The Spa at South Lodge

The one thing

South Lodge built its swimming into the landscape itself, with an eighteen metre reed filtered wild swimming pond sitting alongside the more conventional indoor and outdoor pools, so a guest can choose between a heated lap swim and something closer to swimming in the South Downs themselves, without leaving the grounds.

The verdict

South Lodge sits in the South Downs outside Horsham, part of the Exclusive Collection, and its spa is a purpose built, 44,000 square foot standalone building rather than an add on to the hotel, sunk into the contours of the land under a grass and sedum roof and clad in green oak so it reads as part of the landscape rather than a block dropped onto it. Fourteen treatment rooms, each named for something growing on the estate, run off a thermal circuit built around a chamomile infused sauna, a jasmine scented herbal steam room and a marble lined menthol and salt steam room, each large enough to sit ten or twelve people rather than a token two.

Omorovicza is the headline product house, and South Lodge is one of the only spas outside London to carry it, with the 80 minute Botanical Treatment built specifically for this spa alone, drawing on sage, chamomile, calendula, edelweiss and jojoba grown with the property's own botanical history in mind. It sits alongside Pelegrims, Comfort Zone, Jessica and Mii, so the menu runs wider than any one house's signature style. Botanica, the spa's own restaurant, keeps the Mediterranean, dairy free and zero waste promise running right through to the food, which is not a small thing for a spa restaurant to commit to.

The accolades here are genuine and current rather than resting on an old win. South Lodge has taken Good Spa Guide's Best Spa in the South East three years running, in 2023, 2024 and 2025, and The Pass, the hotel's own restaurant, has held a Michelin star every year since 2023, most recently confirmed again in the current guide. Exclusive Collection itself is a certified B Corp, one of the first hotel groups in the country to earn it, which sits behind the group's approach to the estate as much as to the spa.

The water

The eighteen metre wild swimming pond is reed filtered and heated rather than a plain outdoor pool, and it runs alongside a twenty two metre indoor infinity pool treated with ozone and a smaller outdoor vitality pool built for hydrotherapy jets rather than lengths. The thermal suite adds a chamomile sauna, a jasmine steam room and a marble menthol and salt steam room, plus a rasul mud suite and an icy bucket shower for anyone moving properly through hot and cold rather than picking one and stopping.

Treatments

Fourteen nature themed treatment rooms, including one dual suite for couples, run a menu built around Omorovicza, the Hungarian thermal mineral house South Lodge is one of the only UK spas outside London to carry, with the exclusive 80 minute Botanical Treatment as its centrepiece. Pelegrims, made in partnership with South Lodge itself, Comfort Zone, Jessica and Mii round out the rest of the menu, covering everything from results driven facials to nail care, so the choice runs from something entirely exclusive to this spa through to familiar, dependable names.

Getting in

Spa days are sold directly to the public rather than kept for hotel guests only, with a range running from a shorter Lazy Life day through to fuller days built around Omorovicza treatments or wild swimming specifically, and a spa membership sits alongside the day guest offer for anyone wanting to visit more often. Several of the shorter packages run Monday to Friday only, so weekend availability sits on a different, fuller package instead.

What to know before you fall in love

Some of the entry level spa days are weekday only, excluding bank holidays, so anyone set on a weekend visit should expect to book a different package rather than the shortest one advertised. The Pass has been through a period of refurbishment, so it is worth checking it is open before building a visit around dinner there specifically. This is a spa built for a full day out rather than a quick drop in, and the fourteen treatment rooms and full thermal suite reward the time rather than a rushed hour.

Best for

For genuinely rare access to Omorovicza outside London, for a thermal suite and wild swimming pond built into the South Downs landscape rather than bolted onto a hotel, and for a spa restaurant, Botanica, that takes its Mediterranean, dairy free and zero waste brief as seriously as the treatment menu.