Plans revealed for new spa at Sharrow Bay Hotel in Cumbria

Ciel Hotels has announced plans to revive  Sharrow Bay Hotel in Cumbria, adding a spa when it reopens the iconic Lake District property in 2025.

A design scheme to reinvigorate the property and the 17-acre site, which sits on the shores of Ullswater, has been submitted to the Lake District National Park authority.

Feilden Fowles architects have submitted the plans to restore and converge the original country house hotel’s existing buildings and gardens.

Spa and wellness centre for Sharrow Bay

Plans include the expansion of facilities to add a new, two-storey, purpose-built spa and wellness centre.

The spa will feature a glazed colonnade including a sauna, outdoor plunge pool and treatment rooms. A multipurpose space above will be clustered around a lake-view courtyard.

Sharrow Bay first opened as a hotel in 1948 and has been dubbed the ‘original country house hotel’. It was the first Relais & Châteaux hotel in the UK and played a key part in the development of domestic tourism in the Lake District.

“We’ll be putting everything we have into Sharrow Bay’s resurrection to make it what it deserves to be – the most special and intoxicating place to spend time,” said Charles Lowther, co-owner of Ciel Hotels.

Ciel Hotels plans to relocate its Michelin-starred restaurant, Allium, from its current home at Askham Hall.

The restoration and redevelopment of Sharrow Bay Hotel includes the main house, garden rooms wing and lodge.

Windy Ridge, an old stable block, will be converted into guest suites and there will be 20 new 40sqm cabins set within the walled kitchen gardens and orchard.

There will also be remote stilted treehouses built on the edge of the existing deciduous woodland.

Feilden Fowles has been working on the design scheme for Sharrow Bay for more than a year.

“Our vision for the estate will help to make Sharrow Bay a destination retreat,” said Fergus Feilden, director of Feilden Fowles.

“We bring a landscape-driven approach, which prioritises locally sourced natural materials and respect for nature and biodiversity. Our subtle interventions aim to enhance and celebrate Sharrow Bay.”

Sharrow Bay has been closed since September 2020 when the hotel went into liquidation.

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