The Elms Hotel and Spa

Hate hotel gyms with strip lighting, a single treadmill and queues for the weight rack? Don’t sweat it. The Elms has an entire suite dedicated to your holistic fitness and wellness. Swish, stylish and state-of-the-art, it meets the needs of even the most demanding of gym bunnies.

Housed in a separate building, this ultra modern space is crammed to its well-designed rafters with top-of-the-range LifeFitness equipment, stacks of weights, a HIIT workout area, and there’s even a spin studio for a serious calorie burn. There’s an outdoor bootcamp with weights and a punching bag, plus a tranquil yoga studio for classes and activities.

Don’t know your bench press from your dumbbell? Booking a personal training session will help you kick-start your new, healthy lifestyle. But there are plenty of ways to get active in the fresh air, too. Stroll around the 10 acres of grounds or challenge your friends or your other half to a game of tennis.

Like to cover more ground? The beautiful Malvern Hills are a 30 minute drive away and make a great destination for walkers of all ages and abilities.

If it’s not a spa day without savouring a gourmet treat (or a post-massage cocktail or two) make sure you visit Badgers, the contemporary restaurant and bar. Like the rest of the hotel, you’ll find it’s far from ordinary.

Snug and cosy with the same quirky woodland theme, it has sinkably soft seating, a laid-back atmosphere and gastropub-style options that celebrate the best of British flavours, like fish and chips, burgers and sticky toffee pudding.

Here on an overnight stay? You’ll be back in Badgers for breakfast. Choose from a buffet groaning with homemade granola, pastries and fruit. Peruse the hot menu while you drink your coffee or sweet fruit juice. Then order something filling that will set you up for the day.

If you’re here to visit the spa and decide you want to stay for afternoon tea or a light lunch, you’ll eat in Herb - and you don’t even have to get dressed. Just be careful not to get crumbs inside your robe!

There is, and it’s stunning. Flooded with natural light thanks to enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, take a dip in these tropical waters and you’ll feel like you’re on holiday. You might even forget you’re inside thanks to all the hanging foliage cascading from every corner.

At 12m it’s long enough for lengths, or just float like a starfish and gaze up at the wooden vaulted ceiling above. There’s a powerful jet to help knead your neck and shoulders. Or just order a glass of fizz from the pool-side drinks service and lounge beside it whilst gazing at views over flower beds and lawns beyond.

There is. The hotel has 21 beautifully bespoke bedrooms to choose from, each flamboyantly styled to make stays here extra-special. With a traditional-meets-opulent design, they range from Comfy rooms up to stylish suites, including the three-bedroom, six-person apartment-style offering called the Gladstone Suite. Nestled in the hotel grounds you’ll also find new duplex Coach House suites, each with their own private terrace and not one but two roll top baths. 

For overnight stays at The Elms, check-in is at 3pm on your arrival day and you can check out at any time up to 11am on the day of your departure. 

Yes it is. The spa has wheelchair access and if you were thinking of booking into the hotel you’ll find three accessible ground-floor rooms in the Coach House annex, one with its own wet room. 

It is, and it has more green initiatives than you can point a recyclable drinking straw at. ​​There are dual-flush, water-saving toilets, electrical car charging points you can use for free and low-energy lightbulbs. You’ll only find refillable toiletries in the spa changing rooms, too.

Expect pretty, rural views wherever you look, as.you’ll find this sumptuous manor house hotel in the beautiful Worcestershire countryside, on the outskirts of the charming village of Abberley.

It sure is. While treatments and thermal experiences in The Greenhouse Spa are adults-only, little ones can splash in the pool between 9am and 10am and 4pm and 5pm every day. Many rooms can fit two children sharing a sofa bed, but if you need more room to spread out enquire about adjoining rooms, or book the sumptuous three-bedroom Gladstone Suite.

While The Greenhouse Spa is a pet-free zone, dogs are welcome in all other areas of the hotel - well, they are part of the family, after all. All bedrooms are dog friendly except for Comfy rooms, and chances are they’ll have a great time sniffing around the 10 acres of gorgeous grounds. 

It doesn’t, but there are tennis courts and an outdoor bootcamp area for those who like to get active outdoors. If you want to pamper and putt, a ten-minute drive takes you to nearby Sapey Golf and Country Club. This 27-hole parkland course has some tricky water challenges, along with outstanding views over the Malvern Hills.