Cornwall’s St Moritz Hotel launches Wild Spa

Cornwall’s St Moritz Hotel and Cowshed Spa has announced a new hot and cold contrast therapy ‘Wild Spa’ which will open on 1 December 2023. The luxury inside/outside elemental spa, set in Trebetherick, between Rock and Polzeath, will provide the invigorating, energising benefits of cold water exposure alongside the restorative, warming effects of heat therapy. The St Moritz Wild Spa is a collaboration with Cornwall-based Water and Stone - the leading experts in hot and cold contrast therapy in the South West. Together the team has designed an original Nordic outdoor spa, all within the landscaped gardens at the hotel. A full experience programme of special events and workshops, with leading experts and additional wellness elements, will run throughout the Winter and Spring. A key part of those options will be a Lithuanian style of sauna – a ‘Pirtis’ – an option that has rarely been available in the UK. Filling the sauna with scents of the forest through ‘whisking’, this Lithuanian sauna tradition is all about creating a connection with nature. A ‘Pirtis’ involves guests entering the sauna and steam mixed environment and being massaged with a mild whisking technique, using fresh birch and oak leaves bound together to create a tool. Breathwork, alongside intention setting, ensures the guests begin to feel aligned as they drift towards a state of tranquillity. Hugh Ridgway, founder of St Moritz Hotel, said: “When we built St Moritz almost 15 years ago, we dedicated ourselves to being at the forefront of the needs and wants of 21st century Cornish holiday makers and short-breakers. For 2024, we’re undertaking a £2+ million rebuild of our indoor swimming pool as an extension of our extremely popular coastal Cowshed spa and in doing so, are stepping further into the luxury wellness landscape. “Our new wellness area will reimagine the immersive spa experience, with an outdoor hydro pool, a new steam room and sauna alongside ice fountains and sensory showers.” Ridgway continued: “However, whilst we built that, we dreamt up an interim measure - our outdoor Wild Spa. Knowing the phenomenal interest in both cold water swimming and hot and cold ‘plunging’, we knew this would take off. But the initial interest has immediately been through the roof - so much so that we’re already considering how this new experience could become a long-term fixture here on the North Cornish coast.” Ross Eliot, founder of Wild and Stone Spa, added: “We’re delighted to be bringing this creative new mix of global therapies to the North Cornish coast with the St Moritz Wild Spa. We’re providing not just the experiences themselves, but the opportunity for people to learn about, and embrace, the proven, invigorating, boosting mental and physical effects that controlled exposure to alternate hot and cold conditions can have. “We can absolutely assure guests to the St Moritz Wild Spa that they will have a ‘high’ experience like no other and we’re looking forward to opening the lodge and the tanks in early December.”