Grantley Hall: Grace, beauty and wellbeing

Covering 972 sqm, the new spa features a spacious reception area, changing rooms, five treatment rooms, a relaxation room, an 18-metre pool, a selection of thermal facilities and an elegant spa lounge overlooking the gardens.

“Our vision is to drive our mid-week market through wellness breaks,” says general manager Andrew McPherson. “Many top companies are now investing in wellbeing to help their executive teams to be healthier and more focused. People know they will have to work for longer so there is a massive interest in investing in their health. It’s much more than the occasional massage or training for a marathon – it’s a way of life.

A restorative approach

Three Graces Spa offers an extensive menu of premium face and body treatments, as well as curated experiences. “Our chosen skincare lines for face and body are very different but complement each other well,” explains spa director Jane McPherson. “Denise Leicester, founder of ila Spa, brought us her ‘beyond organic’ philosophy, which taps into ancient Ayurvedic and Chinese healing. ila’s treatments are also vegan and very respectful. I really connected with this spiritual philosophy and we are now working with Denise on our own bespoke Three Graces product range. Natura Bissé, on the other hand, is a very science-led brand that gives us an advanced skincare approach and our guests love the results.”

“True to its namesake, feminine wisdom, beauty and joy as well as subtle healing energy is at the core of the Three Graces treatment philosophy,” says Denise Leicester. “The Three Graces ritual that we created with Jane is all about immersion and healing. The mind and body are soothed and relaxated with a 432Hz sound bath and the nervous system is nourished through the application of a Himalayan body scrub followed by an envelopment in three muds that are rich in trace elements; one with magnesium to nourish and relax the nervous system; one with manganese and titanium; and one that is deeply cleansing.

“A warm rejuvenating potali massage, rich in orange blossom sourced from two different blossoms from India and Morocco follows, which deeply relaxes mind body and soul.”

The Three Graces menu also offers tanning from Kissed by Mii, holistic body treatments from LaStone, natural nails by Jessica and ZenSpa Pedicures. Further wellbeing options include yoga, reiki, reflexology, Crystal Healing Therapy and Indian head massage.

Time to relax

“All our beautiful treatment rooms are light and airy and equipped with amazing Gharieni beds,” says Jane. “These help our therapists avoid RSI and the light ensures they will not suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder unlike many who work in basement spas. BC Softwear has supplied us with Supreme Soft towels and robes that do not require so much power and water to launder, so that ticks a ‘green’ box for us. For our facials, we also use their white duvets and cotton sheets for that extra level of luxury.”

Three Graces’ Romanesque wet spa area, designed by Barr + Wray and equipped by Cheshire Wellness, features
an 18m indoor swimming pool under a cloistered ceiling with plenty of poolside loungers. There is also an
indoor-to-outdoor vitality hydrotherapy pool, a poolside KLAFS sauna, a steam room and snow room, as well as access to an outdoor terrace with a cedar hot tub and fire pit, which complements the spa lounge terrace. A couple’s rasul is also available for ritual bookings.

Mindful touchpoints

Many thoughtful touchpoints demonstrate the spa’s commitment to wellbeing and sustainability. “Instead of giving our guests plastic cups for water, we have sourced My Copper Cup Wellness Ayurvedic water butts, which are embedded with healing gem stones and placed throughout the spa,” says Jane. “Not only does copper cleanse the water and keep it ‘alive’, it’s so good for people with inflammation and arthritis.

“These beautiful water butts carry gemstones and healing inscriptions that encourage our guests to take a mindfulness ritual when drinking the water.”

Inside ELITE

Located directly opposite Three Graces, Grantley Hall’s extensive ELITE gym and performance centre, is quite extraordinary. Here, an unprecedented level of investment into the latest pioneering equipment, assessment technology and professional training services outshines even the most luxurious five-star hotel gyms.

Tapping into Yorkshire’s lucrative Golden Triangle, between Harrogate, York and North Leeds, ELITE is looking to attract a new wave of companies implementing positive workplace wellbeing programmes that optimise health, mental resilience and leadership skills. “Our ELITE team is trained to the highest level of fitness – they are here to inspire,” explains Andrew McPherson.

Designed to give the hotel a significant edge, ELITE’s talented personal trainers are ready to welcome a new generation of guests looking to make significant gains to their health and fitness. Set over two floors, ELITE features the latest gym equipment from LifeFitness and HammerStrength.

Beyond reception, there are separate gym workout spaces, an area for spinning, yoga and Pilates classes, and a special room designed by Sporting Edge UK that provides an altitude-controlled environment for endurance training. A dedicated hotel suite directly above also offers this function, so those staying for altitude training programmes can benefit from a complete solution.

“ELITE is an acronym of ‘Executive Luxury Innovative Training Excellence,’ explains Andrew. “In a nutshell, that describes exactly what we do, but we’re not just here for elite athletes. It’s the mindset of being elite, it’s how you want to view your wellness and wellbeing. You can be an elite amateur or professional.”

ELITE is split into three zones: the Executive Gym, the Strength and Conditioning Gym, and a dedicated health and performance area that supports both gyms, giving the team leading technology and tools to set and track fitness goals.

“We have the latest Styku 3D body scanners and a medically approved Tanita MC980 body composition monitor, which accurately measures fat and muscle mass, and your metabolic rating,” adds ELITE manager Paul Martin. “It’s a really objective tool to measure where you are currently, and how you are developing on your wellness journey.”

Electro-muscular stimulation training is growing in popularity to help people gain fast results and track their achievements. Martin describes how this expedites workouts and maximises results: “For many of our clients, the most valued thing is time, and our German miha bodytec EMS i-Body suits provide an hour-and-a-half of work-out in a much shorter amount of time.”

ELITE also offers a cryotherapy chamber, altitude training facilities and an underwater treadmill to help assess
body-shape composition, which provide motivating health metrics and the ability to truly personalise every training session. “Our electric CryoAir cryotherapy chamber takes you to minus 85°C,” Martin explains.