In a refreshing departure from the usual subterranean offerings, South Lodge, a sprawling country hotel in Sussex, has ratcheted its wellness offering up a few notches with the unveiling of its show-stopping new spa.
Literally throwing a curveball, Hove-based architects Felce & Guy Partnership has taken its cues from the rolling sweep of the surrounding South Downs, UK, setting the timber-clad building into the landscape with a dramatic curvilinear meadow-grass roof.
Natural light bathes the interiors thanks to floor-to-ceiling windows that also frame bucolic countryside vistas. These are best experienced from the slick indoor, infinity, ozone-treated pool or from the light-filled panoramic sauna that has been designed – along with the rest of the spa’s interiors – by Richmond-based Sparcstudio.
With 14 treatment rooms including a dedicated mud room; a relaxation room with state-of-the-art 4 Senses Loungers; three swimming pools including the UK’s first heated natural swim pond; a 2,000 sq ft fitness space with Technogym equipment; and a grooming offering that including a beauty bar – complete with a sparkling wine Enoflute dispenser – and a barber, we suggest booking a room at the hotel for a weekend to ensure at least a few days of pampering.
But if you only visit for the day, make some time to pop by Botanica, where head chef Jonathan Spiers draws on the surrounding South Downs as a larder and doles out plant-based dishes including the crowd-pleasing Wasted Burger made entirely of the leftover ingredients from the morning’s juices. §
