The Malvern Spa in Worcestershire is a bright and modern retreat hidden within a retail complex on the outskirts of Malvern town. The boutique hotel with glass-fronted, clean-cut spa shares an ancient connection to the land it’s built on: the waters are drawn from the last natural spring to serve a spa since 1910.
Borehole ‘healing’ waters date far back through time, and the town of Malvern is famous for its ‘Water Cure’, established in 1842 by two hydropathic doctors. Back then the cure consisted of seven phases designed to stimulate lymphatic drainage and improve overall health by exposing the patient to alternating hot and cold temperatures, massages and various herbs.
The Malvern Spa was built in 2009 and re-kindles one hundred years of spa heritage in the town. A 20 metre indoor-outdoor hydrotherapy pool offers blissful 35°C bathing in the natural waters extracted from 200 metres under the spa. The treatment menu includes a wide and modern range of body, facial and beauty treatments as well as holistic practises, sports therapy and nutrition consultation. However the Malvern Spa has also taken inspiration from the 1842 ‘Water Cure’ and created a new version in the form of a signature treatment that we enjoyed in the comfort of a modern day treatment room.
Our Spa Spy™ lay upon a water pillow filled with Malvern water, and enjoyed cool eye packs infused with fresh herbs resting over her eyes. The therapist began by scrubbing the body with iced Malvern water infused with rosemary -- a technique to kick start the metabolism, which felt incredibly enlivening. Hot lavender cloths were wiped over the skin to open the pores, before warm oil was massaged in with pressure and strokes to stimulate lymphatic drainage -- bliss!
A second ice scrub and hot cleanse followed, and the treatment ended with a beautifully refreshing glass of Malvern spring water. It’s no wonder that Florence Nightingale, Charles Dickens, Alfred Lord Tennyson and even American writer Henry James used to travel to take the waters at Malvern natural springs. We vote that the Water Cure is still good enough for the elite!
The Malvern Spa is adult-only and also offers a state of the art health club and an AA Rosette restaurant in the hotel. With the Malvern Hills nearby you’re never short of stunning views; despite the spa’s industrial location you can easily escape for a country walk, and with the natural springs bubbling below ground The Malvern is a close-to-nature retreat from the bustling surroundings of urban life.
Scarlet Spy
10th June 2015
Spy Likes:
Nature-inspired spas, cold water plunges, sound baths, deep tissue massage, delicious food.
Spy Dislikes:
Thin walls in treatment rooms, lounger hoggers, soggy robes, bright lights.
