Some places become part of how you celebrate.
The Spa at Breedon Priory has quietly become that place for Claire and me.
We’d visited before and loved it, so when we were planning a birthday spa day, going back felt like an easy decision. It had already proved itself as somewhere we could properly switch off, spend time together and enjoy the whole experience without access becoming another thing for me to manage in the background.
By our second visit, it was beginning to feel like our go-to celebratory spot.
The kind of place you return to for quiet celebrations, wedding preparations, big life moments or simply because you’ve both decided the week has been long enough.
And, once again, Breedon gave us exactly what we needed.
In fact, I was already thinking about visit number three before I’d dried my hair.
Booking that doesn’t leave the guest doing all the work
The booking process at Breedon is refreshingly straightforward.
You build your package online, choose your timings and complete the initial details. Then someone calls you.
Not to repeat everything you’ve already entered.
Not to run through a script.
To ask whether you have any access or medical requirements and to talk through how the day will work in practice.
That distinction matters.
As a wheelchair user, I’m used to being the person who has to anticipate every possible complication.
Can I get into the pool?
Is the changing room actually accessible?
Does step-free mean step-free all the way through, or step-free until a surprise step appears exactly where you need to go?
Will the treatment bed work for me?
Will staff know what’s already been discussed, or will I need to explain everything again when I arrive wearing nothing but a robe and diminishing patience?
At Breedon, the conversation happened before I had to chase it.
I use my wheelchair most of the time, although I can manage short distances with crutches and, occasionally, a conveniently positioned best friend.
The spa itself was accessible by wheelchair, although there were steps into the pool. We spoke about this in advance, so I knew exactly what to expect.
On the day, I wheeled to the poolside and transferred in independently.
No uncertainty, or small gathering of panicked staff.
No one announcing my movements to the rest of the spa.
Just a straightforward transfer and then the very important business of floating around.
The kind of welcome that changes the tone of a day
Breedon sits within the Derbyshire countryside, a part of the world that already feels familiar to me.
I’ve spent much of my adult life in Derbyshire, so arriving there has a comforting quality before the spa day has even begun.
The landscape makes you breathe a little more slowly.
The welcome continued inside.
Julia greeted us and remembered where my wedding had taken place. She asked about it with genuine interest and wanted to hear how everything had gone.
That might seem like a small thing, but it shaped the whole arrival.
Good hospitality often lives in those moments.
Being remembered.
Being spoken to as a person rather than processed as a booking.
Feeling that the staff are pleased you’re there, rather than simply ready to move you through the day.
That kind of warmth can’t be manufactured by a luxury fit-out.
Accessible spaces that still feel like a spa
Accessible changing spaces are often where the atmosphere disappears.
You can move from soft lighting, beautiful interiors and carefully chosen scents into a room that feels as though it belongs in an entirely different building.
Functional.
Clinical.
Sometimes full of cleaning equipment, spare furniture or the things nobody knew where else to store.
At Breedon, the accessible changing room felt like part of the spa.
There was space to move comfortably, a roll-in shower with seating, grab rails, pull cords, robes, spa footwear and Temple Spa products.
Most importantly, it didn’t feel as though the design team had stopped caring once they reached the accessible room.
It was calm, attractive and considered.
That shouldn’t be unusual.
But it still is.
Access works best when it doesn’t ask a guest to trade atmosphere for practicality.
At Breedon, the two existed together.
Just the Two of Us
We booked the Just the Two of Us package, which included access to the pools, terraces, heat and ice experiences, a private hideaway and a 45-minute signature treatment in the couples’ room.
The private hideaway was exactly the sort of place two best friends could happily disappear into for an hour.
There was a secluded garden, a copper hot tub, a fire pit, a private lounge and bathroom, bubbles and sweet treats.
It felt private without feeling removed from the rest of the spa.
More importantly, it gave us time to talk properly.
Spa days are often presented as a series of facilities.
Pool.
Sauna.
Treatment.
Lunch.
But the real value is the space they create around those things.
The chance to pause.
The conversations that happen because neither of you is looking at the clock.
The feeling of having nowhere more important to be.
Treatments that adapt without making it awkward
Treatments can be one of the less predictable parts of a spa day for me.
Certain positions aren’t possible.
Some movements need to be adapted.
My body doesn’t always respond in the way a standard treatment routine expects it to.
That can create uncertainty, particularly when a therapist is meeting me for the first time.
Both times I’ve visited Breedon, the therapists had read my medical information in advance.
They asked sensible questions, adapted the treatment and checked in throughout without making the whole appointment feel medical.
That balance is incredibly important.
I don’t want my access needs ignored.
I also don’t want a relaxing treatment to turn into a detailed symposium on my joints.
The therapists got it right.
They were attentive without being overcautious and confident enough to make changes without treating those changes as a disruption.
I describe myself, with absolutely no professional qualification, as something of a spa queen.
The therapists at Breedon are among the best I’ve experienced.
Lunch in robes, as nature intended
After the treatments, pools, saunas, steam rooms, showers and various encounters with cold temperatures I hadn’t personally requested, we made our way to the orangery for lunch.
Still in our robes, obviously.
There are few situations in adult life where wearing a dressing gown to a two-course lunch is not only acceptable but actively encouraged, and I believe we should appreciate every one of them.
The soufflé starter was light and beautifully done.
The salmon was cooked perfectly.
We stayed for coffee, talked some more and browsed the Temple Spa shop for the sort of self-care purchases that feel entirely rational after several hours in a robe.
By the time we left, my shoulders had dropped, my mind felt quieter and the rest of the week seemed slightly less urgent.
Julia was there to say goodbye with the same warmth she’d shown when we arrived.
The day felt joined up from beginning to end.
The Inclusive Edit
What Breedon does well isn’t simply that it has accessible facilities.
It’s that access runs through the guest experience.
It begins with the booking call.
It continues through arrival, changing, pool access and treatments.
It’s supported by staff who listen, prepare and adapt without turning those adaptations into the defining feature of the day.
That’s the difference between a spa being technically accessible and a guest being able to relax properly.
Luxury isn’t only found in copper hot tubs, beautiful treatment rooms or excellent food.
It’s found in confidence.
In knowing the information you’ve shared has been read and not having to explain everything twice.
In being able to enjoy time with your best friend without quietly managing the experience in the background.
Breedon gave us that.
It felt warm, personal and genuinely restorative.
And with return offers of 15 percent off when booking again within two months and 10 percent within three, they make it dangerously easy to justify another visit!
Round three is very much on the cards.
Although, to be honest, I’d mentally booked it before I’d left the changing room.
Luiz x
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