Deep in the heart of the leafy Leicestershire countryside lies Ragdale Hall Health Hydro and Thermal Spa. Only a two-hour hop, skip and jump from central London, this has become
the place to head for a soothing city escape.
A harmonious mix of Victorian architecture and state-of the-art spa facilities, Ragdale Hall has won countless awards and ranks regularly as the best spa in the UK. And no wonder - aside from the gorgeous grounds and newly refurbished rooms, there is a fantastic array of treatments on offer, from Crystal therapy and dry floatation to Men's Refreshing Foot Therapy and Decleor and Elemis treatments for mothers-to-be.
In fact, as you walk through the heavy spa doors the first and only question you need to ask yourself is what to do first. Should you go for a swim, check out the rose sauna, colour flow cave, volcanic salt bath or (herbal) scented room — or just lie down and have a treatment?
I chose to do the latter and spent my first two hours experiencing one of Ragdale Hall’s 11 exclusive treatments: the Elemis’ Beyond Bliss Calming Ritual, which did exactly what it said on the tin. It began with a top-to-toe massage with warm basalt stones (designed to iron out all those aches and pains) followed up by an Elemis Visual Brilliance Facial, including an Amino Active Mask aimed at smoothing the skin and restore radiance, and a mixture of Thai and ancient Chinese Tui Na massage techniques. It left me feeling exactly as promised: blissful and calm.
But beyond all the treatment rooms and exercise pools (there are two) sits the jewel in Ragdale Hall’s crown: the thermal spa. Opened in 2007, the spa has been carefully designed to resemble the cross-section of a Nautilus shell, with lots of curved walls and soft lighting. A waterfall pool runs through the centre and slowly snakes its way outside the building — the coloured underwater lighting means you can swim here at night, too.
Continue on down some stairs and you will discover the candle pool, a haven of warm water and flickering candlelight. However my personal favourite was the cave shower, which re-creates the effect of being in a tropical thunderstorm. At the push of a button you can have hot tropical 'rain' fall down on you accompanied by a clap of thunder and flash of lightning. I appreciate that it may not sound like much but I spent well over half an hour pressing that one button. They do say it's the simple things in life…
Ragdale Hall Health Hydro and Thermal Spa, Ragdale Village, Nr.Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire (+ 44 (0)1644 433043; Ragdalehall.co.uk) Other exclusive treatments available:
Decleor Moroccan Spice Earth Detox, 135 minutes, £111
Banana, Papaya and Strawberry Body Polish, 40 minutes, £48
