Guest post from the best-selling Good Hotel Guide – their top 10 luxury hotels with pools for the summer
Summer’s here and with any luck we’ve all got summer holidays booked in. Come rain or shine, no holiday would be complete without a little swimming included, even if the sun doesn’t always shine on a UK holiday. Helping us to relax and unwind from spas to outdoor swimming pools, here the Good Hotel Guide shares its top 10 luxury hotels with pools – and they’re all stunning! For more pools in the Good Hotel Guide check out https://www.goodhotelguide.com/hotels-with-pools
Hartwell House, Aylesbury
The indoor pool at Hartwell House, Buckinghamshire
This exquisite Jacobean mansion and luxury hotel was once the refuge of the exiled Louis XVIII and his court. Today it continues to be fit for royalty and that includes the leisure facilities. The spa includes a pool that’s in a space fit to be a ballroom. Complete with Neo classical statues in a building within the grounds of the hotel, it’s a little haven of pampering complete with a spa bath, steam room, saunas and treatment rooms where therapists use Aromatherapy Associates products.
Read ALadyofLeisure.com’s review of Hartwell House here
Hambleton Hall, Oakham
The stunning grounds at Hambleton Hall overlook Rutland Water
Surrounded by landscaped gardens, this luxury hotel with a Michelin star is a place where everything is done to perfection. Somewhere to visit with your partner because it’s exquisitely romantic, everything from the ornate fabrics to the home grown fruit and veg is a treat. Part of the experience is enjoying your leisure time, and as such the hotel has an outdoor pool that’s nestled in a secluded spot under mature trees with space to relax on a lounger around it.
Read ALadyofLeisure.com’s review of Hambleton Hall here
Chewton Glen, New Forest
Chewton Glen in the New Forest has an award-winning spa
Chewton Glen is known for many wonderful things, not least for being one of the best luxury hotels in the New Forest. Croquet on the lawn, luxurious treehouse suites, exquisite food, and its exquisite spa. Complete with a 17 metre indoor pool, hydrotherapy spa pool, a nail studio, aromatherapy saunas, crystal steam rooms and twelve individual treatment rooms, they also offer more than 50 spa therapies. That’s in addition to the tennis courts, dance studio, gym and nine hole golf course at your disposal.
Read ALadyofLeisure.com’s review of Chewton Glen here
Middlethorpe Hall and Spa, York
Middlethorpe Hall in Yorkshire has a separate spa set in two Edwardian cottages
A red brick National Trust mansion, Middlethorpe Hall and Spa in York is a pretty, elegant and uplifting 17th century pile that offers the best of old world elegance as well as contemporary hospitality. Very much somewhere you can imagine the landed gentry coming for their country retreats, it includes a spa set in its own private garden opposite the hotel, and made up of two Edwardian cottages. It includes a gym, a large indoor swimming pool with views onto the enclosed garden, a spa bath, steam room and sauna as well as offering treatments and personal training for total relaxation.
Read ALadyofLeisure.com’s review of Middlethorpe Hall here
Porth Tocyn Hotel, Abersoch
Porth Tocyn is on the Welsh coast – but has a heated outdoor pool for a swim in comfort
A welcoming retreat on Cardigan Bay, this Welsh family-friendly hotel is a homely space brimming with fresh flowers, log fires, cosy nooks, and lots of books and trinkets. There’s a joyful eccentricity about it that children in particular love, and for those not quite prepared to brave the sea for a swim, there’s a heated outdoor pool and superb afternoon teas to tuck into after that dip.
The Nare, Veryan-in-Roseland
The Nare in Cornwall has indoor and outdoor pools for a luxury break
On the Roseland Peninsular in Cornwall, The Nare is an old fashioned hotel in all the best ways. With impeccable views of Gerrans Bay, carefully tended gardens, and filled with fresh flowers, it is simultaneously stylish, comfortable and welcoming. Crucially, you will never be short on things to do. Aside from being a stone’s throw from the beach, the hotel’s yacht and elegant motor launch is available for use or skippered charter, and their classic Morgan sports car, which you can take out for a jaunt. There’s also a spa, a heated outdoor pool that’s open seasonally, an indoor pool with its own jet stream, a hydrotherapy pool, and an outdoor hot tub. Pass the Champagne, you’re in for a treat.
Bedruthan Hotel and Spa, Cornwall
Another Cornish treat, Bedruthan hotel is just minutes from a sandy beach
An award-winning, four star hotel, Bedruthan Hotel and Spa is a superbly elegant escape for families, offering the best of all worlds. Contemporary and stylish, it has pampering for mum and dad and caters to families with a kids club and activities, swimming pools and surf lessons available. The hotel is perched just above the beach, so you don’t have to go far to reach soft sand that’s perfect for building sandcastles.
Cliveden House, Berkshire
With possibly the most famous hotel swimming pool in the country, Cliveden has recently updated its impressive spa facilities
Having hosted the Duchess of Sussex the night before her wedding, Cliveden has continued its tradition as a royal host. The hotel, surrounded by National Trust grounds, has hosted kings, queens and politicians. It’s even known for scandal as well as luxury, with its pool playing a pivotal role in the Profumo Affair of the 1960s. That pool in the walled garden is still very much part of the leisure experience today, alongside a spa with treatments named after former resident Nancy Astor, an indoor pool, two outdoor hot tubs, a fitness studio, tennis courts and a Spa Kitchen for healthy lunches.
Read ALadyofLeisure.com’s review of Cliveden House here
The Scarlet, Cornwall
The pool and hot tub at The Scarlet boast some great coastal views
Best known for being amongst the best of luxury eco spas, The Scarlet is somewhere for special people in your life, and special occasions. Perched on a clifftop and boasting a hot tub with possibly the best views in the country, it is a bucket list destination of the highest order. The contemporary, glass-dominated architecture houses a spectacular pool that’s bathed in natural light, Ayurvedic inspired treatments, a rhassoul where you can slather yourself in mineral rich muds, and a relaxation room with cocoon-like pods hanging from the ceiling.
Cary Arms and Spa, Devon
The perfect summer getaway, Cary Arms is on Babbacombe beach in south Devon and has incredible beach side cottages
Brave the twisty and steep descent to this cliff face hotel and you’re rewarded with spectacular sea views and a hotel that feels as though it’s in its very own bubble. Cary Arms and Spa is a warm and welcoming hotel where you can practically fall out of the hotel onto the beach and relax in chic beach huts, dine on hearty local fare and spend the evenings watching the dolphins go by from your private terrace or balcony. Meanwhile, indoors the seaside theme continues with large sea-facing windows, a waterfall hydrotherapy pool, relaxation area, steam room, sauna, exotic experience shower, gym, three treatment rooms and marine inspired treatments from the Thalgo product line.
Read ALadyofLeisure.com’s review of Cary Arms and spa here
Thanks to the Good Hotel Guide for this article – and are there any others which you think should be added to the list? Do you agree with their choice of top 10 luxury hotels with pools for the summer? Let me know in the comments!