The best one-day wellness retreats for busy people

How many times have you longingly screenshot a detox week in some sun-doused stretch of the Mediterranean and mentally ‘archived’ it? Or listened to a friend recount their soul-nourishing six week break in India, telling you: ‘you should really go,’ dispensing the exact dose of anticipated awe, while quietly wondering if they could add reality to the syllabus? For most of us, the ten day ‘new-me’ wellness retreat all but resides in our dreams thanks to work, family and chores filling our diaries.

Two weeks at the Mayr clinic or an extended sound bath journey in Bali is just not going to happen right now, nor, realistically, is a three-night ‘reboot’ camp in Devon. If this all sounds horribly familiar, but a speedy recharge is what you’re in dire need of, here are the best one-day wellness retreats in the UK.

The luxurious one

For the ultimate city reset (with bonus views over Hyde Park) Mandarin Oriental offers a full day dedicated to rebooting fitness levels, optimising health and shaking off all that cortisol. The Knightsbridge-based retreat features an active morning with Movementum, a personal training session and a series of healthy meals and snacks throughout the day. It’s all about recalibrating, just with Mandarin Oriental’s exquisite food, fresh zingy juices and herbal teas (of which there are hundreds). The day is rounded off with a 90-minute Asian-inspired spa treatment and supper in art-clad The Rosebery, beneath its soothing contemporary chandeliers. If a good night’s sleep is also on the cards, why not sink into the Mandarin Oriental’s lavishly minimalist suites and give all those minerals, happy hormones and rebalancing oils time to soak in.

Retreat £1,230 and room rates from £720; mandarinoriental.com

The affordable one

It’s not exactly close to London but this Cornish reboot could easily be combined with a foodie, cliff-walking weekender. Highcliffe (a collection of rather lovely holiday rentals in Trebetherick) has curated a Recharge Package as part of its Winter Wellness Club. This includes full use of their snazzy gym (and membership for a month, should you plan to stick around) with a personal training session, a yoga class in the smart studio and relaxing stint in the Saunas by the Sea, which offer steamy views of Polzeath. If all that exercise and stretching hasn’t already done you a world of good, then the salty sea air and brisk coastal winds certainly will.

From £90; highcliffecornwall.co.uk

The sustainable one

Sleeping badly? Eco-luxe trailblazer 1 Hotel Mayfair has pulled together a stress-busting day of treatments, seasonal local food and exercise to help weary souls restock their serotonin levels and, subsequently, be fully prepared for a deep, delicious sleep. This all begins with a yoga session, encouraging you to reconnect with your breathing, mind and body, then moves lethargically on to a foot bathing ritual, a therapeutic back massage with Thai stretching and those glorious scalp massages with temple balm. Those on the programme, should then float to one of the hotel’s sunny (and gloriously private) terraces for a healthy, hearty lunch where 1 Hotel’s sustainability ethos laces the menus. Saving the best till last, guests can choose from Bamford’s three signature facials, leaving their wellness reboot dewy and ready to catch forty proper winks.

£560 for the Bamford Wellness Full Spa Day; 1hotels.com

The easy countryside one

Within touching distance from London (one hour’s drive from central), The Grove offers acre upon acre of rolling green countryside, as well as a spa worth leaving the Big Smoke for. Shaking off city cortisol is the newly refurbished Sequoia Spa’s speciality where they’ve curated a series of one-day retreats, from Power Hour with Adrienne Herbert, focusing on forming good habits with Pilates and daily movement, to a breathwork, journaling and yoga day. These begin on January 6 with Bamford’s Candlelit Yin Yoga – designed to calm the nervous system through focusing on postures – and can be booked as part of a stay and spa day, making good use of the steam room, sauna, hot tub and cavernous glass-encased indoor pool.

Experiences from £175; thegrove.co.uk/spa

The urban oasis

If finding serenity without leaving the city is your aim, then Inhabit’s Queen’s Gardens location fits the bill. The pretty Georgian townhouse turned eco hotel has a chic Scandi-inspired scheme and a subterranean spa which is a haven of calm. Start your day at the infra-red sauna and salt room to relax the muscles and mind, and follow with a bespoke massage, guaranteed to de-knot and set you up for a carefree sleep. The jade facial, using aromatic products from natural British beauty brand GAIA, will help destress and depuff, using crystal wands which stimulate lymph drainage and blood flow.

The hotel is a stroll from Lancaster Gate and Paddington, making for a speedy commute if you spend the night in one of its serene rooms — which feature clever touches to help you unplug such as cubbies to hide away your phone. Come morning, finish your visit with a class at the yoga studio or a run in nearby Hyde Park. Be sure to refuel with nourishing plant-centric, dairy-free dishes from cafe, Yeotown.

Spa treatments at Inhale at Inhabit start from £95, and from £120 for a Spa Journey. Room rates start at £170; inhabithotels.com

The hedonistic one

There are few things that a steamy bath won’t cure (the Romans were on to this long before your mother). Why not shake up your tub rituals at home and head to Covent Garden’s AIRE Ancient Baths – the ultimate steamy tonic to dark, dreary winter and a veritable oasis of calm in the hectic thickets of theatreland. Inspired by the ritual and relaxation of ancient Roman bathhouses, AIRE is a cave-like sanctuary in the heart of London, where perfect squares hewn from the stone and their surrounding brick arches glow under candlelight, with the scent of orange blossom hanging in the air.

Those in on the secret hoik themselves out of the thermal waters for massages with aromatic tea oil or glasses of wine (do as the Romans do). It’s a refreshingly hedonistic take on wellness and one that’s bound to lower shoulders several inches.

Experiences from £178; beaire.com

The earthy one

If any hotel in the UK could embody an enlightened, home-grown take on wellness (and generally the good life), it would be Thyme in Gloucester. Enveloping a honey-stone old rectory and gently renovated cottages and barns are a series of exquisite gardens – their walled garden bounty feeds the radically seasonal menus as well as the oils and herbed stocked in the Meadow Spa. The quintessentially English gardens seem to shapeshift with the seasons, with the heated springwater pool surrounded by untamed rushes of lavender.

In place of a clinical medi-spa aesthetic is a soothing, earthy style, with sage-green wood panelling, light-filled rooms and botanically-inclined prints and shades that pull the outdoors in. Here, weary souls can check in for one-day spa experiences which all include a garden-to-table lunch in the Orchid House and access to Thyme’s interiors magazine-worthy pool. These include The Botanical Bothy Day (breathwork, switching off stress responses, a signature ritual with a herbal soak); The Bertioli Day Experience (breathwork and massage and a mineral foot soak using Bertioli Water Meadow essential oils); The Aurelia Day Experience (bespoke massage and facials using probiotic skincare).

From £245; thyme.co.uk

The ‘treat yourself’ one

Unequivocally one of London’s most immaculate spas, Akasha Spa at Café Royal is a subterranean sanctuary of peace a few metres beneath Piccadilly Circus’ chaotic mashup of buses, cabs, lights and tourists. Time hits differently in its cavernous, smooth-stone spaces, where robed guests drift from pool lounger to therapy room via dancing ripple reflections, fruit-infused water and dried apricots.

The hotel’s Sweet Treats offer is up there with the best self-care presents, featuring a 90-minute Aromatherapy Associates massage or facial (it’s worth stretching the budget a U Beauty Precision Glow facial or Signature Sculpt treatment) before enjoying a pampering hammam, sauna, jacuzzi and 18m lap pool assault course. Having sweated out the festive excess and woken up stiff leg muscles in the enormous pool, draw out the showering process with all the delicious smelling lotions and potions in the spa dressing room, before scooting upstairs for a Champagne afternoon tea.

From £285; hotelcaferoyal.com

The nature-first one

If you’re looking for the age-old sofas, gilded walls and tapestry-draped drawing rooms, you’ve come to the wrong place. Heckfield Place is a gently modern expression of country living: contemporary art and progressive wellbeing philosophies. It’s all about thrusting a bygone opulence into the 21st century, without losing any of that glowy warmth or good biscuits. The Bothy (spa) also tows this line, with a new hyper-personalised wellbeing journey ‘Bespoke Paths’ launching this January. These vary in length, from a day-long reboot to a full week of wellness programmes tailored to each weary, burnt out soul. Leveraging the healing power of the great outdoors (and their show-stopping spa), the Bothy’s Bespoke Paths runs the gamut from myofascial release to wild swimming and boosting a ‘greater sense of self.’ The Bothy recommends a 5-night minimum stay, though if a one-day refresh is all the diary has time for, booking require a one-night stay in one of Heckfield Place’s earthy-luxe rooms.

From £550, inclusive of bed and breakfast; heckfieldplace.com

The horsey one

Combine world-class riding facilities with 500 acres of estate parkland to canter, and you have yourself a set of exhilarating, wind-in-your-hair weekend plans. Known as one of the British countryside’s most handsome Georgian piles, Relais & Châteaux’sLucknam Park is an unapologetic traditionalist with a deep affection for dogs, children and horses. Inside it’s all silk drapes, floral wallpaper and mahogany four poster beds, outside, it’s about hoiking yourself up into the saddle and pelting through endless stretches of green countryside, whatever the weather. The remedial power of horses is well-documented, although only now has Lucknam Park’s experienced Equestrian Centre Manager Dawn Cameron launched an Equine Connect experience, allowing guests (including beginners) to tap into horses’ natural instincts and methods of communication.

According to Dawn, understanding how horses learn through pressure and release helps guests connect and communicate through their own body languages, a small but mighty dynamic that can lead to them learning how to conquer and control their own fears. The experience is rounded off with a delightful three-course lunch in the light-filled Brasserie.

From £240 per person; lucknampark.co.uk

The long-overdue one

Davina McCall has helped to draw light on the disgracefully overlooked topic of menopause recently. For those in its grip, the clever team at Relais & Châteaux’s Chewton Glen has curated a restorative day at its Romanesque spa, starting (as all self-respecting spa days should) with a scrumptious balanced breakfast and an anti-inflammatory 90-minute body massage, promising to knead out those emotional knots and boost skin health and digestion. After leaning into the group classes menu in the fitness studio (yoga, pilates and the likes) guests can refuel on a buffet-style lunch of light bites and hearty salads, rich in all the right minerals and vitamins at the Pool Bar. Then it’s time to while away the afternoon (and any unwelcome stress) in the hydrotherapy pool, sauna, steam room, or simply on one of the pool loungers with a good book and no one to bother you.

From £270 per person; chewtonglen.com