Rudding Park Spa

Rudding Park is a grand Georgian property with immaculate gardens. The Roof Top Spa and Garden is a separate building across the courtyard garden - after parking in the spa's dedicated car park, follow the path lined with rhododendrons to the contemporary building with glass double doors. 
 

Three floors of spa heaven. The spa reception, changing rooms and swimming pool are on the ground floor. Take the glass staircase (or the lift) down to the Escape Zone, a peaceful, serene space for guests having a treatment, or up to the thermal facilities and rooftop garden. 

The reception area is light and bright, with high ceilings. Here you’ll find a boutique decorated with brightly coloured candles and selling a tempting range of beauty products and gifts. The hair salon is here should you wish to book in for a blow dry after your spa day.

The changing rooms are spacious and L-shaped, with large lockers containing fluffy white robes, flip flops and smart, dark grey towels. Change beside leather benches or nip into one of four private changing rooms. If you forget your locker number, place your multi-functional wristband on the machine on the wall and it will show the number. We confess we needed to do this during a post-treatment haze.

Showers contain Rudding Park's very own shampoo and conditioner. Make good use of the large, mirrored vanity area afterwards, which has hairdryers and straighteners, as well as Rudding Park cleanser, moisturizer and toner. All you need is your swimwear. 

Rudding Park's 17-metre pool is large enough - and the right temperature - for some serious swimming, with loungers along one side. This area can also be used by club members. Children are welcome to use the pool during splash times; check the website for information. There is a large juniper log sauna overlooking the gardens which is roomy enough for 12 people. Cool down in the bucket shower afterwards. 

The Roof Top Spa is accessible for spa day guests and members: hotel guests can pay to upgrade and access the facilities. Begin your thermal journey with a foot spa: sit on warm seats and select cool or warm water, followed by jets that massage the feet. There are several steam rooms to try, ranging from moderate to hot. The ‘luxury’ steam room is circular with a domed ceiling filled with twinkly lights. Individual ‘thrones’ are marked out in white mosaic tiles on the navy-tiled bench; water hoses allow you to trickle cool water on your feet. This is probably the grandest steam room this Spa Spy has seen on her travels. 

Try the Sunlight Therapy room where you can lie back and ‘bathe’ in sunlight to boost your vitamin D levels. Or sit on a stool in the Oxygen Pod (our ordinary atmosphere has 21 per cent oxygen, but here it’s 27 per cent) - this feels like a stroll at the seaside and would be especially refreshing if you had overindulged the night before. 

Allow plenty of time to enjoy the rooftop garden, including the views and the stylish loungers with umbrellas set out among the fragrant salvia. Call an attendant and order a glass of fizz to sip in the sunshine (we told you it was spa heaven). We could have spent all afternoon in the bubbly hydrotherapy infinity pool, with its warm water and powerful jets, and the hot sauna with its wooden and glass exterior and internal seating for five. Screens of plants divide seating areas; groups can hire a private cabana near the hydrotherapy pool which has a fire pit.  

Need some quiet relaxation? The tranquillity area has heated loungers and headphones, while the igloo is a dome with a double sofa inside. Tucked away behind the tranquillity area is yet another garden.

The quiet Escape Zone and treatment rooms are two floors down. The Escape Zones are quirkily - but descriptively - named: try ‘Mind’ for mind-stimulating games. ‘Audio’ for headsets playing meditative tracks, ‘Visual’ for a huge screen showing restful, colourful images. Our favourite is ‘Sleep’ which has huge comfy recliners and a ‘starry, starry night’ ceiling, plus gentle music to lull you. 
 

We tried the Natura Bissé Diamond Energy Ritual (1 hour 45 minutes, £250) in the couples’ treatment room.

Emma and Melissa, our therapists, met us in the waiting area and led us to a cosy treatment room, leaving us to settle on our respective treatment beds, lying face down.

Our treatment began with a massage; the therapists working quietly alongside each other, checking at intervals that we were warm and comfortable – and that the pressure was OK. Emma worked on each muscle group in turn, methodically working out areas of tightness and knots. After being massaged into a state of total relaxation, we turned over for the facial.

A thorough cleanse was followed by the Hydrating Essence toner and Diamond Glyco Peel designed to dissolve dead cells and impurities from the deepest layers of the skin. While this tingled away, Emma performed a massage on my arms, around my neck and under my ears. A mask was followed by some effective facial massage and sculpting. The final touch was an application of Tolerance serum, so called because it raises the skin’s tolerance threshold while boosting cell regeneration.

This treatment had visible results: my skin looked fresher and brighter; my jawline much firmer. The fine lines around my eyes had faded, too. I find it almost impossible to persuade my husband to exfoliate, but the peel improved his skin so much that says he will take better care of it – he even asked if he could have the same treatment again the next day. The effective massage made us both feel more relaxed.

Rudding Park Spa offers a menu of facials, massages and other body treatments using Natura Bissé products, as well as sports rehabilitation, treatments for mums-to-be, post cancer treatments from Jennifer Young and bathing rituals.

Finishing touches include manicures and pedicures from local brand Navy. .

You can lunch in your robe in Horto, a contemporary cafe with floor-to-ceiling windows and a colourful palette of emerald greens and mustards. Lunch is two courses of light salads and wraps. We enjoyed the Chicken Pho Noodle Soup and the Sticky Chicken Bao buns followed by an indulgent Eaton Mess with fresh raspberries and strawberries.

Horto also offers dinner some evenings, with an indulgent tasting menu and optional wine pairings. Much of the food comes from the kitchen garden, so is fresh and seasonal.  

Dinner can also be taken in the Clock Tower restaurant in the main hotel which is where we tucked into dishes of fresh fish and tender Venison in the lovely light conservatory area.

We loved 

The design: Rudding Park Spa is a large stylish spa, with ample facilities to occupy spa-goers for the day. It is cleverly designed with separate seating and relaxing areas, so does not feel busy. 

The food: Horto, the spa café at the centre of the spa, serves inventive, fresh, local food. Take time to stroll around the hotel’s kitchen garden - a wellness experience in itself. 

The rooftop spa: enjoy the rooftop pools overlooking the woodland, top up your Vitamin D levels on the comfy recliners and order drinks from the spa butlers. 
 

We didn't love 

Having to leave.

Indulgence seekers: The Roof Top Spa and Garden offers a truly luxurious experience.  

Sun worshippers: the glass walls let light in everywhere, and the rooftop garden is heavenly on a sunny day. If it rains head for the Sunlight Therapy room.

Almost everyone: there’s such a choice of spa experiences to try that you will be discovering new areas all day.  Even if you simply want to relax and enjoy the bright gardens and birdsong, this spa fits the bill.

We awarded The Roof Top Spa and Garden at Rudding Park a coveted Good Spa Guide Bubble Rating of 5 Bubble Luxury for its stylish and spacious design, range of experiences and nurturing food. 

Sybaritic Spy visited in June 2022 and awarded it 5 Bubble Luxury.