Sopwell House hotel review: For a spa trip, look no further

Sopwell House has few faults. It’s ideally located in the greenery of St Albans, Hertfordshire — a charming cathedral city — and easily accessible from London on the trusty Thameslink, which gives it two big green ticks in my book. I checked in for a girls’ weekend with my step-mother for some much needed R&R before Christmas.

The rooms

Our room was clean and spacious — albeit rather close to the car park. With a magnificent-looking bath in the en suite that I sadly didn’t get enough time to use, a gloriously cosy bed and an ample dressing table, it was hard to find fault. An outdoor seating area attached would have been the perfect place to sit and catch up, or simply watch the world go by with a cup of tea, had the world not been a chilly 2ºC during our stay. The complimentary macaroons went down very easily, as did the complimentary bottle of gin, which came with tonic and grapefruit slices. This was a thoughtful touch and made for the perfect getting-ready drinks as we chose our outfits and put on our make up before going down for dinner that evening.

Eating and drinking

There are two restaurants to choose from at Sopwell House, The more traditional option, The Brasserie, or Omboo — an asian fusion offering. Having had enough Asian-fusion food to last me a lifetime in recent weeks (it seems to be the thing that’s trendy right now) we opted for the Brasserie. I had scallops in butter and garlic to start and my dinner-partner had the smoked salmon: both utterly enjoyable. For my main I had a steak, and polished off with a further gin and tonic for good measure. The food was very good, but there was nothing on the menu to write home about. However, Sopwell House is a spa hotel, not a fine-dining one, so this was to be expected, and we enjoyed a very tasty meal.

How they’ll keep you busy

The spa — the main reason to stay at Sopwell House. There are two options to choose from: The Cottonmill spa and The Club at Cottonmill. The latter is an option worth paying extra for. It comes with a superior steam room, sauna, plenty of indoor space to relax and, the pièce de résistance, the outdoor amenities, which you cannot access if you are only visiting the Cottonmill spa. The highlight of my visit was enjoying a cup of orange blossom tea in an outdoor jacuzzi, which we had all to ourselves, as the stars shone above us. However, this was marred slightly when ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ was blasted out into the cool night air, breaking the previous calm of the gentle spa tunes. It took a bit of an auditory sledgehammer to our zen vibes, truth be told. Also marring the vibes: the wristbands we needed to get into the outdoor, more exclusive, part of the spa. Regular wristbands deny you entry at the door, making for a somewhat awkward experience if you’ve not paid the extra fee, and the unwanted rubber bangle is reminiscent of a tacky all-inclusive — distinctly not chic. It also implies a certain mistrust of the hotel guests. Most law-abiding visitors would, surely, stick to the part they have paid for. Otherwise it was magical.

What else to do while you’re there

Visit St Albans Cathedral. When we went, a local choir was rehearsing for a carol concert, which lent the experience a magical quality in the way that only voices joined in song, and amplified by a certain kind of acoustics, can. The building itself was very impressive (and I say that as someone who hails from Canterbury, which in my mind is home to the final boss of English cathedrals). It was free to visit and the guides were extremely helpful and pointed out all sorts of quirks and oddities as we looked around. For example, one of the shrines that was reconstructed in 2020 has a masked figure that was added as a tribute to the pandemic era, which you can spy if you look closely in the right place. Well worth a trip.

Who’s it for

The girls.

What gives it the wow factor

Swimming into the outdoor pool at night and stargazing from one of the surrounding jacuzzis.

The one thing we’d change

Apart from the wristbands and the playlist — easily fixed — the milk in our room was long life. Although there was a sign informing us that we could ring down to reception to have some fresh milk brought up, given we had a mini fridge I think it would have been nicer if it had been included from the off. But that really is me being incredibly picky.

Insider tip

Order breakfast to be delivered to your room in the morning — the ultimate luxury lie-in.

For more information on Sopwell House, and to book a room, see their website.