Five huge new spa resorts are planned for the UK – here’s which locations are getting new wellbeing attractions

Have you heard about the gigantic mega-spa coming to Manchester? Plans for the £500 million Therme Manchester were first unveiled back in 2019. More than just a spa, the plans detailed 25 pools, 30 water slides and 30 saunas alongside biodiverse gardens, immersive art and family-focused leisure spaces. A year after it was originally due to open, the venue hasn’t even been built yet. Nonetheless, Therme has already revealed its ambitions for not one, not two but five more UK resorts.

Therme Group is in the process of building an empire of mega spas. It already runs five major wellbeing resorts in Germany and Bucharest and is developing more in Canada, the US, Dubai, South Korea and Singapore. Last week, it revealed that it has its sights set on opening five new UK resorts, with a goal for ‘90 per cent of the UK population within a 90-minute drive of a Therme’. 

 Glasgow is already lined up for a Therme while the other cities in the running include Cardiff, Bristol, London and Birmingham. Therme Glasgow will be roughly the same size as Therme Bucharest (around 30,000sq ft). It’s still in the very early stages but it is pencilled for a piece of land between the Kelvin and Clyde rivers, opposite the Transport Museum. Therme Group is currently working on a lease for that location. 

One of the big draws of Therme resorts is their relatively cheap pricing. The average price for one person to visit for four or five hours in Manchester, with access to all facilities, is expected to be around £48. And bosses have promised that if you arrive via public transport, you can get a discounted rate once you arrive. 

Speaking about Therme Manchester, David Russell, CEO of Therme UK, told Spa Business: ‘There won’t be anywhere in this country that has the facilities we have in terms of slides, pools, thermal pools, cryotherapy, snow rooms, heat rooms – like 30 saunas. We want to do it through volume and that’s brave because it’s a challenge. But it’s a leap of faith.’

ICYMI: A new stargazing experience is launching at a national park in northern England. 

Plus: Robert de Niro’s Nobu is opening a members’ club in the Midlands. 

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