UK spas are finding creative ways to tackle environmental issues, from on-site beehives to staff carpooling. Here are the most sustainable spas in the UK.
1. Carden Park, Cheshire
This sprawling hotel and spa is more a resort than a simple spa, with an on-site golf course and a large spa garden filled with hot tubs, saunas and a hydrotherapy pool. As a Silver Green Tourism member, Carden Park and its staff are committed to sustainability and finding new ways to be eco-friendly. Among their initiatives are recycling, reducing paper use and conserving energy. But with such a large spa, water usage can be an issue indoors and out. Carden Park’s innovative answer is to pump wastewater from the spa back into the on-site lake, where the water is transported from the golf course’s sixth hole to the resort’s irrigation system.
2. Titanic Spa, Huddersfield
The Titanic Spa in Huddersfield began as a textile mill but is now an eco-friendly spa with sustainability at the heart of everything it does. The spa sources natural spring water for all its water needs, has an energy-efficient laundry and covered the roof with solar panels during its conversion from mill to spa. The facility uses recycled materials wherever possible and paper cups for its water fountains. No single-use plastics are found in the spa, and guests are encouraged to use one towel daily to reduce laundry. You can book a stay in one of the spa’s apartments or just spend the day.
3. Moddershall Oaks, Staffordshire
This quiet country retreat in Staffordshire features a sleep lounge that prohibits electronic devices and a mud rasul treatment room for two, where you can wallow in this ancient Middle Eastern ritual. Moddershall Oaks is a Tribe517 spa that only uses sustainable skincare and spa products produced on a nearby farm in Wales. The spa insists on maintaining this ethical approach, and the result is a tranquil oasis that cares about its impact on the planet. Visitors can enjoy overnight stays in suites with private hot tubs.
4. Merchant’s Manor Spa Hotel, Falmouth
Besides an award-winning restaurant and focused, intimate spa area, Merchant’s Manor has become the first hotel in the UK to join the New Force for Good, a global community committed to changing how we travel. The hotel installed an electric-vehicle charging station on its grounds. And among the gardens, near the greenhouse, it set up a bee colony with over 15,000 native Cornish bees that not only produce sweet honey for the restaurant but also help secure the future of bees worldwide.
5. Rockliffe Hall Hotel & Spa, County Durham
In 2022, Rockliffe Hall was awarded an Eco Excellence award for its walled kitchen garden and for encouraging diverse wildlife by providing the right environment in the estate’s gardens. The spa includes a hydrotherapy pool and a limited-access spa garden. All lights are on passive-infrared sensors to reduce energy usage. The hotel does not import products unless necessary and encourages staff to car share and use public transport. After realizing they were throwing away some 2,000 spa slippers a month, Rockliffe Hall decided to stop providing guests with disposable slippers. Now, you can either bring your own or go barefoot.
