The Gainsborough Bath Spa review: As refined and elegant as the town itself

With its Roman-built baths constructed around natural hot springs in the 1st century AD, the English town of Bath Spa (population: a dainty 94,092) can feel less like a city and more like a single, monumental sculpture; its elegant façades flowing seamlessly from one Georgian curve to the next.

Local businesses are all suitably elevated (the understated charm of The Little Theatre Cinema, for example, makes this our favourite Picturehouse in the land!), and nowhere is this more apparent than five star spa hotel The Gainsborough Bath Spa, a glossy behemoth enviably located slap bang in the middle of town, housed within a grand, Grade II Listed building that was once a hospital dating back to the 1800s.

As the UK’s only hotel with direct access to those storied thermal waters – via Spa Village Bath, seamlessly connected but slightly offset from (and beneath) the main building, more on this later – the Gainsborough clearly boasts quite the USP. It doesn’t rest on its laurels, however, and its greatest strength is probably its refined, flawless aesthetic in keeping with the five stars of major cities.

Think golden low lighting in plush, chic spaces like The Canvas Room and Clayton’s Bar; think an abundance of marble; think wide, airy spatial elements of Georgian and Victorian grandeur, such as the gigantic central staircase – once fitted with a pulley system to lift Bath United Hospital patients or equipment between floors – and now an internal light well, and the hotel’s most significant architectural remnant from that era.

Attitude’s room, with its high ceiling, generous bed and gleaming bathroom stocked generously with sumptuous toiletries by super, super high end brand Elemis, was a dream. Dinner at The Gainsborough Brasserie was even dreamier: offering luxury Mediterranean and modern French-inspired cuisine at reasonable prices, chef/patron Robert Clayton creates ‘uncomplicated dishes that explore and showcase the freshest and very best ingredients with a grill concept’ as per the Brasserie’s official website.

Attitude went shellfish cray-cray with expertly battered and impossibly fresh ‘Dancing Prawns’ to start followed by an exquisitely presented, cooked to perfection ‘Miso Lobster Linguini’ for our main. Staff here and at reception were polite and friendly, and even surprised Attitude’s guest with a small bag of spa products, as she wasn’t booked in for a treatment. A nice touch!

Highlights at the hotel for 2025 include Jane Austen tours taking place to mark the renowned Pride and Prejudice author’s 250th anniversary, plus the History & Heritage Afternoon Tea offering. Top tourist attractions within walking distance include the magnificent Bath Abbey and the Royal Victoria Park Bath gardens. And don’t miss Mandalyns the city’s longstanding and charmingly tiny queer bar: it was dead the Friday night of Attitude’s visit until, at 11pm, it suddenly burst into life and was packed.

Spa Village Bath review

The hot-blooded palms of a celestial being glide across my body, instilling a sense of tranquillity into my stultified muscles so profound it’s otherworldly. This may sound like I’m hallucinating about alien abduction — and I’m indeed half-asleep — but this fantastical experience is actually very much of the earthly realm. The ‘hands’ in question are in fact the smooth, oil-coated surfaces of large basalt and rose quartz stones, heated to 50 degrees and kneaded onto my body by a spa therapist of awe-inspiring strength.

As I lie on my front, she slips the still-warm stones into my open palms, and I find myself, quite involuntarily, clinging onto them for dear life. A few years ago, after nursing my grandmother through extreme pain and palliative care, I made a promise to myself to fully engage with and memorise all experiences of out-of-the- ordinary physical pleasure. And while nothing compares to the human touch, these gloriously hot rocks really are up there with the most monumental textures I’ve ever felt.

Over the past hour, my body has been primed for this sensation. First, via the restorative absorption of sulphate, calcium and magnesium from Bath’s natural thermal waters — Spa Village Bath is housed within Gainsborough Bath Spa, the only hotel in the UK with direct access to these waters — and then, with a full-body exfoliation using Omorovicza Gold Sugar Scrub, which contains colloidal gold and a patented healing concentrate. I have to laugh when my spa therapist introduces the treatment and looks visibly moved after reminding herself of the product’s scent — a dense, luxurious chorus of florals. It is indeed heavenly.

Rounding off the treatment is a full-body hand massage: I ask for it to be as firm as possible, and it is indeed extremely intense, albeit administered steadily and gently. It is thus totally pain-free. The therapist later tells me I have one of the highest pain thresholds she’s come across (not when I have toothache…) and warns me to think twice about such requests in future, unless absolutely confident in my masseur’s judgement. This solid, unexpected advice is gratefully received, and the exchange stands in stark contrast to the tedious small talk that typifies spa culture.

From the gorgeous mosaic in the steam room to the thick hot chocolate I’m offered by a warm, personable receptionist on arrival, this place really is sensational. If I were pushed to find something to criticise, I’d say the light classical music in the Bathing Hall was a bit too loud to be conducive to relaxation, and the glass roof of the atrium creates an atmosphere that’s a touch humid and stuffy. But it’s still a visually stunning space filled with natural light.

I leave the spa without showering, the residual gold particles leaving a subtle shimmer on
my skin — quite the fabulous finish. As I take a walk around Bath’s picturesque town centre, I remember that my grandmother always loved massages. This one’s for her.

For more information, visit TheGainsboroughBathSpa.co.uk.