Buying Guides
Spa Hotels Nottinghamshire: 25 Experiences in Sherwood Forest
By the Carefree Retreat team
Updated 2026
The spa hotels Nottinghamshire and neighbouring Derbyshire offer are unusually varied for one corner of the country. Within about an hour of Nottingham you can book a purpose-built forest spa with a sauna in the treetops, an adults-only Victorian mansion with a 20 metre outdoor hydrotherapy pool, a Grade II manor house with a Himalayan salt sauna looking into the gardens, and a small Peak District hotel spa in a valley below Mam Tor.
They suit very different days out, and the differences that matter are not the ones the brochures lead with. Here is what each one actually is, and who each one is for.
Aqua Sana Sherwood Forest: the big thermal circuit
Aqua Sana at Center Parcs Sherwood Forest, near Rufford, is the largest thermal spa in the county and the one most people mean by “Sherwood Forest spa”. Aqua Sana’s own description of the site is 25 nature-inspired spa experiences, including a Treetop Sauna with views over the forest canopy and an open-air courtyard pool, plus the Vitalé Café Bar and a treatment list. The site carries a five bubble rating.
The point of a spa like this is the circuit rather than the treatment. You spend three or four hours moving between saunas, steam rooms, an ice cave, foot spas and relaxation rooms, and any treatment you book is an interval in that, not the main event. If you want a lot of different rooms to try, nothing else in Nottinghamshire comes close.
Two practical points. First, you do not need to be staying at Center Parcs: Forest Spa Days are sold to day visitors and include access to all the experiences. Second, it is busy, and it is a village site, so allow time for parking and the walk in. We have written about the wider Aqua Sana network in our Center Parcs Aqua Sana guide.
Best for: groups, first-time spa-goers, anyone who wants variety over quiet.
Eden Hall Day Spa, Elston: the adults-only one
Eden Hall sits in the village of Elston just off the A46 near Newark, in a Victorian gothic mansion dating from 1875 with around 15 acres of gardens. It is a day spa rather than a hotel, which changes the character of the place entirely: there is no reception full of people checking in, no golf society at lunch, no children.
The Spa Garden holds an outdoor hydrotherapy pool of about 20 metres, kept at roughly 39°C, with massage jets and water features, plus an outdoor sauna. Indoors there is a vitality saltwater pool, a thermal suite and a slumber lounge, with dining at The Vinery and Taste of Eden. Standard opening is 9am to 6pm seven days a week, extended to 10pm on Twilight Spa evenings.
Because it is adults-only, it is the quietest of the options here, and the heated outdoor pool makes it the one that works best in cold weather, which is not true of most outdoor spa features. We have a full write-up in our Eden Hall Day Spa review, and if the evening slot appeals, see twilight spa packages.
Best for: couples, mothers and daughters, anyone who wants calm rather than a party.
Ye Olde Bell, Barnby Moor: the unusual treatment list
Ye Olde Bell sits just off the A1 near Retford, on the border of three counties, and its spa has the most distinctive facility list in the region. The hotel states it was the first spa in the UK to offer the HaloIR breathe and detox treatment and is one of only three spas in the country with a Stonebath steam room.
The thermal journey includes a laconium, a salt inhalation room, a vitality pool, a Snowstorm cold experience and a Sabbia Med relaxation room, with Rasul mud treatments available as a shared experience for couples or friends. That combination of a warm laconium, a cold snowstorm and a salt room is closer to a proper Continental thermal circuit than most British hotel spas manage.
It also runs a designated family spa alongside the adult one, which is worth knowing if the party splits on that question.
Best for: people who have done a lot of spa days and want something they have not tried.
Muthu Clumber Park, near Worksop: the practical choice
The New Leaf Spa at Muthu Clumber Park Hotel & Spa sits in countryside minutes from Sherwood Forest and Clumber Park itself. Facilities are more conventional: an indoor heated pool with whirlpool, a poolside wooden sauna, a eucalyptus steam room, an outdoor hot tub, a gym and six treatment rooms using Elemis products.
It is not trying to be a destination thermal spa, and that is the appeal. If what you want is a swim, a sauna, a proper massage and lunch, without the scale or the price of a Center Parcs day, this does the job, and the location makes it easy to pair with a walk in Clumber Park in the afternoon.
Best for: a straightforward half day, and for combining with a National Trust walk.
Over the border into Derbyshire
Nottinghamshire’s spa map does not stop at the county line, and two Derbyshire options are close enough to be part of the same decision.
Ringwood Hall, Chesterfield. A Grade II listed manor house in six acres of gardens, and the Garden Secret Spa is more interesting than the hotel’s low profile suggests. Its list runs to a Blossom steam room, a herbal sauna and a Himalayan salt sauna with woodland views into the gardens, a vitality pool, experience showers and an ice fountain, a Daydream sleep lounge and a Treehouse light relaxation lounge, plus an outdoor hot tub, a plunge pool, a bucket drop and snuggle huts, with the Glasshouse Brasserie for food. For the money, it is the strongest facility list in this guide after Aqua Sana.
Losehill House, Hope Valley. A small country house hotel below Mam Tor with an indoor pool, sauna and an outdoor hot tub looking straight out at the hillside, and treatments using Thalgo products. It is the most scenic option by a distance and the smallest, so book well ahead. One thing to check before you book, because the hotel says it plainly and most listings do not: the spa facilities are reached by a flight of stairs. Treatments are not available to anyone under 16, and the sauna and hot tub are not advised for under-16s.
Best for: Ringwood Hall if you want facilities; Losehill if you want the view and a hotel that feels like a house.
How to choose between them
- You want the most rooms to try: Aqua Sana Sherwood Forest, 25 experiences.
- You want no children anywhere: Eden Hall, which is adults-only.
- You are going in January and want to be outside: Eden Hall’s heated outdoor hydrotherapy pool, or Ringwood Hall’s outdoor hot tub and plunge pool.
- You want something you have not done before: Ye Olde Bell, for the Stonebath steam room and HaloIR.
- You want a view: Losehill House, with the caveat about the stairs.
- You want a swim, a sauna and lunch without a production: Clumber Park.
A few things worth doing whichever you pick. Book treatments at the start or the end of your slot rather than the middle, so you get an unbroken run at the thermal rooms. Ask what is included: at some venues robe, towel and slippers come with the package and at others they do not. And check the minimum age if you are bringing a teenager, because it varies from venue to venue rather than following a national standard. Our guides to what to wear for a spa day and spa days with afternoon tea cover the rest of the practicalities.
If you are looking slightly further afield, we have neighbouring guides for Lincolnshire, Staffordshire and Shropshire, Yorkshire and the West Midlands, and Hoar Cross Hall in Staffordshire, covered in our Hoar Cross Hall guide, is within reach of most of the county.
Frequently asked questions
Can you visit Aqua Sana Sherwood Forest without staying at Center Parcs? Yes. Forest Spa Days are sold to day visitors and include access to all the spa experiences. You do not need to be booked into a lodge.
Which spa in Nottinghamshire is adults-only? Eden Hall Day Spa at Elston, near Newark. It is a day spa rather than a hotel and does not admit children, which makes it the quietest option in the county.
Is there a spa in the Peak District itself? Losehill House Hotel & Spa at Hope Valley is the closest thing to one, with an indoor pool, sauna and an outdoor hot tub facing the hillside. Note that its spa facilities are reached by a flight of stairs, so check accessibility before booking.
Which Nottinghamshire spa is best in winter? Eden Hall, because its outdoor hydrotherapy pool is heated to around 39°C and is designed to be used in cold weather. Ringwood Hall in Derbyshire also has an outdoor hot tub and plunge pool.
What is a Stonebath steam room? It is a steam-based thermal room using warmth and humidity, and Ye Olde Bell near Retford says it is one of only three spas in the country to have one. The same spa also claims the UK’s first HaloIR breathe and detox treatment.
How long should I allow for a spa day here? Four to six hours at a large thermal spa such as Aqua Sana or Eden Hall, and three to four at a hotel spa such as Clumber Park or Losehill House. Add travel time for the Center Parcs site, where parking and the walk to the spa take longer than people expect.
Sources
Found a place we’ve missed? Tell us about it.
Back to top
