Time for some well-earned indulgence. Let us be your guide to the most luxurious sanctuaries in town
Pan Pacific London
here is nothing quite like taking some time to yourself and enjoying a decadent spa day, where you can hunker down in a fluffy robe and let your only concern be whether to sauna or steam next.
But with London so saturated with sanctuaries — how to decipher the good from the great? Well, we’ve taken one for the team and done the hard work for you, with a round-up of London’s most luxurious spas below.
Whether you’re looking for a deep tissue massage to iron out WFH-induced aches and pains, want to revive an exhausted complexion (who can blame you) or are just after some much needed “me time” in a serene subterranean bubble, the perfect destination awaits.
It takes some doing to stand out from London’s already exceptional hotel spa offerings, but The Peak at the rebranded and expensively renovated The Carlton Tower in Knightsbridge (it’s undergone a £100 million refurb) is a triumph. Float in the 20-metre pool overlooking London’s skyline, lounge in one of the supremely comfy cabanas or take centre stage in the raised Jacuzzi. That would be enough to rid you of any lingering city tension. Need more? Facials and massages are done using 111SKIN, Omorovicza and Aromatherapy Associates and wellness therapies on offer include osteopathy, acupuncture and craniosacral therapy. But it’s the Signature Collection of massage treatments that will truly make you melt away. Special mention goes to The Metropolitan Escape, a two-hour top-to-toe treatment involving a full body massage and a tightening facial using ice-cool derma globes to boost skin elasticity and firmness. It’s an almost spiritual experience.
Cost: Metropolitan Escape, two hours, £260
Location: 1 Cadogan Pl, London SW1X 9PY, jumeirah.com
Perched high up on the 10th floor, the fabulous Four Seasons Spa on Park Lane boasts unbeatable views across Hyde Park, which can be enjoyed from one of the nine luxury treatment rooms that feature floor-to-ceiling windows. Feeling regal? Indulge your inner queen with Penhaligon’s Royal Relaxation Massage, which involves an all-over application of the brand’s new deeply luxurious body oils, followed by the Four Seasons signature massage. Choose from the Bed of Roses massage inspired by the fragrance houses’s iconic Halfeti scent, or Enchanting Voyage massage inspired by Empressa. You’ll leave smelling (and feeling) divine.
Cost: from £155 per person for the Penhaligon’s Royal Relaxation Massage (60 minutes).
Location: Park Lane, Central London; fourseasons.com
Set beneath an 18th-century neoclassical building steps away from Covent Garden, Aire Ancient Bath is a roman-style spa complete with a maze of turquoise pools framed by exposed brick arches . Aire opened its first thermal bath house in Seville 20 years ago and has since opened seven more, in places like New York, Barcelona and Copenhagen. This is the first in the UK. The wellness ritual is designed to soothe body and mind by exposure to different water temperatures. There are seven thermal baths, including a tepidarium (36C), caldarium or hot water bath (40C), chilly frigidarium (14C and 10C), vaporium (steam room), balneum (jet pool) and flotarium (salt bath). Upstairs massages are on offer, and, if you’re feeling flush, you can even unwind in a bath of rioja here.
Cost: From £90 for the 90 minute experience (massages are charged as extra).
Location: 2-3 Robert Street, London, WC2N 6BH, beaire.com
The spa at the Mandarin Oriental in Hyde Park underwent a multi-million pound refurb before reopening in 2018, and is now arguably London’s most luxurious. Fancy features include an amethyst crystal steam room, 17-metre twin lane swimming pool, vitality pool and samarium, alongside 13 treatment rooms and the Oriental Suite, complete with an impressive Rasul water temple – a tiled steam room used for heat and mud therapies – that’s perfect for indulgent couples therapies. Be sure to arrive 45 minutes ahead of your appointment to enjoy full use of the facilities.
Cost: £410 pp for the Water Wellness luxurious Oriental bathing and massage experience (2 hours 30 minutes).
Location: Hyde Park, mandarinoriental.com
Tucked away four floors beneath the hustle and bustle of Leicester Square, The Retreat is a serene subterranean spa at newly opened The Londoner hotel where guests, day spa guests and spa members can escape the city and unwind in the tranquil pool, have a snooze in the poolside cabanas and indulge in well-earned pampering. Grab your best pal and book in for one of the spa packages. The Fix includes full access to the spa facilities — including gym, sauna and steam room — for two people, plus a 30-minute back massage with organic ila products and 30-minute Omorovicza signature facial each. Just what the doctor ordered.
Cost: £210 for two people receiving 60-minute treatments each
Location: 38 Leicester Square, London WC2H 7DX, thelondoner.com
Pan Pacific London
Pan Pacific London is a sprawling new Singaporean-inspired hotel that has just opened off Bishopsgate, with an entire 1,083m² floor dedicated to wellness, featuring a gym, mindfulness studio, sauna and steam room, as well as an 18.5m-infinity pool with panoramic views of the bustling city below, where auqa bike and barre classes are all on offer. Treatments on the menu fuse South East Asian traditions and cater to all kinds of concerns. Weary travellers can book in for “flight mode recovery,” for example, while the Holistic Oil Massage involves an oil mixing experience to create a bespoke blend, combined with Thai and Balinese acupressure techniques and deep tissue kneading to promote blood circulation and reinvigorate the senses.
Cost: £145 for the Pan Pacific Holistic Oil Massage (60 minutes).
Location: 80 Houndsditch, London EC3A 7AB, panpacific.com
One of the largest in London, a visit to the Bulgari spa in Knightsbridge is a rather glamorous affair. Spread across two storeys, it boasts fitness rooms, steam rooms, saunas, ice showers (for the bravest of souls) and a serene 25m swimming pool surrounded by wooden cabanas. There are 11 treatment rooms, a private spa suite and decadent relaxation room with a dramatic vertical fireplace to nestle down next to after treatments.
Cost: £160 for Dramatic Healing Massage (60 mins).
Location: Knightsbridge; bulgarihotels.com
Following all Soho House group traditions, The Ned’s spa offers a range of deeply relaxing Cowshed treatments, mani-pedis and the chance to get your back and sides done at Ned’s Barber. Built around a 20m pool, surrounded by marble columns, and featuring a traditional Moroccan hammam, the space is a welcome – and rather grand – retreat in the centre of The City. While non-members are welcome for treatments, spa facilities are currently restricted to Ned Club members and hotel guests only.
Cost: £160 for Deep Tissue Massage (60 minutes).
Location: City of London; thened.com
Wellness brand Moss of the Isles is hosting a pop-up at The Bamford Wellness Spa at The Berkeley in Belgravia, offering 60 and 90 minute full-body treatments with its nourishing vegan products that harness healing ingredients from across Ireland and the British Isles, such as moss, peat, rosemary, horse chestnut, poppy seed, Scottish dulce seaweed and heather. Choose from cleansing massages to lymphatic drainage treatments with all-over body-brush, or treat youreself and opt for the full-blown signature face and body wellness experience.
Cost: from £150 for a 60-minute treatment.
Location: Knightsbridge, ishga.com; the-berkeley.co.uk
Taj opened its first Jiva spa in Europe last year in the heart of London’s Westminster – so it still feels brand-spanking new. The spa takes inspiration from ancient Indian wellness philosophies, offering a menu of body rituals and facials which blend traditional healing techniques and use luxurious Temple Spa products. Unwind in between treatments in the atmospheric vitality pool or break a sweat in the fitness suite.
Cost: £180 for the Vishrama deep muscular experience (120 minutes).
Location: St. James’ Court, A TAJ Hotel, stjamescourthotel.co.uk
Sofitel London St James has teamed up with PI Studio to launch a wellbeing package with a difference: “Styling In The City.” The treat for two combines a two-hour confidence-boosting colour analysis with the visual branding consultancy to help you discover the shades that most complement your natural colouring and complexion; followed by a 50-minute facial or massage; all finished off with a night to remember in a luxurious room or suite with views across the city.
Cost: from £750 including an overnight stay for two in a superior room.
Location: St James; sofitelstjames.com
The Lanesborough Hotel’s swanky spa in Knightsbridge offers fantastic facilities (and some of the most ‘grammable changing rooms we’ve seen), but it’s open to members only (aside from hotel guests). Membership costs from £3,500/year or £300/month, plus a joining fee from £1,000. Inside, there’s a vast gym with every machine you can think of; a cold mist, mint-infused “shower,” to cool you down post-workout; thermal suites and hydrotherapy pools to unwind in; as well as a dedicated parlour offering top notch manis.
Cost: £205 for the Deep Tissue Potali (90 minutes).
Location: Knightsbridge; lanesboroughclubandspa.com
A couple of floors below the hustle and bustle of Piccadilly Circus sits Hotel Café Royal’s opulent spa. Making your way down the stairs, you’ll enter what feels like a spacious marble vault – this is total escapism territory. In addition to a menu of body treatments and facials, the spa offers holistic therapies such as reflexology and reiki, and boasts a serene low-lit pool and jacuzzi. Feeling decadent? The Opulent Seclusion Experience begins in your very own marble whirlpool bath with a glass of champagne and is followed by a deeply relaxing 60-minute Ultimate Aromatherapy Associates massage or facial.
Cost: £225 for the Opulent Seclusion Experience (90 minutes).
Location: Piccadilly Circus; hotelcaferoyal.com
Tucked away in the backstreets of Mayfair, the House of Elemis, a beautiful day spa offering top-notch facials and body treatments, reopens on April 14. The brand has launched a new No Touch Facial that combines tech and safe-touch tools like cooling wands, spatulas and a face mitt, with BIOTEC products to bring your skin back to life. Choose from the Hydra-firm or Resurfacer.
Cost: £125 for the No Touch Facial (60 minutes).
Location: Mayfair; elemis.com
Spread over four floors in the heart of London, ESPA Life has a futuristic feel, with wave-style corridors and sleep pods which replace traditional daybeds in the relaxation room. Treat yourself to the Resilience Ritual which includes a hot stone massage, manual lymphatic drainage, an algae body wrap and scalp massage – just what the doctor ordered.
Cost: £320 for the Resilience Ritual (120 minutes).
Location: Embankment; espalifeatcorinthia.com
Over in Notting Hill, Cloud Twelve is a wellness and lifestyle club set across three floors. There’s a salon, spa and holistic wellness clinic, plus a healthy brasserie and creche. Treatments include drawl-worthy massages, facials, pre and post-natal rituals and treatments specifically designed for men. Book into the couples’ suite to chill out on the Dolomites quartz beds and enjoy the sauna, steam and Himalayan salt rooms.
Cost: £180 for the Cloud Twelve Signature Deep Relief CBD massage (60 minutes).
Location: Notting Hill, cloudtwelve.co.uk
With Art Deco-inspired interiors, The Dorchester’s spa oozes 1930’s glamour with a modern edge. From manicures to full-body scrubs their treatment list is extensive and all are highly tailored to clients’ needs. Facilities include a mani-pedi suite, relaxation room, and male and female aromatic steam rooms and experience showers. The spa will also reopen on May 17.
Cost: £130 for the Aromatherapy Associates Deep Cleanse Facial (60 minutes).
Location: Park Lane; dorchestercollection.com
Sat on London’s South Bank, Agua oozes Hollywood glamour and offers a menu of highly personalised holistic treatments. There are six private treatment rooms, including a couples’ suite, a nail and grooming lounge, as well as separate male and female steam rooms with rain showers. Book in for the Advanced Bodywork treatment, which combines deep tissue and sports massage with myofascial and Thai stretching, to banish WFH-induced aches and pains fast.
Cost: from £110 for the Advanced Bodywork Massage (60 minutes).
Location: South Bank; seacontainerslondon.com
Sense Spa’s cosy, candlelit space featuring bamboo walls and soothing water sounds, offers a real retreat from the city. In need of a detox? Book in for the Epsom salt-rich full-body treatment which includes a magnesium sulphate salt scrub to exfoliate and help draw out toxins, followed by a deep massage with detox oils containing juniper, grapefruit and geranium. Pure bliss.
Cost: £170 for the Detoxifying Body Ritual (90 minutes); The Sleep Transformation retreat (two-night retreat) costs from £4,259 for one person per night and from £5,679 for two people per night.
Location: Holborn; rosewoodhotels.com
For anyone based East or working in The City, Four Seasons Ten Trinity is conveniently located next to the Tower of London and has an excellent five star spa complete with eight treatment rooms, a couple’s suite and hammam. The Spa has partnered with eco beauty brand Voya on a range of restorative treatments inspired by Roman bathing rituals, which would have taken place just outside nearby Ten Trinity Square at the main Londinium bathhouse. We recommend the warm spiced mud wrap, which is infused with sweet smelling ginger and orange. A serious detoxifier and metabolism stimulator, you’ll emerge toned and glowing. Follow your treatment with afternoon tea or an early evening drink in the Thames Penthouse restaurant, which has stunning views overlooking the river and Tower Bridge.
Cost: A four-hour spa pass costs £100, while 60-minute massages start from £130.
Location: Tower Hill, fourseasons.com/tentrinity
