The Ilsington Country House Dartmoor Hotel in Devon, UK, has refurbished and expanded its existing spa facility with the help of local interior design consultancy Ashton House Design.

Director of Ashton House, Simon Bantock, spoke exclusively to Spa Opportunities about the project brief for the spa.

“We were tasked with refurbishing the spa facility on-site at the 25-bedroom property, which was a couple of decades old,” said Bantock. “While the hotel is in a great location, the spa was quite compact and it also wasn’t connected to the hotel – something that affected the spa journey significantly. The spa has been linked to the hotel now and features two existing treatment rooms that will be reinvented in time.

The development, which started in September 2014, has seen the installation of a new pool hall, hydrotherapy pool, experience showers, deluge bucket station, sauna, steamroom and an electronic massage bed.

Bantock said: “The hotel’s co-owner, Tim Hassell, came with me to Barcelona to source the wet zone area from Inbeca Wellness Equipment. Tim couldn’t resist the free-standing electric massage bed that provides a treatment in itself and will allow the hotel spa to offer at least four or five different treatment opportunities simultaneously.

“Although the spa is up and running, other planned improvements will not affect the new and improved spa facility and its guests,” added Bantock. “There’s a function room by the linking corridor that will become a multiple treatment room with curtains for groups that want a social spa experience. The maximum capacity for this space will be six people and work has yet to begin on this part of the project.

A flotation tank is also expected to feature in a room opposite the function room that is set to become the social spa space. “I’ve pushed for this because it’s good as an income generator and will separate this facility from others in the region,” said Bantock.

“Planning permission has also been granted for an expansion beyond the existing – now refurbished – pool hall, to create a quiet room with glass windows overlooking the Dartmoor scenery,” said Bantock.

“We’ve worked with local companies to get this project done and the lockers and changing facilities were provided by Crown Sports Lockers,” said Bantock. “We also sourced furnishings from Italian company Unopiu, Belgian furniture company Borek, carved stone trinkets from Beijing firm Shimu, window shutters from Dubai, as well as wall coverings from America and Spain – all based on my 30 years’ experience of sourcing high quality products.”

Co-owner and brother of Tim Hassell, Richard Hassell, told Spa Opportunities that the Ilsington Country House Dartmoor Hotel is the first in the southwest of England to use Inbecca, which makes the new spa "quite quirky."

“The wet zone was quite a complex area to refurbish and most of the money we spent was on upgrades that you can’t see – behind walls etc,” said Hassell, preferring not to reveal the total investment sum. “There’s nothing like our spa in the region so it was well worth the investment.”

Richard and Tim Hassell have operated the hotel since 1997 and are both fourth generation hoteliers.