- Feel Good
- 13th Nov 2026
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The Grand York spa days and breaks you’ll want to book this winter
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The Grand York spa, SubRosa, is hidden in the vaults beneath York’s only five-star hotel, and it’s exactly where you’ll want to be when winter starts to bite.
It opened last December after a £2.8m refurbishment, swapping grey city streets for salt saunas, steaming hammams, and Moroccan bathing rituals.
The Grand was built in 1906 as the headquarters of the North Eastern Railway, and it’s around an hour from Newcastle by train, then a five-minute stroll from York station.
Here’s everything you need to know before you book.
WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT SUBROSA SPA YORK?
SubRosa is Latin for ‘under the rose’, an old byword for secrecy, and the spa leans right into it. You head down the stairs beside the main reception, leave the marble and oak panelling of the Edwardian hotel behind, and step into a hushed, shadowy space that’s built for switching off.
The idea is simple: descend to disconnect, then rise renewed. It’s clearly landing, because the Good Spa Guide has awarded SubRosa its top Five Bubbles Luxury rating, and the spa says it’s the only city spa in Yorkshire to hold it.
WHAT’S INSIDE THE SPA AT THE GRAND YORK?
Start with the heat. There’s a Tirol hot sauna and a Himalayan salt sauna, plus a herbal steam room and a mineral steam room to soften you up before the main event. The large hydrotherapy pool is the centrepiece, with foot spas for a slower warm-up.
Then there’s the clever stuff. A salt and light therapy room and an Immersive Sunlight Experience bring a hit of brightness to a space that’s underground by design, which feels like a genuine tonic in December. Afterwards, sink into the herbal lounge or the relaxation room.
Five treatment rooms, including a double, sit alongside a rasul, a double hammam, and the SubRosa Gym if you fancy earning your lunch. It’s a full thermal circuit, not a token sauna.
WHICH TREATMENTS CAN YOU BOOK?
Three product houses shape the menu. The hammam and rasul rituals come from marocMaroc, using argan oil, amber, black soap, and kessa exfoliation inspired by Moroccan bathing traditions. SubRosa is also the first spa in the north of England to launch experiences by SeaBody, a biotech brand using marine extracts, while Elemis takes care of the facials.
For something unmistakably Yorkshire, the White Rose Ritual (50 minutes, £120) pairs a back, neck, and shoulder massage with a marine-infused facial, finished with a York white rose mist. The Grand Hammam (90 minutes, £125) ends with your choice of a tension-melting back massage or a glow facial, and the Drift and Dream Sleep Ritual (90 minutes, £170) wraps you in warm SeaBody seaweed poultices to the sound of the ocean.
Coming as a pair? The Ultimate Rasul Indulgence, a cleansing mud and steam ritual, is £25 per person for a minimum of two. If you’re pregnant, the New Beginnings Ceremony of Care (60 minutes, £120) has been created with motherhood in mind, but always tell the team when you book and check with your midwife or GP if you’re unsure.
THE SPA DAYS IN YORK YOU’LL WANT TO BOOK THIS WINTER
Whether you’ve got a couple of hours or the whole day, every SubRosa spa day includes time in the facilities and a meal in SubRosa Restaurant. Fancy more? Spa day guests can upgrade to afternoon tea in The Rise Restaurant for an extra £20 per person, with finger sandwiches, warm scones with clotted cream and jam, and handmade pastries.
RADIX, EVENING SPA
From £85 per person
Inspired by the white rose, Radix is the after-work option: two hours in the spa, dinner in SubRosa Restaurant, and a glass of Champagne. It’s a lovely way to stretch out a dark winter evening.
AURA, SHORT SPA DAY
From £95 per person
Aura swaps dinner for lunch, with two hours of spa access and a glass of Champagne to mark the moment. Pair it with a wander round York’s festive streets and you’ve got a proper day out.
FIVE BUBBLES LUX
From £150 per person
Created to celebrate SubRosa’s Good Spa Guide award, this one adds a Lux skin treatment, a complimentary luxury add-on, a SeaBody take-home gift, and a glass of Champagne to your two hours in the spa.
ALBA, HALF SPA DAY
From £175 per person
Alba gives you a 50-minute face or body treatment, full spa access, and lunch in SubRosa Restaurant. It’s the sweet spot if you want a proper treatment without giving up the whole day.
ROSA, FULL SPA DAY
From £220 per person
The big one. Rosa includes a 50-minute face or body treatment, lunch, full spa access, and a rasul ritual for two, so it’s made for sharing with your best friend, your mam, or your other half.
WHAT’S INCLUDED IN A SPA BREAK AT THE GRAND YORK?
If you’re weighing up spa hotels in York City, The Grand’s spa breaks roll a treatment, spa access, food, and an overnight stay into one booking. All you really need to pack is a swimsuit.
LUNA, OVERNIGHT SPA BREAK
From £404 single or £589 double, Monday to Thursday
Luna includes a 50-minute treatment, a nourishing lunch, spa access, an overnight stay, and breakfast. From Friday to Sunday, it’s from £454 single or £639 double.
AMOR, SPA BREAK WITH DINNER
From £534 single or £859 double, Wednesday and Thursday
Amor adds an eight-course dinner at Legacy, which launches as a brand-new concept from 4th November, to the treatment, lunch, spa access, and breakfast, with Friday to Sunday stays from £584 single or £909 double. It isn’t available on Mondays or Tuesdays, so plan your escape around that.
WHAT’S ON THE MENU AT SUBROSA RESTAURANT?
SubRosa Restaurant is a fresh take on spa food, drawing on Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, and Korean cooking, and you can eat in your robe. Share small plates like tofu and cabbage gyoza with ginger and black vinegar (£13) or char siu pork bao with apple slaw and coconut sriracha (£13).
Hungrier? The shoyu pork belly ramen (£26) comes with slow-cooked pork belly, kimchi, and a boiled egg in chicken broth, while the SubRosa bento box (£25) mixes salmon ceviche, sesame-crusted tuna, and Vietnamese rice paper rolls. Save room for the coconut sticky toffee pudding with lemongrass butterscotch (£11).
It’s served from 11am to 8.30pm daily, with family times from 4.30pm to 6pm. Worth knowing: a discretionary 15% service charge is added to the bill.
CAN YOU BUY A SUBROSA SPA GIFT VOUCHER?
Yes, and it’s a cracking Christmas present. Vouchers cover treatments, spa days, and overnight breaks, and there are monetary vouchers too if you’d rather let them choose.
Even better, there’s a Black Friday week deal to grab: 15% off vouchers (excluding monetary) from Monday 23rd to 30th November, so it’s well worth getting your Christmas shopping in early.
Wrap one up and let someone else do the descending.
Rachael Ellis
Head of Content
After gaining a first in her BA Media and Journalism degree at Northumbria University, Rachael worked at Newcastle’s leading regional newspaper with her stories being picked up in national and global newspapers. She spent two very successful years giving a voice to those communities across the North East who otherwise…