Best spa hotels in Scotland: Where to stay for a relaxing 2023 escape

Scotland could scarcely be better set up for spa hotels. The tree-shrouded hills, silvery lochs and aquarium-clear seas speak of renewal even before you’ve stepped foot in a spa. There are city slickers but the real joy is escaping into all that gloriously wild and beautiful countryside.

There is nothing quite like bubbling away in an outdoor hot tub overlooking a loch as the sun burns down and your hair turns crisp. The country’s spa hotels offer far more than just deeply dramatic locations, though. Local spa products and treatments with a Caledonian tinge add authenticity to the UK’s spa-retreat capital.

Scotland’s spa hotels come in all shapes and sizes, from old-school Victorian-era dames that used to attract patrons seeking to take the waters, through to swish state-of-the-art hideaways in modern five-star hotels built seemingly with no budget ceiling.

The range is constantly improving, too, with the revamped spa at the Kimpton Blythswood Square set to put Glasgow back on the spa map this summer, in a country increasingly synonymous with spa tourism.

Best spa hotels in Edinburgh

Location: Edinburgh

The Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa is worth coming to for its outdoor hydropool alone, which boldly strides across the rooftop. Peer over the Scottish capital’s skyline, and you’ll turn office workers green with envy. The hydropool is part of an “urban thermal spa experience” that is no 20-minute gimmick, with a Himalayan rock-salt room, bio sauna, crystal steam room and rock sauna, plus a laconicum and hammam. Chill out in the quiet room afterwards. ESPA beauty and massage treatments are on offer too, but Scotland’s best thermal circuit experience is enough for many visitors. There is a 19m indoor swimming pool (with an infinity edge), if you want to get active at this 269-room hotel.