The Newt in Somerset

Welcome to the third iteration of Vogue’s global spa guide, a collection of the 100 best spas in the world, compiled based on first person reviews and careful editing. This year, we’ve renewed our focus on places that have established a reputation for exceptional care of body and mind. Whatever you are seeking when it comes to wellness, there is something here for you.

Why go here?

The Newt in Somerset is nestled between the market towns of Bruton and Castle Cary in the English countryside, about a two-and-a-half-hour drive from London’s Paddington Station. But from the first moment you pull into the station—which has been gently refreshed by the hotel to feature vintage signs, along with a charming farm shop and a café serving iced matcha lattes—you’ve stepped into another world entirely.

Pulling into the estate less than ten minutes later, and breezing up a driveway flanked by hornbeam trees, the fun begins. You’ll be whisked by electric golf buggy (a fleet of which are yours to use during your stay, so you can explore the 800ish-acre estate at your own pace) past fields where flocks of Dorset Down sheep lazily chew the cud, to one of its 43 rooms and suites; these are spread across the elegant Grade II-listed farmhouse at the heart of the property as well as the quirky Farmyard area, where the rooms have been converted from former granaries and stables, and you’ll find a separate pool, games room, and restaurant. (The food here is superb, with the majority of what you eat coming from the estate; there’s even a standalone gelateria if you fancy treating yourself after a long walk through the neighboring deer park.)

Everywhere you turn, the views are almost absurdly bucolic: The property is surrounded by expansive, fairytale-worthy formal gardens designed by Italian-French architect and landscape designer Patrice Taravella. They include a parabola lined with apple trees and plotted in a Baroque-style maze, as well as an ample kitchen garden, brimming with over 350 varieties of fruits, vegetables, and herbs used in all of The Newt’s farm-to-fork offerings and spa treatments. It’s the stuff that English countryside dreams are made of.

What’s the vibe?

I stayed in one of the stableyard rooms surrounding Hadspen House, a restored 17th-century limestone manor that was updated in the Georgian era. (And then given a delightful refresh by The Newt’s co-owner, the former Elle Decoration South Africa editor-in-chief Karen Roos, before the hotel opened its doors in 2019.) Inside the house, you’ll find an array of thoughtfully designed spaces: a cozy living room with a wood-burning fireplace, vibrant velvet seating, and portraits of the Hobhouse family, who lived at Hadspen for over two centuries. Oh, and the delightful Botanical Rooms restaurant, where you can sample “estate-to-plate” dishes like British White beef reared a few fields over and venison from the deer park in a conservatory-style room filled with orange trees.

The location of my room also meant I was within spitting distance of the spa, which was precisely where I wanted to be. Here, the thermal circuit has been cleverly designed as a modern riff on the classic Roman bathhouse (there’s also an ancient Roman villa on the estate), with a floor-to-ceiling windowed sauna looking out over fern trees, a steam room, and an indoor-outdoor pool. (Plus, there’s an all-important outdoor cold plunge pool for those brave enough, which I certainly was.) It offers an array of farm-to-treatment-table experiences, all of which harness ingredients from the property’s medieval herb garden: rosemary, lavender, sage. It’s a treat for all the senses.

The history?

For centuries, the land surrounding The Newt was used for farming. The spa is partially located in (as well as behind and under) what was once a byre, or cowshed. Behind it, a barn was used to house the cows during the winter, and certain structural features were designed to accommodate them: Circular pillars, for instance, prevented the cows from dislodging bricks when rubbing up against them. (Converting these historic grounds—including the spa—was a six-year process.)

What should you try?

Some treatments, like the Garden Signature Massage, begin with a barefoot, sense-igniting meander through the gardens, where guests can harvest their own herbs (which are later put to use in teas or infused steam treatments). Other standouts include the transportive Turkish-style hammam treatments, where the body is gently polished inside a private marble-lined steam chamber with a mesmerizing blue mosaic ceiling. It was the latter I opted for on a recent spring visit: It began with a gentle steam to open the pores, before I was lathered with black soap from head to toe, vigorously scrubbed with a kessa mit, then slathered in a milk and honey body mask (the latter produced on the estate, naturally) and treated to a gentle massage that had me feeling as polished and serene as the marble slab I was lying on.

“Finding ourselves in an increasingly fast-paced world, we like to think of The Newt as a refuge from the hustle and bustle of daily life—a place to reconnect with nature and yourself and reap the rewards of slowing down,” says Antonella Bonetti, head of experience at The Newt, listing cold dips, woodland walks, and bee safaris as some of the many ways guests can reconnect with nature on the property. After a day bopping around the spa, I can concur: I found myself strolling to dinner a little more slowly than usual, taking the time to—quite literally—stop and smell the flowers.

How environmentally friendly is it?

From hires to suppliers, The Newt endeavors to keep things as local as possible. As they put it, they are counting the number of steps that the food travels, rather than the miles. This is the kind of place where environmentalism is baked into the operational architecture, and no detail is overlooked. The food is hyper-seasonal, with around 80% of it coming directly from the estate; there are no single-use plastics used anywhere on property; and they even have a sustainable timber management program for their fireplaces and wood-fired ovens. Most places aren’t likely to devote much thought to apple pulp waste from a cider press—here, it becomes a yeast starter for sourdough.

Who can go?

Hotel guests and members of The Newt have access to the spa facilities.

Additional reporting by Lauren Valenti.

Booking details for The Newt

Address: A359, Hadspen, Castle Cary BA7 7NG, United Kingdom

Read more from Vogue’s Global Spa Guide.

This spa has been re-evaluated in 2026 with additional reporting.