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The best spa hotels in London for a city retreat
From subterranean pools and rooftop saunas to hyperbaric chambers and private sleep pods – find your ideal escape here
The term "spa break" often conjures up ideas of grand country house getaways or residential retreats but what if you choose your spa experience to be in the city? Who says you can’t combine the two elements? It’s actually a stroke of genius because when you’ve been pounding the streets and rinsing the city for all it has to offer, you can retreat to your hotel for a pampered slice of welcome respite. Gone are the days of London spa visits encompassing little more than a massage in a tiny treatment room – the experience is now super-luxe and cutting edge, factoring in LED therapy, stints in circulation-boosting cryo chambers and consultations with first-rate nutritionists.
Whether you lean towards ultra-sleek spaces kitted out with tonnes of futuristic tech, or those with a superb line-up of organic treatments, we’ve got you’ve covered with locations from Knightsbridge to Liverpool Street via the Strand. Here are the very best spa hotels in London.
How we review
Every hotel in this curated list has been visited by one of our expert reviewers, who are usually hosted on a complimentary basis. They stay for a minimum of one night, test at least one meal and trial other experiences that the hotel might have to offer.
At a glance, the best spa hotels in London
- The most luxurious spa hotel in London – Corinthia London
- The most centrally located spa hotel in London – The Londoner
- The most family-friendly spa hotel in London – Richmond Harbour Hotel & Spa
With its tangible sense of tradition and age-defying air of glamour, The Savoy remains in superb shape, pre-eminent amongst London’s grande dame hotels. Beauty & Fitness at The Savoy features an elegant swimming pool that occupies a light-drenched atrium space, and a sauna and a steam room to pad between pre and post-treatment. You'll find a line-up of Natura Bissé and La-Eva therapies on the menu, though best of all are the Salon C. Stellar face rituals, which fuse cutting-edge technology with ancient wisdom. The Best Facial begins with a thorough cleanse and some gentle extractions, and finishes with a stint beneath the nifty Dermalux Tri-Wave MD LED device as a guided meditation plays through a set of cherry red headphones. Expect to leave looking (and feeling) well-rested and radiant.
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From
£
700
per night
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A true grande dame of Knightsbridge, The Berkeley is a hotel with many five-star frills, but the cherry on top is its heated outdoor rooftop pool and the Bamford Wellness Spa. Located on the seventh-floor, the spa is like an English country garden high above the city. The secret garden, lined with daybeds and in full bloom over summer, is a fabulous spot to wind down after a treatment. Bamford Haybarn, which follows a holistic, organic philosophy, is the main brand behind most treatments, while boutique British brand OSKIA looks after facials. There's fantastic one-to-one yoga and Pilates classes plus special events are also held throughout summer, such as hula hoop or synchronised swimming (check the website for up to date timetables).
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From
£
1,020
per night
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You'll find one of the most impressive spas in the country at Corinthia London. Occupying four floors and clad in inky-black marble, it's home to a stainless steel swimming pool flanked by sink-in daybeds, a vitality pool made more dramatic by the glow of a flickering fire, a steam room tiled with vampish mosaics and a sleek glass-walled sauna. There's a bill of de-stressing and uplifting ESPA treatments to pick from and facials now come courtesy of Augustinus Bader. The gym here is seriously well-equipped, too – think high-performance Technogym machines, racks, rigs and a line-up of Theraguns to boost muscle recovery – and the gleaming Spa Lounge serves a light menu of gut-loving dishes.
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From
£
930
per night
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Pan Pacific was big news when it opened a few years back – not only was it set to be a glorious antidote to its corporate surroundings in the City, it was also set to have a wellness space that would blow a lot of its rivals out of the water. It's safe to say that it has certainly accomplished its goals. As well as soothing treatments that marry South East Asian traditions with western science, it offers a rarely-seen-in-London 18.5m infinity-edged pool, a yoga room and a relaxation zone with daybeds, noise-cancelling headphones and weighted blankets. Meanwhile, the vast gym is home to the latest TecnoBody equipment, such as D-Wall – a high-tech digital training system with built-in body recognition.
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From
£
490
per night
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This much-loved grande dame hotel, positioned right on the edge of Hyde Park, is in a new era of its prime – as opulent as ever and looking to the future. Once through the doors of the grand Edwardian building you’re met with richly coloured marble almost as far as the eye can see, and in the bedrooms, pastel pink chairs blend with art deco touches. The sleek spa is a delight, with a hydro pool, small sauna and decent-sized steam room plus a high-tech relaxation space. Along with an array of treatments based on Traditional Chinese Medicine, there's a newly launched Biologique Recherche Remodeling Facial, which combines sculpting massage techniques with galvanic, medium, and high frequency currents. The spa has also partnered with with internationally renowned yoga practitioner Laura Dodd to offer restorative one-to-one retreats.
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From
£
950
per night
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Guests at The Lanesborough await treatments in a shadowy, magazine-laden relaxation room dotted with call buttons for summoning complimentary refreshments. Therapists here administer massages and facials featuring ila, Tata Harper and Royal Fern products in the hushed, low-lit spaces before you're left to explore the scent-infused experience showers, a steam room, a sauna and take a dip in the small but perfectly formed pool. There's also an ultra-slick gym kitted out with top-of-the-range equipment – including an EMS machine – and a club lounge with a smoothie bar and a wellness-centric restaurant.
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From
£
930
per night
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It's hard to believe that a veritable palace such as this is tucked just off bustling High Holborn. Despite the effortless elegance, the place doesn't take itself too seriously, with cages of fake birds and models of a bulldog and bear by the lifts. Corridors are dark and sultry, with eye-catching touches such as a rose gold mirrored ceiling. The Sense spa is a soothing space; a warren of black slate with a relaxation room, sauna and steam facilities in changing rooms, plus treatment rooms. Treatments are excellent, with heated beds that adjust at both ends; the deep tissue Maison Caulières massage is a wonderful option for releasing particularly troublesome knots. There is also a gym, with fruit and headphones supplied.
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From
£
703
per night
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Four Seasons Park Lane, which occupies one of London’s most prestigious postcodes, is a picture of elegant design. No spa in London can rival the vistas from the rooftop space here, which overlooks the elms and copper beeches in the south-east portion of Hyde Park; it's possible that the views from the sauna's picture window are the most ravishing of all, meaning it's worth carving out time for a leisurely pre or post-treatment stint. There's now a focus on science-led regenerative therapies as well as holistic ones, and therapies come courtesy of Omorovicza, Cellcosmet and Philosophia Botanica. Most impressive is Omorovicza's Blue Diamond Revitalising Facial, which combines enzyme-based exfoliation with Hungarian massage techniques to leave complexions radiant and noticeably sculpted.
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From
£
987
per night
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A restored 18th-century Georgian building is now home to the Richmond Harbour Hotel & Spa. Modern interiors, a restaurant terrace with heaters and its location (a swift welly stomp to the gates of Richmond Park) are all highlights, but the spa with its 20m indoor swimming pool is the real star of the show here. Inside, alongside the pool (which is big enough for decent laps) there's a sauna and steam room and stylish relaxation room with hanging egg-shaped beds. Outside is a real leafy gem of a garden with two Scandinavian hot tubs and a vitality pool. There's a super high-tech gym with classes plus 13 treatment rooms – the Drift Away massage is excellent. It's great value compared to other hotel spas in the city and the pool welcomes children at set times of the day.
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From
£
130
per night
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The Ned is a spectacle of a hotel. Located in the former Midlands Bank HQ, designed by Sir Edwin ‘Ned’ Lutyens (with many original architectural details in place), it’s now a party palace – with restaurants, bars and a magnificent lobby with live music and a gargantuan spa. The basement spa is a dark, cosseting space – worlds away from the city streets above. It’s all black-and-white tiling, green marble and there’s a 20-metre marble-clad lap pool crowned by scalloped lights. And, in a first for a London hotel spa, the Ned has opened Define Clinic by Dr Benji Dhillon MD, a leader in non-surgical aesthetics – and includes treatments such as laser (BBL and Moxi; from £450) and anti-wrinkle injections (from £180).
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From
£
425
per night
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London’s first self-proclaimed super-boutique hotel, 14 years and £500 million in the making, caused a stir for all the right reasons when it opened in late 2021. Its buzzy bar and restaurant spaces make it one of the capital’s hottest new spots and the elegant basement spa? You’ll want to come back time and time again. Cabana beds around the pool make it easy to while away an afternoon there, especially combined with the sauna and steam room. The extensive treatment menu includes facials by Omorovicza and massages by Ila. A couple of straightforward deep tissue massages are available, but most of these are more holistic treatments; a Harmony massage for instance incorporates Tibetan acupressure and scalp massage, leaving you feeling as if you have had several treatments in one. You’ll also find a hair and beauty salon from Hiro Miyosh, an AMA nail bar and healthy Refuel superfood and juice ‘clinic’ – all very cool.
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From
£
509
per night
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This is one of London’s most refined hotels yet it’s far from pretentious. Old world meets new, but not in a garish ‘mish-mash of styles’ way, it's more subtle than that: step inside and you’ll find dark polished woods, shiny marble floors and pillars, and cream-coloured corniced ceilings alongside airy, contemporary rooms. And there's a similar ambience to the sleek Aman branded spa, all deep woods, glossy marble and minimalist lines. The black-granite swimming pool is the centrepoint, surrounded by loungers, and there's a small aromatic steam room. Aside from the standard therapies, Aman at The Connaught offers signature experiences inspired by different areas of the world: if you have a spare two-and-a-half hours you should treat yourself to the Native American-inspired signature experience, a combination of different massages including ancient Navajo techniques
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From
£
1,290
per night
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Frequently asked questions
What is the largest day spa in London?
Spread over four floors, ESPA Life at The Corinthia is the biggest day spa in London, complete with steam room, 17 treatment rooms, private spa suite, nail studio, indoor swimming pool, vitality pool, amphitheatre sauna, ice fountain, marble heated loungers and private sleep pods.
Contributions by Charlotte Johnstone, Fiona Duncan, Francesca Syz, Harriet Charnock-Bates, Jade Conroy, Mark C. O’Flaherty & Rachel Cranshaw.
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