30am-10pm, Saturday & Sunday, 7am-9pm
Prices vary depending on treatment, but a spa day package starts at £70
0131 221 7777
www.onespa.com
Despite being bang in the middle of the capital, One Spa offers the perfect chance to get away from it all in the shape of its rooftop hydropool. It has body jets to increase circulation, floor jets to massage your feet and swan neck showers to ease your neck and shoulders – but that’s not the even the best bit. Given that the spa is open until late, the real magic of this pool is when you go after dark, lie back and watch the lights of the city twinkle before you. The only difficult part will be dragging yourself out of it.
7. Crieff Hydro
Strathearn House, Ferntower Road, Crieff, Perthshire
A Signature Hydro Spa Day is £109 (including lunch)
01764 651609
www.crieffhydro.com
Offering something quite different from most modern hotels, Crieff Hydro has a serene Victorian spa, complete with painted ceilings, exquisite marble and grand pillars. Numbers in the spa are strictly limited, meaning you can enjoy the facilities without being squashed like sardines into a hot tub with strangers. If you are a guest at the hotel you can book a session for £10, or else book in for a spa day, which for £109 gets you a massage, a facial, two hours use of the facilities, a Brasserie lunch and a gift set to take home.
8. Auchrannie Resort, Arran
Auchrannie Resort, Auchrannie Road, Arran
Day packages start from £95 (including lunch and transfers)
01770 302234
www.auchrannie.co.uk
If you really want to get away from it all then heading off the mainland altogether could be the way to go. The ASPA at Auchrannie Resort on Arran offers a range of ‘island escape’ packages, which include at least two treatments, a tea or sorbet, the use of resort facilities, lunch (with a glass of prosecco) and transfers to and from Brodick ferry terminal. They also offer reiki and reflexology as well as treatments for men, including a salt and oil scrub and a deep tissue back massage. And if you want to involve the whole family, they even have two children’s treatments for those aged five and over: Princess Package and Teen Beauty.
9. Spa at The Kingsmills Hotel, Inverness
The Kingsmills Hotel, Culcabock Road, Inverness
Spa day packages start from £65 per person
01463 237166
www.kingsmillshotel.com/spa
As well as facials, hot stone massages and aromatherapy treatments that you might expect, the Kingsmill Hotel also provides some more unusual treatments. These include the hot candle massage – using organic plant candle wax oils to leave skin silky smooth – and the Himalayan salt massage, an invigorating salt scrub that detoxifies the body and allegedly stimulates the metabolism.
10. Norton House, Edinburgh
Ingliston, Edinburgh
Prices vary depending on treatment, but a spa break (including overnight stay, 3 course meal and two treatments) starts at £162.50
0131 333 6479
www.handpickedhotels.co.uk/nortonhouse
Norton House has a huge variety of spa packages, letting you pick the treatment that best suits your needs. If you want to share your spa experience, they offer a spa day for two that involves a treatment each, a ‘shared mud experience’ (it’s better than it sounds), a light spa lunch and a glass of champagne.
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