Sparcstudio unveil £14m spa refurbishment and expansion at Sopwell House Hotel
– Beverley Bayes, Sparcstudio creative director
Spa designers Sparcstudio have completed a £14m ($17.2m, €15.8m) refurbishment of the Cottonmill Spa at Sopwell House Hotel, which has seen a three-storey glass-fronted extension and a private spa garden added to the Georgian property.
The spa boasts bright, spacious rooms, Tom Dixon lighting, bespoke furniture, and a warm palette of natural tones complemented by the turquoise accents of the Onice Smeraldo marble which is used.
At the heart of the spa is the Garden Relaxation Room, which connects guests to both indoors and outdoors through thermal hydro-pools that flow into the new garden. The outdoor area has a firepit, three jacuzzis and a multi-sensory shower. Sparcstudio collaborated with Ann-Marie Powell, a gold-medal-winning RHS Chelsea Flower Show designer, to create the garden.
The Whisper Room acts as another relaxation area for guests with bespoke beds looking over the spa garden. This floor includes three heated marble loungers and a panoramic sauna. There are multiple thermal experiences available to guests, including a salt steam room, a botanical steam room, and two saunas.
Cottonmill also has its own Deep Relaxation Room, a cocoon-like experience based on traditional Chinese medicine. Additional treatment rooms include a Gharieni Quartz and heated treatment bed, an overhead horizontal Vichy shower from Dornbracht, and a double treatment suite.
Dornbracht was chosen to provide multi-sensory showers throughout the spa, including a rain shower that simulates a lightning storm and a luxury shower in the garden, Sensory Sky, which simulates the sensation of showering in the open air.
Other spa facilities include a hair, makeup and nail salon, the Sitting Room for guest relaxation and the spa restaurant, the Pantry.
Debi Green acted as spa consultant to develop the property’s operational details, while Edinburgh-based ISA architects were chosen to assist in the delivery of the building. The refurbishment took 21 months.
Sparcstudio AB Hotels Beverly Bayes ISA architects Elemis Espa iS Clinical Aromatherapy Associates Four Senses Dornbracht Gantner. Technogym