Ribby Hall Hotel

Ribby Hall Village Ribby Road, Wrea Green near Blackpool, Lancashire PR4 2PR

A soothing massage is one of the best ways to wash away a week of work. Better still, check in for a stay at this spa hotel to float in warming waters in a country setting. At Ribby Hall’s steamy outdoor pool there’s a hint of sea salt in the air as the resort is just a short drive from the coast and Lytham St Annes beach.

A spa hotel that isn’t afraid of a little indulgence when it comes to food gets our vote: The Orangery restaurant offers just the right amount of decadence, like its fat roasted fillet of Bowland beef ramped up with onions braised in a deep red wine with a spot of foie gras and a rich Bordelaise sauce.

Chef Michael Noonan’s white chocolate cheesecake with raspberry sorbet is just the ticket following a day of spa-ing and an ‘aqua thermal journey’, where you meander through a variety of spaces from the aroma and steam rooms, Balinese salt inhalation room and herbal sauna, to a Roman pedidarium, hydrotherapy pool and monsoon showers, winding up in the ‘Zen Garden’ relaxation area and bar. The variety of muds in the Rasul mud chamber is seasonal. In autumn, this could see you wrapped in gingerbread clay that smells almost good enough to eat.