Heckfield Place’s brand new spa The Bothy by Wildsmith opens in English countryside

A new nature-inspired spa called The Bothy by Wildsmith has opened its doors at English country hotel and retreat Heckfield Place in Hampshire, UK.

The 17,000sq ft wellness facility is designed to help guests slow down and reconnect with nature’s pace while discovering the healing power of the great outdoors.

Only open to hotel guests over 16 years old, the spa has opened at the restored 438-acre Georgian estate that’s also complete with expansive gardens, orchards, a bar and restaurant and a biodynamic farm.

Home to generations of estate gardeners, The Bothy lies beyond a secret door of the estate’s original walled garden and boasts views across the Hampshire countryside.

Designed to return guests to a simpler time, the spa has been conceived to fully connect to its natural environment and is the inaugural spa partner for Heckfield’s signature botanical skincare brand, Wildsmith Skin.

Wildsmith says each spa ritual is intrinsically linked to the estate and led by one of Heckfield Place’s master practitioners or resident therapists.

The treatment menu includes massages, facials, meditation and movement as well as time spent with the master practitioners who specialise in naturopathy, osteopathy, reiki, bodywork and more.

Highlights include Wildsmith Time (135 minutes) – a top-to-toe treatment incorporating kinesiology principles and a therapeutic massage sequence using essential oil blends specifically formulated to circadian rhythms and the time of day.

The journey also includes craniosacral holds, abdominal massage and foot zone reflex therapy to help spark up energy pathways

The Bothy's concept of integrated wellbeing also extends to the outdoors, with guests offered physical journeys exploring the grounds including Woodland Movement, Farm Fit, Forest Bathing and Cold Wild Water Immersion Therapy.

Wildsmith’s full range can be purchased at the spa’s retail boutique.

Wellness facilites

The spa is home to six treatment rooms (two for couples), two fitness rooms, a movement studio and has two main hydrotherapy and relaxation areas; The Waters and The Oak Terrace.

The former is a chlorine-free indoor bathing area lined with relaxation loungers and complete with a floor-to-ceiling window looking out across the estate’s grounds. The light-filled space's centrepiece is a large swimming pool that uses ionisation and natural minerals ions of copper, silver, zinc, aluminium and gold.

Meanwhile, The Oak Terrace features a sauna, a steamroom, an experience shower and a bucket shower.

Guests can also visit The Sun Room – an indoor/outdoor space serving seasonal plant-based fare crafted by culinary director Skye Gyngell.

The spa’s final design has been finished with ancient and natural materials that ground The Bothy within its natural surroundings. These include fossilised limestone floors and sink features, antique Hampshire brickwork and 29,434 hand-laid tiles in The Waters.

Spa leadership teamEquipped by Gharieni, the spa will be overseen by Reka Seres-Erdei. Now serving as spa operations director, Seres-Erdei joined the Heckfield team after serving as senior spa director at Four Seasons, where she was responsible for three of its UK properties as well as in her native Budapest.

She said: “The Bothy is the reknitting of all parts of the estate – it represents the vision of accepting and living by the natural cycles of seasons, appreciating its simplicity and supporting the harmony in which it brings.

“Whether it be a mindful walk in the woods, breathing in the scents of nature during a treatment, taking an invigorating cold dip in the Lower Lake in wintertime or spending time in the Market Garden picking from the land’s bounty used to create Wildsmith products and the daily offerings of tea – these are the rituals of The Bothy.”

The spa welcomes visitors for a recommended time of three hours per session with bookings centred around dawn, noon and dusk each day.