by Catherine Beattie

M

ore and more people in the UK view a weekend away as an essential luxury, an escape from the busy stressed-out lifestyle most of us lead these days. Since the Millennium, pressure on us to work harder and longer has increased and created a growing demand for short breaks at home and in Europe. This has fuelled two new phenomena: a boom in low cost airlines and a new spa genre - the deluxe country house hotel spa.

Since the Millennium, pressure on us to work harder and longer has increased and created a growing demand for short breaks at home and in Europe
A weekend in one of these exclusive, upscale establishments is like joining the country house set, where attentive staff anticipate your every need. You may find yourself rubbing shoulders with the well heeled and the well known or with discerning spa goers undeterred by the cost--for the irresistible mix of spa facilities, gourmet cuisine, and personalized service at these havens of rural bliss come with high price tags.

Michael Goodman, a leading UK spa consultant expects demand for quality spa breaks to continue to grow for some time yet. He says. "While the dedicated residential spa market in the UK has undergone considerable refurbishment in recent years, hotel spas now account for the greatest number of new spas. The luxury hotel sector continues to invest millions in spa facilities, which are becoming larger and increasingly sophisticated to attract the affluent short break market."

Whatley Manor near Malmesbury, Wiltshire
www.whatleymanor.com

This ultimate country-house retreat is set on 12 acres of gorgeous landscaped gardens beside a meandering river. Discreet and understated but at the same time impeccably stylish and luxurious, this honey-colored Cotswold stone manor has been painstakingly restored to perfection by its Swiss owners.  Built around a cobbled courtyard, the 23 rooms and suites are individually decorated and furnished with an eclectic mix of antiques, contemporary furnishings and high tech gadgets. Whatley Manor has two dining rooms, a choice of bars, cozy lounges with huge open fireplaces, a private cinema, and the Aquarias Spa, designed as a journey of relaxation and sensory wellbeing. You start your spa experience relaxing on one of the heated day beds in the tepidarium, then move onto the different steam rooms and thermal cabins, refreshing yourself with scented showers as you go. Your spa journey finishes with a dip in the warm and swirling waters of the hydrotherapy pool. Bliss! The spa also has a Serail mud chamber, a VIP suite for couples and four treatment rooms where you can indulge in exclusive La Prairie facials and body treatments.
Rooms cost from 275 (two people) per night including breakfast. Aquarias La Prairie Signature Facial 125 for 90 minutes, other spa treatments from 79 for 60 minutes.

SPA SPC Stoke Park Club, Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire
www.spaspc.com

A sumptuous new spa is the latest addition to Stoke Park Club, one of the UK s most prestigious golf and sporting clubs, located just 20 minutes from Heathrow Airport and 40 minutes from central London. The clubhouse is a 18th-century white mansion, situated in 350 acres of parkland, golf courses and gardens. If it looks strangely familiar, this is because it was the location of several popular movies, including Goldfinger, Tomorrow Never Dies and Bridget Jones Diary. Stoke Park Club has 21 luxury guest rooms, a restaurant, spacious lounges and outdoor terraces--but the leisure facilities are what really impresses. These include an 18-hole championship golf course, indoor, outdoor and grass tennis courts, croquet and fishing The newly built spa pavilion is a short walk from the clubhouse and, like the spa, has a large indoor swimming pool, state-of-the-art gym and exercise studios.

SPA SPC offers ten treatment rooms, a hydrotherapy suite with Light and Color therapy, marble steam rooms and two deep relaxation rooms, where you can doze in the dark after your treatments on a heated bed or luxurious massage chair. The imaginative array of spa treatments and packages includes the world s first ever Prada facial. Lasting 90 blissful minutes, the treatment combines pure skin products with the latest ultrasonic technology for a more radiant, vibrant complexion. The facial starts with an exfoliation followed by a soothing eye massage. Lymphatic massage and acupressure is given to the face and neck areas to stimulate the circulation and drain toxins. After this, an infusion of antioxidants and collagen-boosting nutrients is applied to the face with the help of ultrasonic vibrations. Finally, a tinted finisher is applied to protect and enhance the appearance of the skin.

Residential spa stays cost from 190 per night per person based on two sharing and include dinner/bed and breakfast, use of spa and leisure facilities and a choice of therapeutic massage. Prada Beauty Bio-Glow Facial 90.

The Royal Crescent Hotel, Bath, Avon
www.royalcrescent.co.uk

Despite being situated in the heart of the beautiful city of Bath, the award-winning Royal Crescent Hotel enjoys the ambience of a luxurious country house. The hotel occupies the two central buildings in the historic crescent, Bath s most renowned architectural masterpiece; all 45 bedrooms and suites are individually furnished to reflect the Georgian period, many with wonderful views of the city.

The airy Bath House Retreat, set in a converted coach house in the hotel gardens, offers a holistic approach to beauty and wellbeing. Treatments and complementary therapies are tailored to suit individual needs and lifestyle, many using the spa s own Bath House oils. Before or after your treatment, make time to relax and unwind in the warm relaxation pool where incense and candles infuse the air--or take a steam bath and sauna followed by a dip in the refreshing plunge tubs. Feeling energetic? Work out in the gym or take a pilates, yoga, or tai chi class.

Hotel guests have free use of the spa (treatments extra) and one-day spa packages are available for non-residents.

Rooms from 240 per night (two persons) include continental breakfast and use of spa. The Bath House Signature Treatment (1 hour 55 minutes) 85

Pennyhill Park Hotel & Spa, Bagshot, Surrey
www.exclusivehotels.co.uk

This elegant 123-roomed country house hotel is renowned for its cuisine and its sports amenities, which include a 9-hole golf course and a full size rugby pitch (the English national squad prepare for their games here). Pennyhill Park s magnificent spa opened in December 2003, and at 45,000 square feet, is the largest and most spectacular hotel-based spa in the UK.

The Spa as it is called, provides an unrivalled experience for hotel guests and private members. Its many facilities include Thermal Heaven, a sequenced thermal suite arranged into dedicated male, female and mixed areas. You move through an arra
y of aromatherapy i
nfused laconiums, steam rooms and saunas, take a plunge in the ice room, or relax in one of three different sensory suites. There s also a wet treatment suite with salt cave, floatation pool, two-person Serail chamber and mud massage rooms.  For water babies, there are no less than five pools, including a large indoor swimming pool and spa pool, and several heated outdoor rock pools and hot tubs.

After your thermal experience, wander up to the peaceful first floor for an Australian Li-Tya treatment in one of the spa s 21 spacious treatment rooms and suites. There s also a state-of-the-art gym, dance studio with range of classes, a caf area, and luxurious changing rooms with grooming areas providing manicures and pedicures.

Room only from 229.12 (two persons), breakfast 17.50. Two-hour Signature Treatment using Li-Tya oils, salts and muds 150.

Calcot Manor, Near Tetbury, Gloucestershire
www.calcotmanor.co.uk

Situated in the heart of the Cotswolds around a flower-filled courtyard of 14th century barns and stables surrounded by gardens, Calcot Manor is the perfect weekend retreat with something for everyone. Not only does it offer 30 country-house style rooms and family suites, two great restaurants, leisure amenities and a seriously good spa, but it welcomes children, too, with super child care facilities in a converted barn. Little ones are supervised by qualified staff, and the cr che has a mini-cinema, computer games and controlled internet access upstairs, and stacks of games and toys for the younger ones on the ground floor.

A stunning new spa has been built behind the hotel to provide a complete health and beauty experience for club members and hotel guests. Facilities include a light and airy indoor pool, high-tech gym, yoga and pilates studio, caf , jogging and cycling trails, tennis courts, and an outdoor 8-seater hot tub, set in a decked area in front of a blazing log fire. An extensive spa menu offers a choice of over 50 treatments and includes quality Guinot and Aromatherapy Associates techniques and products. However, it is the charming staff, attention to detail and the soothing and blissfully quiet treatment rooms that impresses most. Whether you opt for a rejuvenating facial, deeply relaxing dry-float envelopment, or traditional soap scrub massage, you depart the spa feeling totally refreshed and rejuvenated.

Rooms from 217.50. Dinner. Bed & Breakfast for two persons from Sun thru Thurs, 240 Fri and Sat. Prices include use of all spa and leisure facilities (treatments extra).
Massage from 30 for 25 mins; Calcot Facial 48 for 55 mins; Dry-float Envelopment from 60; Traditional Soap Scrub Massage 25.

All prices quoted include tax but may be subject to change at any time.

Catherine Beattie is a UK-based health and travel writer/publisher with a lifelong interest in spas. Her credentials include writing and publishing several consumer guides including Healthy Breaks in Britain & Ireland (the UK's first spa guide) and The Really Useful Guides. Catherine was founding editor of Spa Health & Beauty magazine and contributes to many UK national newspapers and magazines including The Sunday Times, The Express, Here's Health and Harpers & Queen. She is a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers, Guild of Health Writers and Spa Business Association.