The best spas in Scotland for 2023
With its misty mountains, tranquil lochs and untouched coastline, the rural Scottish landscape is a natural tonic for anyone looking to decompress and unwind, and that’s before you’ve even checked into one of its many pampering spas. From Baronial castles to windswept coastal landmarks, Scotland is home to some of the UK’s best spa hotels. Whether you are after a bespoke facial or an immersive retreat, there’ll be a Scottish sanctuary ready to revive and restore. Here’s our pick of the best spas in Scotland, the perfect holistic havens found north of the border.
OLA O SMITGleneagles, Perthshire
Best for: wholesome wellness
Opened as a railway resort hotel in the 1920s, Gleneagles remains one of the country’s most loved and iconic grand dames. Its secret for success? It has continuously evolved over the years, with snazzy renovations, innovative activities on tap and superlative culinary offerings keeping the hotel in the spotlight. One of the hotel’s main attractions is The Spa at Gleneagles, which has put the remote property on the map as a destination in its own right.
From its heather-spiked massage oils to the leafy relaxation courtyard – the spa makes much of its glorious, natural setting. Hours can be idled away with two indoor pools and an outdoor thermal pool, not to mention its series of thermal cabins. You can also spend your time exploring the sprawling 850-acre estate or hitting your stride on the golf course. There are 20 treatment rooms where you can book for bespoke Tata Harper facials, as well as Gleneagles’ signature therapies – such as The Highland Healer – all of which harness locally sourced, Scottish botanicals. Gleneagles is also the first spa hotel in the UK to open a skin clinic by Dr. Barbara Sturm, renowned for her pioneering, medical-led approach to anti-ageing. You’ll leave looking and feeling ten years younger.
Address: Gleneagles, The Auchterarder, Perthshire
Price: Doubles from £575
Website: gleneagles.com
Marine TroonMarine Troon, South Ayrshire
Best for: seaside soul-searchers
Marine Troon is a re-imagination of a once-jaded Victorian hotel, having opened its doors after a major renovation in the summer of 2022. Overlooking Royal Troon Golf Club’s first and 18th hole, the hotel’s revamped look encapsulates its rich golfing history with a modern, maximalist aesthetic.
The spa might be small, but it packs a punch with coastal-themed therapies – a nod to the nearby seaside town of Troon, which overlooks the Isle of Arran. The heated swimming pool has soothing views of the Ayrshire coast, and there are treatments by the organic brand Ishga. This Scottish wellness company – its name means ‘water’ in Gaelic – uses sustainably harvested seaweed from the Hebridean islands. Try the Detox Body Wrap, which is like a super-boost for the body: you are scrubbed down with a detoxifying Hebridean sea salt to eliminate rough skin, then slathered with a revitalising seaweed gel to get rid of toxins and reduce cellulite. You’ll emerge mermaid-like with a renewed joie de vivre.
Talking of which, Troon is home to exceptional, sweeping arcs of sand, where you’ll also find a natural high by blowing away the cobwebs. Or, to really get the heart racing, join the fanatical few who regularly go for a spot of cold water swimming in the Firth of Clyde.
Address: Marine Troon, 8 Crosbie Rd, Troon, Ayrshire
Price: Doubles from £159
Website: marineandlawn.com
Michael HughesIsle of Mull Hotel, Craignure, Isle of Mull
Best for: wild wellness
Overlooking Craignure Bay, on the Isle of Mull, this low-key Hebridean island retreat has not one but two spa options to soothe your soul. At the Driftwood Spa, you can dip in the pool and have a hot mud rasul treatment in the Arabian-inspired thermal room. Ishga treatments make perfect sense here, helping you feel at one with your surroundings – the brand’s healing seaweed ingredients are sourced from the shores of the Isle of Lewis, found further north.
New this year is the Wilderness Spa – a private wood-clad retreat designed for couples or individuals. Built on a secluded outdoor deck, tucked away within tall grasses and woodland, it feels wonderfully rustic, like you’ve discovered a secret coastal hideaway. Don a dry robe and meander along from the hotel. There’s an outdoor hot tub and sauna to warm up in, and a bucket shower to cool you down (eat your heart out Wim Hoff). Private therapists are on hand for nature-inspired massages and glow-inducing facials. Later, in the adjacent snug – a cosy room with picture windows overlooking the mountains on the mainland – you can meditate to the sound of the northerly winds advancing on the shore.
Address: Isle of Mull Hotel, Craignure, Isle of Mull
Price: Doubles from £150
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Cameron House, Loch Lomond, West Dunbartonshire
Best for: reboot retreats
Overlooking Scotland’s biggest loch, this mansion has a heritage reaching back to the early 19th century. It has all the gilded trappings you’d expect from a grand countryside pile, from splashes of tartan to chinoiserie wallpaper. Following a fire in 2017, much of the sprawling property has now been renovated so the rooms feel much more à la mode with an inky palette throughout, deep velvet sofas and textiles by Glasgow design studio Timorous Beasties. There’s a dizzying array of things to do – from golf and fine dining to seaplane rides over the water and cruises on the waves aboard the hotel’s Celtic Warrior yacht.
A short drive away, the Cameron Club spa is vast, with a wondrous thermal suite including a tepidarium, caldarium, sauna and hammam room. ESPA treatments are offered across 17 rooms, and there’s also a selection of rituals from Made for Life Wellness. The Catch the Breath treatment is a soothing back, head and shoulder massage with organic oils and balms, which feels deeply nurturing. A highlight, though, is the steaming rooftop infinity pool. Dive in and emerge to see heavenly views over Loch Lomond and the Highlands.
Address: Cameron House, Loch Lomond, West Dunbartonshire
Price: Doubles from £320
Website: cameronhouse.co.uk
Ashley CoombesFletcher’s Cottages, Archerfield House, East Lothian
Best for: a haute hideaway
It doesn’t get much more cocooning than Archerfield House’s Scandi-like spa – curl up next to the wood-burning stove, hunker down under fur throws and detox in the aroma sauna. Whether you stay at the main house – a Palladian gem with views over Fidra Island Lighthouse, said to be the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island – or in one of a series of lodges spread across the 550-acre estate, this is the ultimate place to restore your mojo.
Book one of the bath huts for a soothing start. Hidden in walled gardens bursting with heather, juniper and roses, ease your limbs in a traditional peat bath – said to aid aches and pains and relieve stress.
There are reviving facials by Bamford and a seductively named ‘Supreme Happiness’ massage by local East Lothian brand Beatitude. It uses hot stones and plant-based oils to ease away any tightness and knots. Voya’s hypnotic, seaweed-laced Sleep Wrap is also not to be missed. Following an energetic body brushing session and the application of a melting lavender body butter, you are then wrapped in muslin (unnervingly mummy-like) to allow all the goodness to sink in. You'll drift off dreaming of distant Scottish shores in seconds.
Address: Archerfield House, Dirleton, North Berwick, East Lothian.
Price: Doubles from £285.
Website: archerfieldhouse.com
Kohler Waters Spa, Old Course Hotel Golf Resort & Spa, St Andrews
Best for: hydrotherapy and heritage
Most guests might arrive at this landmark St Andrews hotel aiming to hit a few balls on its world-famous golf course, but the in-house Kohler Waters Spa has no trouble standing on its own merits. Revamped during the pandemic (at a cost of £7 million), it has hydrotherapy at its heart – no surprise, really, when you learn that owner Herb Kohler made his fortune in plumbing.
There’s a 20-metre pool, and a dedicated thermal suite, including a hydrotherapy pool, sauna, steam room and plunge pool. As well as a raft of massages, facials and organic Made for Life treatments (ideal for those undergoing medical treatments), the healing properties of water are harnessed in a choice of wet therapies. The Lavender Rain ritual, for instance, includes a crystal salt scrub and an experience shower with lavender-infused water to fine-tune the senses.
If you don’t fancy tackling the 17th hole – known as ‘Road Hole’ and said to be one of the most difficult in the world – then you can watch amateurs and professionals alike attempt it from the safe distance of the spa (the hotel is conveniently positioned alongside it). Alternatively, head to the nearby Fife coastline for head-clearing, bracing walks along the beach – film buffs will recognise nearby West Sands from the famous Chariots of Fire scene.
Address: Old Course Hotel, Old Station Road, St Andrews.
Price: Doubles from £356.
Website: oldcoursehotel.co.uk
Isle of Eriska Hotel, Argyll
Best for: remote contemplation
If the stirring views over Loch Linnhe and the Morvern mountains in Argyll don’t instantly lift your spirits, chef Ernst van Zyl’s gourmet cooking certainly will. This Baronial-style mansion oozes the feel-good factor from its historic walls. Found on its own island close to Oban on the west coast of Scotland, the building dates back to 1884. While the old house offers the chance to kick back amid regal Victorian décor – with its wood-panelled walls and original fireplaces – the light-filled Stables Spa feels fresh and modern.
Meander through manicured herb gardens, rosemary and lavender piquing your senses, to reach what were the former stables. Inside, there’s a 17 metre pool, jacuzzi, sauna and steam room. The cosy treatment rooms are themed around the woodlands or the shores surrounding the 300-acre estate. It won’t be long before you slip into a blissful state with algae-fuelled treatments by Ishga or aromatherapy massages by ESPA.
From gazing up at the dark skies to hiking up the mountain trails, the joy of Eriska is its breathtaking, otherworldly setting, paired with this magical halcyon wellness break. For a real immersive experience, you can bed down in one of the spa suites. Also carved out of the stables, these come with outdoor hot tubs ideal for meditative moments as eagles glide overhead.
Address: Isle of Eriska Hotel, Ledaig, Benderloch, Oban
Price: Doubles from £325
Website: eriska-hotel.co.uk
David BrownFonab Castle, Pitlochry
Best for: dreamy delights
On the banks of Loch Faskally in the shadow of Ben Vrackie mountain, arriving at Fonab Castle is like entering the pages of your own fairy tale. With its pink walls, turrets and fancy parapets, the property dates back to 1892, although its 42 rooms have a modern Highland aesthetic. Despite being an imposing castle, Fonab feels intimate and warm. The separate Woodland Spa captures a sense of the wild nature found just steps from the doorway – with aromatherapy relaxing rooms and a choice of treatments from Ishga and Matis. You’ll feel reborn again with the Ishga Deep Tissue massage, which uses a seaweed-based oil perfumed with lemongrass, lavender and juniper. It’s the perfect therapy after days spent exploring the glens, moors and rivers on the doorstep.
Address: Fonab Castle, Foss Road, Pitlochry
Price: Doubles from £225
Website: fonabcastlehotel.com
Fairmont St Andrews, St Andrews
Best for: glam escapades
Once you’ve donned your fluffy robe at the spa at Fairmont St Andrews, you’ll have a hard job taking it off again. The spa’s cosseting nature is all-encompassing, with therapists expertly guiding you from check-in to zonking-out-mode before you’ve even made a start on your lemon-verbena tea. Signature therapies include the bucolic-sounding Escape to the Meadows – it’s 90 minutes of pure escapism during which your body is exfoliated and nourished with sweet-smelling jojoba, rose and geranium oils and herbal poultices. A warm marine mud mask deep cleanses, while a scalp massage eases tension and allows your mind to roam free.
Meanwhile, the hotel itself feels deliciously decadent with many thoughtful nods to its coastal location – from the lobby’s gold shimmering light sculpture by George Singer, which emulates shoals of fish in St Andrews Bay, to the fish scale tiles and seaweed-printed fabrics found in the bedrooms. If you can tear yourself away from your seafoam-scented-stupor, then there are world-class golf courses on the doorstep, such as The Torrence and The Kittocks, to explore. Also worth packing your boots and waterproofs for is the Fife Coastal Path – it runs from Culross through St Andrews and onto the Tay Bridge for heart-lifting views of Scotland’s majestic coast.
Address: Fairmont St Andrews, St Andrews
Price: Doubles from £255
Website: fairmont.com
Stobo Castle, Peebleshire
Best for: all-immersive indulgence
Located in the scenic Borders, Stobo Castle is the ultimate Scottish destination spa (in fact, it claims to be the country’s only destination spa). Yes, the castle dates back to the 19th century and has a craggy, brooding appeal, but guests are largely here for the contemporary and extensive facilities rather than the history, so don’t be surprised to see most padding about from treatment to poolside in their robes.
From the crystal steam room to the advanced hydro spa (it has super-sonic Airloungers designed to give an air massage along the full length of your body), you can spend days being pummelled and pampered. As well as the wide choice of facilities, the treatment list is also vast. Choose between therapies by Phytomer and Made for Life, or book in for a new menu of holistic therapies such as reiki, Indian head massages and hopi candle sessions.
While it’s easy to lose hours at the beck and call of the many resident experts, it’s worth taking time to explore the lavish grounds. There are serene Japanese water gardens to roam around in and bikes on hand if you want to tackle the nearby hills. By night, there’s plenty on offer for those who want to indulge a craving or two. From the shellfish risotto with tomato concasse to a mocha martini, the whole experience is a like a hug for the soul.
Address: Stobo Castle, Peebleshire
Price: Doubles from £199
Website: stobocastle.co.uk