Set in 300 acres of landscaped gardens and woodland, Rudding Park is one of the most beautiful privately owned luxury hotels. The hotel has 90 bedrooms, two restaurants and a kitchen garden, private cinema, two golf courses and conference, and added to the plethora is a £9.5 million spa, with rooftop spa, spa garden, and leisure facilities. Located only a few miles from Harrogate, and 20 miles from Leeds, Rudding Park is well-connected.
Me and Theo decided to plan our visit to Rudding Park with my birthday weekend, and I was so pleased I got to spend it here. The staff really looked after us, and made it feel special. They also left a bottle of prosecco in our room on arrival, so I was sold…
And they’ve got some some accolades too including: the only UK Hotel in TripAdvisor 2017 Hall of Fame for Hotels, the Best Hotel Rooms in UK, Trivago 2017 and a decade in the Top 3 Best Hotels in the UK, TripAdvisor 2016. So it’s fair to say I had high expectations….
THE SPA
The new Rudding Park Spa is one of the finest in the country and recaptures Harrogate’s spa heritage using natural waters from the grounds at Rudding Park. If you know, you’ll know I love a spa. I’ve been to three spas in four weeks this month. And I am all the wellbeing of mind, body and soul, so I could not wait to visit Rudding Park spa.
As soon as we arrived we changed in to our robes and swimsuits in the room and headed over the spa, for a quick visit before dinner. We registered with reception where we were given our wristbands that would give us access to the whole of the spa. We started downstairs with a quick swim in the pool, before heading up to the Rooftop Spa and garden.
At no point through our visit to the spa did it feel busy, like with some spas, where you can hardly move. We even had the spa to ourselves on our final day, as we’d got up early to beat the spa day arrivals.
Up to the first floor is where you can find all of the experience rooms and the outdoor hydrotherapy infinity pool, alongside the rooftop garden, and sauna. Me and Theo relaxed in the outdoor hydrotherapy pool the most, moving around the different elements of the pool, and relaxing on the beds. We then headed to the experience showers, before popping into the sauna, and getting our feet wet in the foot spas. As the sun was out on our second day at the hotel, we headed to the rooftop garden for lunch and a glass of prosecco in the sunshine.
As well as getting to laze around and visit all of the spa facilities, I was also treated to a Blissful Inner Peace; a 50 minute scrub with traditional pure black olive soap. The therapist uses a kessa glove polish to start the cleansing process which is then massaged into the skin, whilst a bio energy mud envelops the body to restore full energy to your whole system.
THE BEDROOMS
After a quick check-in and valet parking we headed to our bedroom on the ground floor, looking across to the spa. We were delighted to find out we had been upgraded to a spa rooms which was incredibly spacious, with a beautiful bathroom.
The bathroom was luxurious and sophisticated, coming with a roll-top bath, and even our very own hammam steam room, I mean seriously… It was really spacious, and had an array of settings for you to enjoy a steam room in the comfort of your own room. On one of the nights I enjoyed a spa experience in the privacy our own room, with a drink of prosecco in hand.
Hotel residents receive complimentary access to the Indoor Swimming Pool, Juniper Log Sauna and Bucket Shower, and can upgrade to access the Rooftop Spa and Garden or Mud Rasul Ritual.
THE FOOD
Latin for kitchen garden, Horto is the on-site restaurant where you can grab dinner in the evening both for hotel guests and people visiting. The restaurant is at the upper-end of the price tag (they have another restaurant too) and is a real treat if you are looking for dinner for a special occasion.
The Horto dining experience offers an a la carte menu and tasting menu which change on a regular basis. If the tasting menu is selected, you are encouraged to resist the temptation to look at the menu and discover the dishes and taste sensations as they go – a blind test!
They use seasonal ingredients from Rudding Park Kitchen Garden and the menu is dictated by nature, the skill of the Gardener and the flair of the Chef.
OVERALL
This place was beautiful; modern, sophisticated and luxurious. From the spa, to the restaurant, and to the front of house staff, everything was 5*. It’s nice to see a hotel really invest in refurbishment, and I know this hotel will be topping the charts when it comes to luxury spa hotels in the UK.
*My stay at Rudding Park was complimentary in exchange for this review. However, all views and opinions are my own.
