Top 5

The U.K.’s Hip New Spas

By Amanda Ross

Forget the stiff upper lip – these five new spas in the U.K. are sure to make you smile.

1. Spa InterContinental, London Park Lane, England

You could be forgiven for mistaking the InterContinental London Park Lane’s new Elemis Spa as one of the city’s posh men’s clubs­, but, luckily, both sexes are welcome. Never mind the black leather chairs, dark wenge wood and other clubby masculine decor; the spa also upholds stalwart London traditions like bespoke services. Custom offerings – book any treatment for anywhere from 15 minutes to 5 hours – clearly evoke the time-honored traditions of tailoring mecca Savile Row, mere blocks away. The moody space promises to soothe and “suit” with five therapy suites, a dry flotation therapy room and one of the U.K.’s only steam temples.

2. The Spa at Cameron House, Loch Lomond, Scotland

Heretofore, Scotland has been known for golf, golf and golf – and the occasional Scotch. But that’s set to change with the opening of the brand-new shiny Spa at Cameron House, which overlooks the picturesque shores of Loch Lomond, just outside Glasgow. Architecturally sleek with natural stone and copious wood, the spa has wide sweeping halls with ambient backlighting that lead to a labyrinth of treatment rooms, a hydro pool, a thermal-experience space and a wellness café. An encyclopedic menu of treatments includes the Golfer's Recovery Massage, best booked after spending four hours in the rough on the lauded adjacent Canadian-designed Doug Carrick golf course.

3. Beyond Spa, Harvey Nichols, London

Up until now, the style-savvy were forced to abandon their shopping in London’s tony Harvey Nichols department store to tend to their beauty treatments. Located on the fourth floor of the flagship shop in Knightsbridge, the new medi-spa offers what some high-powered shoppers need after the exhausting rounds of Chloé, Marios Schwab and Alexander McQueen. Laser skin care, Botox and Restylane injections and teeth whitening are only a hint of the myriad treatments offered by full-time, on-site doctors and medical aestheticians. Step inside and a high-tech skin analysis that uses UV photography and computer software lets doctors customize a personal skin-care program to start you off.

4. Galgorm Resort & Spa, Northern Ireland

The Irish are known for their bonny skin and merry disposition, and now with the opening of the spa at Galgorm Resort, you can thankfully work on both. Channeling Northern Ireland’s bucolic nature, this converted gentleman’s residence sits on the banks of the River Maine just a half hour’s drive from Belfast. Past the pretty grounds and inside the grand building, the new spa is anything but stuffy. From the Mandarin & Mint Body Blitzer (salt scrub and steam) to the Men’s Total Zen (lemongrass, sweet orange and lavender bath with deep-tissue massage), treatments are carried out in a thoroughly contemporary and sleek setting.

5. The Lake Vyrnwy Spa, Wales

Lake Vyrnwy Hotel is a fetching country estate with a 100-year-old sporting-lodge pedigree. High on the slopes of the Berwyn Mountains, with picturesque views of Vyrnwy Lake, the new spa promises visitors respite from the relentlessly scenic vistas. Two treatment rooms, a 2,500-square-foot thermal suite (complete with spa pool, sauna and aromatherapy-salt inhalation room), a rasul (steam temple), an ice cave and a monsoon shower all incorporate natural-stone features to keep in sync with the rest of the hotel and the rugged outdoors.

(Amanda Ross is a Vancouver-based freelance writer and editor-in-chief of HomeSpa magazine.)