The Gainsborough Bath Spa

Character and identity

Set inside a Georgian mansion in central Bath, the Gainsborough is the only hotel in the UK with direct access to the city's naturally heated, mineral-rich thermal springs, and the spa is unquestionably its centre of gravity. Behind the period facade, the 99 rooms feel emphatically contemporary, refurbished in 2015 in duck-egg blue and gold, with towering ceilings and oversized windows that preserve the bones of the original architecture. Dan Moon's fine-dining restaurant works seasonal, locally sourced produce, and the spa itself is unusually restrained: limestone, soft light, a colonnaded bathing pool and a central atrium, with none of the usual scented-candle theatre.

Who's it for

Bottom line

The thermal spa is the reason to come, and specifically the 45-minute aqua massage in the colonnaded bathing pool, which justifies the room rate on its own. Book if you want a spa-led couple's escape with serious cooking attached; choose a larger refurbished room with a freestanding bath, and build the trip around a full day of treatments rather than sightseeing.