Properly pampered: The best spa days in London
Escape the hustle and bustle of the city at one of these chic urban retreats
In need of a little R&R? You’re not alone and, while a week sunning yourself in the Caribbean would certainly be lovely, if your holiday allowance is looking a little low, a luxurious spa day in London is the next best thing. Happily, London is home to some of the country’s finest spas.
Often found within the luxurious surrounds of the capital’s best five-star hotels, whether you’re looking for a relaxing Swedish massage or a high-tech facial, London’s top spas are home to some of the world’s most skilled masseuses, nail technicians and aesthetic practitioners. Here’s our guide to the best spa days in London guaranteed to leave you feeling rested, rejuvenated and utterly pampered.
Claridge’s Spa
The newest addition to London’s spa scene, the brand new Claridge’s Spa takes a mix-and-match approach to spa days, allowing guests to choose from a range of treatments from brands including Augustinus Bader, Josh Wood and FaceGym while enjoying use of its subterranean relaxation pool, steam rooms, saunas, gym and seven ensuite private treatment rooms.
For the full experience, choose one of the spa’s signature rituals. Our pick is the Bamboo and Silk Ritual, which begins with a relaxing foot ceremony before moving on to an invigorating body massage using warmed bamboo sticks to stimulate deep into the muscles. This is followed by a soothing hand massage and rejuvenating facial using silk cocoons to hydrate and replenish the complexion.
Treatments from £95, Bamboo and Silk Ritual, £295, visit claridges.co.uk
Sensory Wellbeing at Pan Pacific London
The Pan Pacific London hotel in Liverpool Street has dedicated an entire floor of its modern glass-clad home to the pursuit of all things fitness and wellness – and that includes a world-class spa with a seriously impressive treatment menu. Available to book for hotel guests every day, and for visitors from Monday to Friday, every treatment booking grants access to extensive facilities, including an indoor infinity pool, steam rooms, sauna, and high-tech gym.
The treatments themselves infuse Western science and South East Asian tradition to create a series of signature massages, facials, body wraps and even children’s treatments. If you’re planning to make a day of it, book one of the spa’s Seasonal Rituals which, as the name suggests, change with the season to work with the body’s own seasonal rhythms. There are currently four on offer and our pick of the bunch is Relief and Release: two hours of rejuvenating treatments including a cold and hot stone massage and Second Life facial.
Treatments from £150, Seasonal Rituals from £350, visit panpacific.com
Espa Life at Corinthia London
Tucked away beneath Westminster's gorgeous Corinthia London hotel, Espa Life is a serene haven of all things beauty and wellbeing. As well as a Daniel Galvin hair salon and cutting-edge non-invasive aesthetic treatments from the London Regenerative Institute, its day spa experience passes grant access to an oasis of wellness facilities including an indoor swimming pool, vitality pool, amphitheatre sauna, steam room, sleep pods, experience showers and ice fountain.
But what would a trip to the spa be without some treatments? The Corinthia currently offers four spa day packages catering to all types of needs but the signature is the Indulgent Day Retreat. Available every day, this full-day experience includes access to the spa facilities, a 60-minute Espa aromatherapy massage, 60-minute Dr Barbara Sturm signature facial, 30-minute sea salt and oil body scrub and a light lunch with a glass of Laurent-Perrier Champagne served in the Spa Lounge. Pure bliss.
Treatments from £235, Indulgent Spa Retreat, £600, visit espalifecorinthia.com
Guerlain Spa at Raffles London
One of the newest spas on the London scene, the new Raffles hotel at The OWO opened in summer 2023 bringing with it a stellar Guerlain spa. Spanning four floors and a vast 27,000 square feet, the comprehensive fitness and wellness space features a Guerlain boutique and beauty salon, 20m swimming pool, vitality pool, Pillar vegetarian restaurant, sauna, steam room, experience showers, gym and fitness studio, and a swathe of treatment rooms including three treatment suites with private showers, changing rooms and soaking tubs.
Among the extensive treatment menu are a series of half-day experiences designed to help you make the most of everything the spa has to offer. Each includes two-hour use of the facilities alongside treatment combinations totalling up to three hours, including high-tech facials, body sculpting treatments, restorative foot rituals and facial sculpting.
Treatments from £100, half-day experiences from £400, visit raffles.com
The Spa at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park
The vast spa and wellness offering at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park ranks as one of the capital’s best both in size and quality. Offering a massive 14 treatment rooms, including the couple’s Oriental Suite, there is also a high-tech gym, vitality pool, steam room, sanarium, colour therapy relaxation area and 17-metre twin lane swimming pool.
And, while the spa decor may take its cues from the hotel’s Eastern roots, the treatment menu wanders around the globe, bringing together holistic therapies and practices from a wide variety of wellness traditions. Those looking to make a day of it should book the Restorative Mind and Body one-day retreat. An all-encompassing wellness journey, the retreat includes a pre-treatment online consultation, private yoga or Pilates class, breakfast, lunch and dinner at The Rosebery restaurant, a one-hour movement health session, a private meeting with the spa director and two hours of bespoke treatments, as well full use of the spa facilities.
Treatments from £95; Restorative Mind & Body retreat, £895, visit mandarinoriental.com
The Spa at Four Seasons Ten Trinity Square
After being mandatorily closed during lockdown, many of London’s top spas have taken reopening as an opportunity to refresh their spa day offering. The elegant spa at the Four Seasons hotel at Ten Trinity Square, just moments from Tower Bridge, is one such opportunist, having recently announced a range of new packages and wellness experiences.
A standard day pass will grant you access to all the spa’s facilities, including a swimming pool, vitality pool and fitness centre (annual memberships are also available), while a new exclusive-use package grants up to six guests private use of the swimming pool, as well as champagne and nibbles served in a special pool-side pod. For the full experience, however, book the Ten Trini-Tea Spa Day, which includes a 60-minute personalised massage, full use of the spa facilities and an indulgent afternoon tea.
Day passes from £120, Ten Trini-Tea spa day, £215, visit fourseasons.com
The Lanesborough Club & Spa
The award-winning spa at The Lanesborough is undoubtedly one of the most lavish in the city. A subterranean oasis of calm, it houses a vast gym, hydro pool, saunas and steam rooms, as well as its own food and drink offering centered around nutritionally rich dishes that promote inner health.
There are three spa day options at The Lanesborough Club & Spa, ranging from a three-hour session to a full day of treatments. As you would expect of a hotel, a key focus is fighting the fatigue of travel but, for the full experience, the No. 1 Hyde Park spa day is the premier option. Designed for complete pampering, and including a light lunch and use of the spa facilities, the day begins with a Deeper Connections salt scrub and full body massage, and Happy Feet foot massage. Then it’s on to a blissful 120-minute Ila Goldsilk Face Therapy, which utilises the healing properties of gold and frankincense to boost collagen levels and reduce inflammation. Finish with a rose petal manicure or pedicure for the ultimate day of respite from the fast pace of life.
Spa days from £330, No.1 Hyde Park spa day, £640, visit oetkercollection.com
St Pancras Spa
Housed in the grandly historic St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, there are few better places to ease the tensions of a long train journey than the St Pancras spa. Inspired by the area’s Victorian architecture, patterned tiling, exotic fauna and stone floors abound throughout, while the treatment menu draws on traditional rituals from around the world, with the Ko Bi Do Fountain of Youth facial being a must-try.
Day passes are available from Monday to Thursday, giving access to the spa’s gym, sauna, steam room and relaxation pool, while spa days start from £100 for Dine & Unwind: four-hours use of the facilities, a two-course dinner at Booking Office 1869 and beauty gift to take away. We, however, recommend the Jurney to Harley Street package. As well as access to the hotel’s spa facilities, the itinerary includes some seriously high-tech treatments. Start with a gentle head-to-toe exfoliation followed by an aromatherapy massage before treating yourself to a Signature Harley Street facial. Using an exclusive NAC Y² complex, this powerful facial promises to cleanse, exfoliate, repair and restore tired complexions to leave them glowing and clear.
Journey to Harley Street Spa Day, £350, visit stpancras-spa.com
Rena Spa at Nyx London Holborn
Opened in 2022, the Nyx hotel in Holborn has brought with it a stellar new option in London’s spa scene – and it’s offering no fewer than four spa days to cater to all your rest and relaxation needs. Go all out with the Ultimate Urban Escape experience, which includes three-hour use of the gym, pool, sauna, hot tub and steam room, as well as a glass of Prosecco, a light lunch and two 50-minute treatments from a choice of facials and massages. Short on time? A whole roster of express spa treatments taking just 25 minutes, including facials, massages, hand and foot recovery therapies and scalp massages, are availablle.
Spa days from £105, visit jurysinn.com
The Peak Fitness Club & Spa at Carlton Tower Jumeirah
Having reopened in June 2022 after a £100 million renovation, one of the key draws of the new and improved Carlton Tower Jumeriah in Knightsbridge is its incredible The Peak Fitness Club & Spa. Instead of being relegated to the basement, as spas often are, The Peak is spread across three floors of the 17-storey tower, including a ninth-floor gym that capitalises on an abundance of natural light and offers gorgeous views across London.
The second floor also plays host to a naturally lit indoor swimming pool – the largest of any London hotel – along with the luxurious Talise spa, where decadent treatments are administered in five newly created treatment rooms. While it doesn't offer spa days in the traditional sense, its collection of two-hour Wellbeing Journeys offer a curated selection of treatments that promise specific benefits and tackle particular concerns, including relaxation and rejuvenation.
Treatments from £120, Wellbeing Journeys from £280, visit jumeirah.com
Nobu Shoreditch
East London’s buzziest luxury hotel (you can drop in for everything from bottomless brunch to a business meeting), is also home to Shoreditch’s chicest spa. There’s no pool here but each of its exquisite treatments does include use of the steam room and gym.
And there's plenty to choose from. Facials come courtesy of Barcelona's Natura Bisse and include its much-lauded Diamond Cocoon and Vitamin C-rich Citrus Essence treatments. Massages, meanwhile, include a whole host of Nobu signatures, including the Nagomi Ritual. This stimulating massage begins with a full-body exfoliation followed by a Thai-style bespoke massage using coconut poultices. The treatment finishes with a soothing facial massage to leave you in a state of complete and utter zen.
