Noble retreats

By Ellin Stein

updated 12:36 p.m. ET Sept. 28, 2006

Not far from London, a new breed of sanctuary is taking shape at country house estates, where, as Ellin Stein reports, hip decor and aristocratic service are giving spas a bit of English.

Each spring, as winter’s leaden cloud cover gives way to blue sky, England’s famously verdant countryside stirs back to life. Delicate blossoms appear overnight on once-bare branches while drifts of bluebells and daffodils emerge in meadows and woods.

It’s also when my own thoughts turn to renewal and restoration, especially in terms of sloughing off dry winter skin and loosening muscles stiff from months of damp weather. To hasten the process, I went to visit a trio of country house hotels all located within a few hours of central London and all part of a growing breed of period mansions turned stylish sanctuaries complete with full spas.

As soon as I walked into the reception hall of Babington House, an 18th-century mansion with dark-stained floors and mahogany staircases, I knew everything was going to be done right. Like the house itself, the decor reflects the classic Georgian taste for elegant simplicity. More importantly, the welcome was friendly yet professional, with a cold drink pressed into my hand as my bags and car were whisked away. Immediately, I felt as though I were staying with thoughtful friends prepared to provide such country house essentials as an abundance of newspapers, friendly dogs and a staff alert to an empty glass.

My spirits lifted still further when I was led up to Room 6, tucked away under the eaves, and saw a big double bed and French windows with a spectacular view of the grounds and lake beyond. Even better, the windows open onto a private roof deck with its own tub and lounge chairs. All of Babington’s 28 rooms are different: While mine was furnished in a soothing palette of taupe and brown with crisp white linens, others were decorated in a sensual mixture of deep reds and plums.

And then there’s the Cowshed spa. (It should be noted that beyond the name’s bovine implications, British humor would allow that difficult females, also known as “cows,” might be transformed by a visit to the spa.) A yurt and eight cozy, tree-shaded cabins down by the lake define the spa, whose menu lists amusingly named treatments like Complete Cow (a scrub/facial/massage combination) in playful contrast to the sophisticated luxury of the environment. I opted for the Rawhide, in which a salt exfoliation is followed by a rubdown with the spa’s contour cream, a blend that incorporates essential oils and crushed flowers from the garden, restoring skin to a silkiness ready to expose on the first warm days of spring.

The spa’s standout treatment, the Marhalika Massage, was developed by Cowshed therapist Victor Quemuel over the course of 20 years of travel and practice in Southeast Asia. The therapy is a fusion of various styles, combining the stretching of Thai massage and long strokes of Hawaiian lomilomi with shiatsu pressure point work and Reiki energy-balancing techniques. After a few minutes under Quemuel’s hands, you can tell he’s an artist in his field. (Indeed, he is the former artistic director of the spa at Chiva-Som — the well-regarded health-and-wellness retreat in Thailand — brought to Babington on the personal recommendation of actress Elizabeth Hurley.)

But the weather was far too beautiful to linger indoors, even with the superb spa beckoning. The estate’s rolling lawn was dotted with families sharing a meal, creative huddles discussing projects and readers stretching out on chaises in the shade of towering oaks. Unlike some spas in which a lone traveler can feel solitary, I immediately felt part of a community. There’s no pressure to join a group, but the omnipresent sense of conviviality is fostered by weekend soccer and cricket matches, evening salsa classes and first-run movies — some so first-run they’re not even in theaters yet — in the screening room.

Babington, I discovered, leans more toward the fun and sociability of a country-house party than the introspection and silence of a spiritual retreat. And despite being cocooned in the countryside, you’re still connected to the rest of the world thanks to plasma-screen televisions in the bar and Wi-Fi throughout.

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