While spa culture has flourished on mainland Europe, the last century has seen a steady decline in the demand for spa facilities in the UK.
Strictly speaking, the definition of a spa is a facility with a curative mineral spring, be it hot, cold or lukewarm. This leaves Droitwich’s brine bath as the only UK venue with a legitimate claim to the title.
However, the last 20 years have seen a move towards alternative therapies and a resulting resurgence of interest in spas and health-related holidays.
The city of Bath is pumping £6.7m into redeveloping its historic spa facilities and operators are reporting an increasing interest in short breaks and holidays to rejuvenate the mind and body.
Both Erna Low and Thermalia have introduced the five-star St David’s Spa in Cardiff to their programmes. Thermalia managing director Miro Sajfert said:”Over the past eight years we’ve had a lot of requests for a UK-based spa, but there just isn’t one. St David’s Spa offers an experience very close to a true spa and this opens up the market to short breaks of one or two nights.”
British hydros offer a very different experience to their European counterparts, according to Gilly Turner, marketing manager at Champneys, the market-leading health resort at Wigginton, Hertfordshire.
“European spas focus more on curative treatments, where UK resorts are more holistic,” she said, adding that most visitors are looking for solutions to stress or weight problems.
Champneys is featured in Crystal’s Premier Britain programme, alongside other household names such as Forest Mere at Liphook, Hampshire – subject of the recent BBC docu-soap Health Farm – and Grayshott Hall, near Hindhead, Surrey.
A Crystal spokeswoman said:”The kudos of taking this kind of holiday remains, but health resorts are becoming more affordable.”
Cheaper still is the growing range of hotels offering health and beauty breaks. Superbreak’s Luxury Hotel Collection features several hotels classed as spa properties, with a lead-in price of £49 per person per night at the Marriott Tudor Park Hotel and Country Club inMaidstone.
While this price includes use of all the hotel’s leisure and sports facilities, the treatments are extra. National sales manager Graham Balmforth said: “Forgive the pun, but business is very healthy. Although we do operate health and beauty weekend packages in our Superbreak brochure we find customers prefer to choose their spa hotel and then book treatments on arrival.”