Prepare to feel like royalty when you arrive at Down Hall Country Hotel, a huge stone manor house set on 110 acres of Essex Countryside. Quite different from the busy roads of hectic London, the main building is a feast for the eyes. The next door Eden Spa is slightly less imposing - but inside, there’s a gorgeous blue-tiled hydrotherapy pool, plus a sauna, steam room and ‘relaxation area’ (think: loungers and many, many magazines). Here, you’ll step into the picture of zen.
Unlike in the manor house, modernism is key. There’s a spaceship-like circular wet spa, which feels suitably odd but oh-so relaxing. There are bubbles, huge rainforest head showers and neon lights. The treatments on offer really are fantastic, too: there are positivity sessions and Rose Quartz facial cleanse, which just has to be enjoyed with a glass of fizz.
Best of all, though, is the 55-minute hot stone massage - the sensation will give you that tingly feeling of stepping into a bath at the perfect temperature. The hotel is cosy with a chintzy country house vibe. Head to The Garden Room for a comforting steak, then retire to your room to lounge about in a fluffy robe on perfectly crisp linen. The suites have balconies, and waking up to views of the vast grounds will be enough to send your heart leaping.
Time Out tip: The hotel and spa are big on sustainability. So, if that’s your thing, you’re 100% in the right place. There’s a two-acre kitchen garden that supplies veg and salad for the whole kitchen and even Down Hall’s own Hall Garden Gin and Vodka made with its own blend of botanicals.
Address: Matching Rd, Hatfield Heath, Bishop's Stortford CM22 7AS
Transport: 40 minutes by train from London Liverpool Street to nearby Sawbridgeworth.