Travel: where to stay in Bath

published 15 August 2015

The Gainsborough Bath Spa

What's so special?

This spa hotel, named after the painter Thomas Gainsborough, occupies a suite of Georgian buildings that previously served as hospitals, then as part of the University of Bath. It is "nestled in between museums and buildings on a tiny stone street in the oldest part of the city", notes Alyson Krueger for ForbesLife.

How they rate it

The hotel stands on the remains of a Roman spa complex, and its spa taps into the city's famous spring waters the only hotel in Bath to do so. "Amid the sparkling mosaics and brand-new Roman columns there can be few more genuinely historic places to swim," writes Tom Robbins in the Financial Times. You can even book one of three special bedrooms with a bath that can be filled with spa water.

The restaurant operates a "dining without borders" policy, says Simon Horsford in The Daily Telegraph. German chef Johann Lafer sources local ingredients and pairs them with Asian flavours. Expect "a delicious roast rack of Wiltshire lamb with Szechuan pepper crust, celeriac and blood orange". The desserts are "equally exotic" and the wine list's not bad either.

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The cost

Doubles from £285 in August (call 01225 358 888; thegainsboroughbathspa.co.uk).

The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa

What's so special?

This hotel and spa enjoys "the finest location in town", writes Kathleen Beckett in the Huffington Post in fact, it's "one of the finest in the world". The complex is made up of four Georgian townhouses in the centre of the "magnificent" Royal Crescent, overlooking the parkland and the Avon river valley. Not far away are the Jane Austen centre and the Pump Room, "where Jane and her friends would have tea and take the waters".

How they rate it

Staying here "is like a visit to friends with a beautifully appointed country house", notes Beckett. The rooms are "straight out of Country Life magazine, with four-poster beds, marble fireplaces with porcelains pugs on the mantel, and antique writing desks". There's no chance of being disappointed with the view, with rooms looking out "over the lovely garden, or onto the Royal Crescent".

The Dower House restaurant is "pretty stylish", says Joseph Connolly in The Daily Telegraph, "in an understated and pleasingly English sort of a way" but he found the room "muted" and the service suffocating so if you're not a fine dining fan, perhaps explore options elsewhere in the city.

The cost

Doubles from £195.50. Visit royalcrescent.co.uk or call 01225 823 333 for more.

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.

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