The growing popularity of destinations that offer golf facilities and a spa has been one of the more noticeable trends in the golf hospitality industry of late, with more and more groups and couples booking venues that offer both activities on the same site.
And while it is not clear how many golfers are spending time in the sauna post-round or booking up hot stone massages, or whether spa lovers are hitting the links after a full pedicure, bookings at resorts that boast a golf course or two and also offer a full spa service are proving a big hit with those looking for mid-week and weekend getaways in the UK.
Spabreaks.com, which, as its names suggests, offers tailormade spa breaks at over 700 destinations in the UK, is reporting a growing percentage of its customers are choosing to book breaks at venues that also offer golf.
The company, which handles over 12,000 bookings each week, says that almost 8% of all its bookings are for venues that have golf and spa facilities. Leading the way as the most popular golf & spa break venues is Whittlebury Park in Northamptonshire, which accounted for just over 17% of all bookings in 2022 among Spabreaks.com’s top 10 UK destinations. This amounted to 1,300 bookings – almost 1 in 5 – from a total of 6,800 across the ten venues.
Whittlebury Park boasts 36 holes of golf, designed in four loops of nine holes, while its spa includes heat and ice experiences complete with an aromatherapy crystal steam, caldarium, foot spas, a hydrotherapy pool, ice cave, roman salt steam, sanarium, tepidarium and 23 treatment rooms.
Second in the Spabreaks.com’s list was multiple Ryder Cup host venue The Belfry, with the iconic Midlands resort capturing 11% of the market share among the top 10 venues, with 812 bookings, closely followed by Mottram Hall (10%), East Sussex National (10%), and Bicester Hotel Golf & Spa (9%).
Macdonald Hotels bagged the next three spots in the top-10 bookings list, with Hill Valley (8%), Linden Hall (7%) and Portal (7%) all taking a similar slice of the golf and spa break market among SpaBreaks.com’s customer base. Rounding out the top 10 was Ardencote in Warwick (6%) and Shrigley Hall in Cheshire (4%).
Abi Selby, founder of Spabreaks.com, said: “Golf and spa hotels offer the ideal destination for those looking for an escape away from their day-to-day reality for a well-earned break. It offers the chance to be physically active, while at the same time as being in a place of sanctuary for both your mind and body.
“We all know how important it is to look after our bodies and protect our mental health. Of course, golf is a physical activity, but research shows the benefits it can have on improving mental health too by being outdoors, social and active. Likewise, spas help to decrease stress and anxiety.”