BATHE like a Roman
Even an emperor would surely be jealous of Huw Turner as he discovers a hotel in Bath with its own private thermal spa
THE antique sedan chair in the hotel’s marble-floored hallway recalls an era of 18th Century elegance when the painter Sir Thomas Gainsborough lived just a few doors away. Yet the main attraction of this swish new hotel in Bath is due to an even more ancient heritage – think toga-clad Romans in Britain reclining decadently on marble beds amid steam from natural hot springs.
This glorious, unspoiled city has always been a place of pleasure. Not surprisingly, the Victorian anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce once decreed: ‘Bath is the worst of all places for getting any work done.’
He was as right then as now. Like Venice, Bath never fails to delight, which is why more than four million visitors descend on the city each year.
The Romans were on to something when they discovered the waters in 43AD. Now The Gainsborough Bath Spa offers a unique private spa with warm water piped in from natural springs. Hotel guests just have to use a private lift to soak in waters from a source originating 2,000 years ago. This is what Anthony would have built for Cleopatra, had she asked.
Two warm pools are the first step, then a master of scents offers an array of herbs and oils from lemon to rosemary to take into the sauna, before chillaxing on the lavender ice alcove.
What is remarkable about this new pleasure palace is that the building was, for many years, abandoned and left to decay. The best thing for Bath after the Roman invasion has been a 21st Century Malaysian one, where the new owners have spent lavishly with one aim: to make a marble-floored Claridge’s for the South of England.
Nestled in the city centre next to the Thermae Bath Spa, The Gainsborough has the feel of an ancient Oxford quad thanks to its yellow sandstone buildings. The hotel is on a mission to spoil. The welcome message in the bedrooms is scripted in dripping chocolate, and bottles of Somerset cider and a local gin are on offer for those with a taste for something a bit stronger.
DRESSING gowns in the top suites have guests’ names embroidered on them. Cars are taken away to be parked, washed and dried before being supplied with bottles of water and mints next to the driver’s seat. The unique point of staying at The Gainsborough is to try the hotel’s own baths, which are utterly private, unlike those next door which attract 300,000 visitors every year.
The hotel is also the perfect base from which to visit the Holburne Museum with its magnificent Gainsboroughs and Zoffanys, or to walk to the Jane Austen Centre or No 1 Royal Crescent, the Georgian house that has been put on a million postcards. And hip-hip-hooray, the city is not a no-go area for cars or constantly jammed with traffic.
Honeymoon couples and hen-night friends are out in force in the spas, as are the occasional supermodels, and the elegant, silver-haired brigade.
The Gainsborough has an obsession for detail – butter at breakfast is sourced from one set of cows in one set of fields, Netherend Farm in Gloucestershire. The waitresses in their white aprons share the same purposeful bustle as the staff in Downton Abbey. Plates are nudged a quarter of an inch to the left on the table mats by the beady-eyed maitre d’ as if every meal is as significant as a state banquet.
The menu is rich but not pretentious. The chef knows what he is doing with ham hock terrine with a broad bean
puree and foie gras on the taster menu, alongside wild mushroom risotto with poached quail’s egg and parmesan crackling.
But back to the main point as you zip along the corridor in your dressing gown. These are the most private Roman baths available, and are entirely separate from the Thermae Spa. There is almost a hallowed silence in this water haven. Quirky treats include a constant supply of hot chocolate in a tea urn, a sybaritic treat apparently wildly popular in the 1700s. And you can steam off those calories immediately.
Essentially this is 21st Century pampering with an ancient Roman twist. The Gainsborough is part ancient history lesson too as you do learn about Sulis Minerva – Sulis being a Celtic Goddess and Minerva a Roman one (please keep up, those at the back of the class). And it offers easy access for visitors to Bath, as it is located just seven minutes from the station.
The portrait painter of yesteryear would approve as the same-named establishment has surpassed the previous luxury standards in Bath, reinterpreting its age-old mission of spoiling travellers.