Outdoor 'spa village' planned for the Spa at Bishopstrow

The Spa at Bishopstrow, part of Kaleidoscope Hotels, has revealed plans for a full spa refurbishment, set to open in Wiltshire in June following a £2.5m investment.

Angela Bonner, formerly of Thermae Spa in Bath, has been appointed as the new spa director to lead the change.

With more than 30 year’s experience in the spa industry, Bonner began her career as a beauty therapist, before working on cruise ships. She spent 18 years at Thermae Spa in Bath, rising to director of spa operations, where she led more than 200 staff across the sites.

A new outdoor spa village

Current facilities at The Spa at Bishopstrow include a steam room, sauna, rasul and monsoon shower plus indoor and outdoor pools and hot tubs.

The new plans will see the addition of an outdoor spa village and nature-led wellness spaces. There will be outdoor experiences and thermal contrast therapy with a focus on holistic wellbeing.

“Our ethos centres around using the landscape itself as a therapeutic tool, offering guests a restorative ‘green prescription’ rooted in the Wiltshire countryside,” said Bonner.

New outdoor facilities will include a 14m swimming pool plus an eight-metre hydrotherapy pool. There will be a selection of hot tubs, an outdoor sauna and a cold-plunge bath. Outdoor studios will host fitness, lifestyle and non-touch therapies.

Reconnection to nature and self

Bishopstrow has also partnered with the Forest of Imagination, whose art installations will provide spaces for quiet contemplation.

“Our new treatment collection is purposeful, immersive and deeply relevant to how people want to feel today,” said Bonner.

“With strong connections back to the Bishopstrow estate, our new offering will invite guests to explore the grounds that surround us. At the heart of the spa is a belief in reconnection, to nature, to self and to a slower, more intentional rhythm of being.”

Alongside the new facilities, The Spa at Bishopstrow will offer a range of new therapies, including the traditional Japanese practice of forest bathing.

Bonner will focus on staff training, from tone of voice to staff culture. “We want to invest in our team and empower staff to embrace the new refurbishment,” she explained.

“Our vision for The Spa at Bishopstrow is to be a space where the estate itself is the primary therapeutic tool,” said the hotel’s managing director, Jonathan Walker.

“By integrating our new outdoor spa village within the landscape, we hope to invite people to reconnect with nature, focus on their wellbeing journey and be curious to the transformative power of the outdoors.”

Built in 1817, Bishopstrow is a Georgian mansion and former nunnery now owned by Ian and Christa Taylor, founders of the Kaleidoscope Collection.

The Kaleidoscope brand also owns Homewood Hotel & Spa and the Bird Hotel, both in Bath.

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