The Thermae Bath Spa ★★

The thermal rooftop pool (Photo courtesy of Visit Britain)
The thermal rooftop pool
The thermal rooftop pool, The Bath Spa, Bath (Photo courtesy of Visit Britain)
The Minerva Bath, The Bath Spa, Bath (Photo by Jesse Loughborough)

Take the waters at the modern Bath spa

In 2006, Bath resurrected its 2,000-year-old spa traditions by opening a new spa complex, a glazz-and-Bath-stone cube complete with an open-air rooftop pool with views over neary Bath Abbey and the city (nice and steamy in cooler weather).

There's also the sinuous indoor Minerva Baths, natural thermal waters with a whirpool and lazy river; all the usual spa treatments (massages, aromatherapy, watsu, hot stones, facials, etc.); and a restaurant for light meals.

The new chapel-like Wellness Suite includes both a Roman-style and a Georgian-style steam room, an infrared sauna, an ice chamber, and a Celestial Relaxation Room that's a bit like a small planetarium with New Age music and heated recliners (even this claims Bath heritage, inspired by Bath-based astonromer William Herschel, who discovered Uranus).

The Cross Bath

All of that is in the main New Royal Bath building. There is also a small, Georgian-era historic pool called The Cross Bath, with its own facilities, charging £18 (£20 weekends) per perosn for a 90-minute session—it's mainly, though, booked by small groups for private sessions.