The Best London Spas On A Budget
January is a month where our thoughts often turn to self-improvement and self-care but, after the inevitable overspending of Christmas, our financial health is also a consideration!
To help you find a balance between beauty and budget we’ve pulled together a list of London’s most affordable spas.
Read on to discover where you can relax and indulge, away from the hustle and bustle of city life, without breaking the bank.
Champneys City Spa Enfield
Escape from the hustle and bustle of the high street to Champney’s City Spa in Enflield where expert therapists will have you de-stressed and back to your best in no time. Whether you have half an hour in your lunch break, or want something more indulgent to span a few hours, or even a whole day, there’s plenty of treatments to choose from. We particularly love the Grown Alchemist Facial which currently has £10 off and comes with a free gift of Lip Balm, Hand Cream 20ml + Hydra-Repair Day Cream 12m.
Imagine Health and Spa at the Holiday Inn, Kensington
Escape the pressures of your schedule and step into your very own moment of tranquility, at the Holiday Inn Kensington’s Imagine Spa. Facilities include 18 metre Indoor heated swimming pool a fully equipped gymnasium, sauna, steam room, hot tub, treatment rooms and a nail bar. You can relax and enjoy beautiful surroundings while choosing from a range of treatments at reasonable prices.
The May Fair Spa, at the Mayfair Hotel.
The May Fair Spa London turns valuable time into valuable results through a meticulously tailored experience re-emphasising wellbeing and health. Spa treatments are carefully structured to put time on hold, creating a discreet, healing inner sanctuary, far from the whirl of central London. Facilities include an aromatic steam room, herbal sauna, experience showers, ice fountain and candlelit relaxation room with heated beds. We particular love the Ultrasonic Peeling Therapy for £45
K West Hotel & Spa
We all need to get away from it all sometimes, and at the gorgeous K West Hotel you can escape in style. Located in West London, this is a sophisticated retreat that shuts out the hustle and bustle of the city as soon as you walk through the door. We love the snow room which is filled with natural snow and chilled to a cool –15°C. You’ll also find a Hydrotherapy pool, a sanarium, a sauna and an aromatic herbal steam room. To mimic the Finnish tradition of ‘hot-cold therapy’, experts recommend alternating between the sauna and the snow room. Entrance to the spa at K West—which includes access to the Snow Room—costs £50 for the day, or £65 with a one-course lunch.
Masaj
Set within The Gossamer City Project container community near Cambridge Heath, Masaj is a well-curated, urban spa space with potted plants, a palm-strewn inner courtyard and bottles containing green-beauty brands. The simple massage menu features five signature treatments that combine Thai, Ayurvedic, strength and sports techniques. You can even choose an essential-oil blend to suit your mood. We love the relaxing mix of lavender, mandarin and vetiver designed to send you into blissful slumber the moment your head hits the massage bed. Prices range from £50 to £160.
Ilapothecary
Located on Kensington Church Street, Ilapothecary is an old-world apothecary filled with lotions, potions and herbal concoctions. Treatments are targeted at combating city stressors such as digital pollution and fatigue and are individually tailored - thanks to an in-depth, 50-point questionnaire that examines your emotional, spiritual and physical imbalances. We love the Digital Detox Facial Therapy designed to alleviate tech-neck and brighten screen-fatigued eyes costing between £90 and £160.
Agua Spa at Sea Containers
Hidden in the basement of the Sea Containers hotel on South Bank, this 70s-inspired spa with its curved white walls, and huge bronze raindrop suspended from the ceiling makes quite a statement. Interiors this sleek usually come with a price tag to match, but prices are pretty competitive and facials from London-based Soveral start at less than £100. After your treatment you will invited to relax in the spa lounge with a duvet, hot water bottle, herbal tea and multivitamin sorbet.
Thai Square Spa
Thai Square Spa combines Thai rituals with Scandi bathing traditions, in a relaxing space located in the centre of the city. You can choose between the sauna, steam room and cool jacuzzi to kick-start your circulation before settling in for a traditional deep-tissue massage. We love the Thai Square Herbal Rejuvenator for £150 which includes a Thai Herbal Healer and an Oriental Foot Massage.
The House of ELEMIS
Combining beauty couture with skin science, The House of ELEMIS is aimed at city livers needing to detox. We love the 30-minute Defying Gravity facial that uses lymphatic drainage techniques with a powerful face mask treatment to reverse signs of ageing, and The Big Reveal which uses high-tech light therapy to visibly soften and smooth skin. Their lunch-break-friendly fixes are also great for getting a glow-on-the-go. Treatment prices start at £110.
Cowshed Spa
There are seven Cowshed Spa's in the capital. We love the retro TVs placed in front of the pedicure chairs at the Primrose Hill branch, as well as the oat-milk lattes from the farmhouse kitchen and the CBD-infused massages which uses MariPharm's cannabis oil to elevate tensions, stresses and discomfort. Prices start from £100.
Banya 01
These traditional Russian treatments usually don’t come cheap. Venik (an invigorating thermal treatment using leafy and fragrant bundles of birch, oak and eucalyptus twigs performed in a steam room) will set you back £30. The best value is to book a three-hour package which £95; for that, you can enjoy a honey and salt or coffee scrub, a Parenie, a rejuvenating thermal massage, and a mud mask with a pot of herbal tea to rehydrate.
Spa Experience, Bethnal Green
Until 2007 when Spa London opened in Bethnal Green, there was no such thing as an affordable day spa in in the capital. Facilities here include steam rooms, Turkish hamam and plunge pool. We love the Escape in the City Salt Scrub (a 25-minute cleansing that should remove all trace of London grime), and the spa's signature Gym & Tonic in which your body is cleansed, body brushed and exfoliated, before being treated to an aromatherapy massage and warm marine mask. Prices here start at £45.
Floatworks
For a relaxing session of flotation therapy that’s a lot cheaper than a visit to the Dead Sea and just as calming, book a one-hour slot at Floatworks in Vauxhall. Not technically a spa, instead you’ll be lying face-up in saturated Epsom-salt solution in one of nine floatation tanks. They offer an introductory 3 floats fro £99 which includes complimentary towels and toiletries and a selection of herbal teas to enjoy post float.
New Docklands Steam Club
If your aching muscles are desperate for some TLC but your bank account is dry, head to the New Docklands Steam Club, located next to the River Lea. Entry costs just £22-£25 making this London spa the most budget friendly in our list! It’s only bath house in London a DIY spa and you can stay in the steam room or sauna for as long as you can handle the heat. Plus, there’s a Russian Banya Room, as well as a lounge area and a cafe.
