Welcome to the third iteration of Vogue’s global spa guide, a collection of the 100 best spas in the world, compiled based on first person reviews and careful editing. This year, we’ve renewed our focus on places that have established a reputation for exceptional care of body and mind, though there is a great variety in the list. Whatever you are seeking when it comes to wellness, there is something here for you.
Why go here?
If you’re seeking the perfect ratio of proximity to London (just a 45-minute drive from the city center or a 20-minute drive from Heathrow Airport) and utter serenity (it’s set in the Berkshire countryside on the edge of Great Windsor Park, with grounds that span over 240 acres), then Coworth Park is the hotel—and spa—for you. It’s owned by the uber-high-end Dorchester Collection, so unabashed luxury is the order of the day here—but not without sacrificing the character of the place.
You can feel it from the moment you pull up the elegantly landscaped driveway, where you might spot a chukka taking place on the world-famous polo fields, or guests wandering through an enormous wildflower meadow. Breeze into the central building, however—a Georgian manor house that was given a makeover in the late 2000s, prior to the hotel opening its doors in 2010—and the greeting is warm and convivial: the impeccably turned out staff in natty brown plaid suits and patterned silk scarves will spirit away your car then guide you to your room, which are spread across the main house and the various stables and cottages that make up their own miniature village just a few minute’s walk away. (I stayed in one of the latter, which had been redecorated recently for a slicker take on the hotel’s signature country chic style: I especially liked the clear cocktail tables, featuring autumn leaves suspended as if in aspic.)
But what you really want to know about is the spa, and Coworth Park’s is seriously impressive—it was already world-class, but last summer it reopened after a top-to-toe revamp and now features tastefully refreshed treatment rooms, a more extensive thermal circuit, and an expanded gym. Where many country house hotel spas lean into gimmicks, or too many bells and whistles, this is more of a classic spa, but one where everything is executed to the very highest degree, from Natura Bissé facials to massages using organic Wildsmith oils.
