Parks with spa quality
Holiday villages now offer infinity pools, steam rooms and luxury treatments
SOAkING away the stresses and strains of everyday life is what summer breaks are all about. So, perhaps it’s no wonder that spas offering all kinds of treatments have become big business in the holiday park industry.
Dylan Coastal Resort in Laugharne, Wales, has been transformed over the past three years into a luxury lodge resort with Milk Wood House spa, named after poet Dylan Thomas’ play.
It specialises in seaweed therapies using organic skincare brand Ishga, has two treatment rooms, a relaxation zone, herbal steam room, sauna and tepidarium (a room which warms the body rather than heats it).
The spa also has an indoor infinity pool overlooking Carmarthen Bay, gym and outdoor infinity hydrotherapy pool.
Wales and Lions rugby legend Alun Wyn Jones bought one of the luxury lodges in 2019 and visits regularly with his wife, Dr Anwen Rees, a physiology and health lecturer and their two daughters, Mali and Efa. The family makes the most of all the spa facilities at the resort.
Nick and Beverley Holroyd bought a three- bedroom lodge with hot-tub at the resort this year.
‘The spa was definitely one of the deciding factors,’ says Nick, 64. ‘I love to swim and Beverley likes treatments. We also want to rent out our lodge and we thought that having a spa would attract people to the resort.’ The couple, who live in North Yorkshire, have made the trip to Wales five times since they bought the lodge in February. Two and three-bedroom lodges with hot-tubs, vaulted ceilings, and large windows are priced from £325,000 to £595,000 ( luxurylodges.com).
South Lakeland Holiday Village, near Carnforth, Lancashire, is set in glorious surroundings on the borders of the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales.
Built around a lake, it has a Pure Essence spa with fitness suite, indoor heated pool, sauna and steam room. The spa offers some of the latest ESPA treatments and specialises in bespoke facials.
Josie Whitehouse-Strudwick, 61, is an advanced nursing practitioner and has owned a two-bedroom lodge at the resort for the past three years. She lives near Oldham and visits at least once a month.
‘I always have at least one treatment when I’m here. I chose this village because of the spa, gym and also the bar and restaurant. I wanted something quiet and more upmarket, which this is.’
Two-bedroom holiday lodges are for sale from £99,995 up to £210,000 for a three- bedroom lodge ( pure-leisure.co.uk).
Clawford Lakes in Holsworthy, near Bude, north-west Devon, opened on April 1. There are 17 lakes, of which 12 are used for fishing, and eventually there will be 140 lodges. The latest attraction, The Lake Spa, is being launched next month. It overlooks one of the lakes and has a living roof which provides both insulation and a habitat for wildlife, including honeybees.
‘We wanted the spa to have a direct connection with the water and the wildlife on site, and to provide guests with glorious views. The spa’s Scandinavian design will perfectly marry with the remote countryside, with the infinity pool reaching right to the lake’s edge, making it seem endless,’ says Stephen Twiss, Lakeshore Leisure Group CEO.
The spa will specialise in Swedish massage, reflexology, aromatherapy and hot stone treatments.
Two-bedroom lakeside lodges cost from £249,000 to £299,000 and three- bedroom lodges will be available at a later date and priced from £260,000 to £300,000 ( clawfordlakes.co.uk).