SPA

The Life of Bath

By Poppy Wilkinson

From eats to sleeps, here’s how to soak up the good life in Britain’s spa city.

The Thermae Bath Spa

Spa

Bath is the city in Somerset, England, that boasts the only natural thermal waters in Britain, hence its name. The Romans came here to soak in the hot springs more than 2,000 years ago. Today the ancient Roman Baths can be toured during the day and by candlelight on summer evenings. While the jade green waters of the ruins are not open for public paddling these days, the Thermae Bath Spa next door offers the chance to do as the Romans did and relax in Bath’s mineral-rich springs.

The ultramodern four-floor spa, housed in historic buildings, was opened with much fanfare in 2006, culminating in a concert by the Three Tenors – Plácido Domingo, José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti. The spa’s design winks at the old Roman ways with its high ceilings and great white columns, but the look (glass- and light-infused) is entirely modern.

The high-tech property also has an open-air rooftop pool with transparent walls that offer 360-degree views of the city’s stunning skyline, including the Gothic spires of the medieval abbey next door. When we took a dip, our bodies – even that of my companion, who was nine months pregnant – felt completely buoyant. Water noodles are provided for added flotation, and most people just lie on their backs drifting and staring up at the sky.

One floor down, serious spa-goers sweat it out in the essential oil-infused steam rooms, choosing between eucalyptus mint, jasmine and lavender. In the middle of the steam temple, a massive circular waterfall shower with fiber-optic lighting provides some refreshment between steams. For the more hard core, traditional bracing cold showers and footbaths are also available.

Treatments at the spa focus more on well-being than preening. (Our Pevonia Deluxe Pedicure was so relaxing, we nodded off to sleep in our pedicure “thrones,” though the service didn’t come with nail polishing.) Other highlights include the Cleopatra dry flotation bath and the exfoliating Vichy shower (using thermal water, of course).

Eat

In keeping with the idea that our bodies are temples, we head to Demuths. Don’t let the casual bistro aesthetic fool you; tucked inside a Georgian townhouse, this is one of the top vegetarian restaurants in Britain and is frequently booked solid. We order the Very Green Summer Salad with broad beans, French beans, sugar snap peas, asparagus and pan-fried halloumi plus a taster platter of homemade falafel, beetroot patties, tzatziki and polenta, switching halfway to avoid diner’s envy. This is the kind of menu that makes for indecision whether you are a vegetarian or just like good, wholesome food. We opted for Touchstone pinot grigio from the completely organic wine list.

The restaurant’s founder, Rachel Demuth, also offers unpretentious one-day cooking classes, like "Southern Indian Thali" and the predictably popular "No Time to Cook – Fast and Delicious Fare."

Stay

With its prestigious address, the Royal Crescent Hotel is one of the world’s greatest examples of Georgian architecture and comes with its own lovely Bath House Spa. The residential crescent-shaped street affords the hotel a secluded garden where decadent afternoon tea is served. The period rooms – with 18th-century furnishings, artwork and color schemes, and little touches like freshly cut flowers – will make you feel like you are living in a Jane Austen world. (The novelist did call Bath home for a few years.) For the ultimate extravagance, hotel guests can ask to have a hot air balloon ride arranged.

(Poppy Wilkinson is the editor-in-chief of onAir. She last wrote about Ste. Anne’s Spa in Ontario.)

TOP PHOTO: MATT CARDY / THERMAE BATH SPA
ROMAN BATH: VISITBATH.CO.UK
THERMAE: BRITAINONVIEW / JON SPAULL