Ringwood Hall Hotel & Spa Review – SpaSeekers

We’ve always booked via SpaSeekers since finding an amazing deal online a few years ago that I couldn’t believe was quite true. Since then we’ve been on numerous spa trips and always consulted SpaSeekers first. It’s the place I always recommend people to look at and I wouldn’t go elsewhere. I am so happy to have been able to work with SpaSeekers in reviewing a new spa, Ringwood Hall Hotel & Spa, which has been updated within the last year! They’ve also given me a discount code for all of you to use, I don’t get anything from you using the code, and I’ll probably be using it myself too!

First Impression of Ringwood Hall

Ringwood Hall Hotel & Spa is located in Chesterfield. A short drive away from our home in Sheffield. It’s quite a beautiful drive with lovely countryside views. Upon entering Ringwood Hall you immediately see its stunning grounds and beautiful buildings. There is a courtyard for the spa entrance that has many places to sit and basque in the glorious grounds before entering the spa.

There is a lovely open reception that is very welcoming. An immediate spa smell hits you, and you know you’re in for a relaxing time. The reception has all the beautiful products that you can buy to take a piece of the spa home with you. It all feels very quaint, and pretty, and I would say a boutique cottage feel. The Glass House Brasserie is on the right-hand side and it’s absolutely stunning, this is where the boutique part comes in. It was very luxurious, with high-end design and finish, It really does look like it could be one of those famous cafes in London that everyone uses for Instagram photos. It’s extremely photogenic.

We were given our itineraries for the day on a long card explaining all the spa rooms and a welcome drink which was a smoothie shot. It had mango, strawberries, and other fruit, and it was absolutely delicious. The changing rooms all looked to be accessible anyway with all ground floor access, but we used the accessible changing room, which was next door to the spa entrance. Ringwood Hall Hotel & Spa is fantastic for those who cannot walk too far as everything is very close to each other, and not a lot of walking at all. In our changing area, we were presented with robes, slippers, and a beautiful welcome gift of Lola’s Apothecary Body & Massage Oil. A very luxurious welcome gift!

The Spa

You can first see the spa through the Glass House Brasserie and it looks incredible, but you don’t realise just how beautiful the spa is until you enter. It is the most stunning spa we’ve ever seen, absolutely breathtaking. It’s like something out of a dream. With a dark green pool, jet black mirrored ceiling, a plant feature wall, and stunning views of Ringwood Hall’s grounds all around. Although on the smaller side, there is more than enough room to lounge around even when the spa is quite busy.

The pool is more for lounging than swimming which I really enjoyed. I always feel as if I’m in the way of the swimmers at other spas, but this one was more for the relaxing jets and jacuzzis. There are three different places to sit and let the jets massage away your problems or simply just enjoy the heat of the pool as it soothes any aches and tension. The heat of this pool would also make it great for hydrotherapy and doing any light stretches and movements whilst in there.

There are many different spa ‘cabins’ available, the only one that doesn’t have incredible views is the Blossom Steam Room, this is because it’s in the dark to give you the full relaxing effects. The other cabins, including the Himalayan Salt Sauna, almost make you feel as if you’re outside. We did notice one person sunbathing, whilst using the sauna! Around the spa is a stunning decking with so many different comfy seat options, this opens up in the Summer but if you like the fresh air, you can take a comfy blanket out and snuggle up.

The grounds themselves are completely stunning, I didn’t realise on the day but there are actually several different gardens that you can go and explore at Ringwood Hall, great for those who like a nature walk. It is highly emphasised that you should hydrate during your spa day, and so there is a water station that is extremely pleasant. We tried both the cucumber and lemon water, but we decided that lemon was definitely the most refreshing. This was attended to throughout the day, with multiple cups picked up, which really kept that pristine look to the spa.

Other rooms include the Herbal Sauna, which is pictured above, the Ice Fountain for cooling off and stimulating circulation between treatments, Experience Shower with tropic warm waters or a cooling mist, and finally, Foot Spas! My mum was rather happy about this. There is an upstairs with a Light and Dark relaxation room and treatment rooms but we cannot do the stairs so we didn’t see these.

Afternoon Tea at Ringwood Hall

We were so surprised by just how big the spa menu was! Not only did they have a breakfast menu for if you arrived early and didn’t have a chance to eat beforehand, but they also made homemade pizzas, salads, sandwiches, and so much more. All the food we saw looked absolutely amazing. We opted for the Afternoon Tea option which was really tasty! We enjoyed all the different sandwich options with little tomatoes next to them, and the sweet options were a real treat!

We could not believe that they had a baby vanilla slice, we are obsessed with them and so is my cat, Anya, so we were laughing so much at the thought of her having one for her size. Other sweet treats include delicious scones, egg custard, carrot cake, and fruit cake. We were told that they mostly bake all of this themselves which is really impressive! The afternoon tea also included unlimited drinks, which we didn’t realise but loved this idea that you could just pop back in for a coffee as and when you wanted one. We also loved the touch of clean dry towels folded onto the seats for if you go back to the Glass House Brasserie whilst you’re still a bit damp.

The Treatment

We had the True Elysium treatment which was a very deep back and leg scrub, followed by a back and leg massage, facial, shoulders, chest, and scalp massage. Honestly, I don’t know how they fit it all in, I was so impressed by just how much of my body was thoroughly pampered throughout this 55-minute treatment. It felt like I was in there for hours. The bed was heated to optimal ‘nap nap’ temperature and we both had to fight not to go to sleep. The accessible treatment room is only for one person at a time, so you cannot have double treatments here but with so much do to in the spa it really isn’t a problem at all.

The treatment was absolutely magical, the deep scrub was taken off with hot mittens, and that in itself feels absolutely incredible. Our Spa therapist, Chloe, has actually been there the longest so we talked about how the spa has changed and how beautiful it is now. We got to pick our own oil blend for the massage and mum and I both picked the same without knowing. Whilst Mum was having her treatment, I actually had the entire spa to myself and it was the best experience ever.

Accessibility

I’ve touched on accessibility throughout this post but I wanted to do an actual section on it to say that I had no problems at all and this is extremely rare. We got dropped off when you first entered the driveway as the first building is the Ringwood Hall spa. I double-checked about this by reading reviews and asking someone who had been there before to make sure that we didn’t get dropped off at the main entrance and had to walk back.

The entrance was down a very slight slope and literally a stone’s throw away. The entrance is large and completely flat, I could have easily turned up in my wheelchair and had no problems at all. There was enough room in the Glass House Brasserie for wheelchairs too. The accessible changing room was great, the red cord was completely down to the floor, there was a little table for your belongings, a toilet and a shower. We both got changed in here and there has since been lockers added in here too.

The door to the spa is push-button activated, with plenty of room again to maneuver a chair. There is enough room around the pool and in the spa cabins to get into every single one. There was a step to get into the pool, but we were absolutely fine with it. So if you could transfer down and in that would be an option but as far as I know there is no pool hoist which is a shame as most of the spa is great for accessibility. So I’d probably rate this as a perfect spa for lower mobility as it’s very easy to get around. The steps in the pool are a little high but there are two rails to help you get down safely. There is another floor that isn’t accessible with two relaxation rooms and treatment rooms but we didn’t feel left out at all by this, especially not when the outside area is open.

Fat Positive

Again, this deserves its own paragraph! THE ROBES FIT. Nope, that’s not a joke. The robes actually fit both of us at a size 22 and 24. They fit completely around us, not like the shrugs you get from other spas. I have actually asked many spas, ‘Do you have any bigger robes’ and the response is, ‘They are only one size’. One size does not fit all, it never has, and it never will. It does not cost a lot of money or take much effort at all to be able to provide your plus-size customers with robes that actually fit.

My mum SQUEALED WITH JOY upon this discovery and immediately checked my robe to make sure it was also bigger. We wore our robes with pride, we lounged about WITH our robes on. We have never had this before, and I think you all know by now, we’ve been to a few spas. We actually thought about taking our own robes, because yes, they do exist. We normally have to get dressed to go and eat, as we don’t want to sit there half-naked, whilst everyone else is snug in their robes, but look how snug we look. This is actually a huge deal, and for many of my plus-size followers, we were all extremely happy by this.

Thank you Ringwood Hall Hotel & Spa for acknowledging and looking after your plus-size customers.

We will definitely be going back to Ringwood Hall Hotel & Spa! Thank you for sending us SpaSeekers. Be sure to check my other Spa reviews out.

PS – We’ve since been back twice as paying customers so you could say we like it there!