If you’re looking for an escape just over an hour from London, West Court Retreat has the answer. This historic country house pairs timeless elegance with indulgent dining and access to nearby Nirvana Spa’s Roman-inspired pools and therapies. And with the new Spa Club Retreat Membership, you can enjoy the luxury of an annual overnight stay complete with dinner, breakfast and a spa day all wrapped up in one effortless package
Sometimes the only thing for it is to escape. To retreat, in the truest sense of the word. A place where the days stretch, time slows, and the usual chatter of emails, train commutes and endless WhatsApps is replaced with something softer, something quieter. For me, that place is West Court Retreat.
The approach alone is enough. Nestled in Berkshire, between Reading and Wokingham, a sweeping tree-lined drive stretches and unfolds towards iron gates that glide open, leading past a serene pond on the right (formerly part of an old moat) where dragonflies skim the surface before arriving at a stately Grade II-listed manor. The house, first built in the 17th century and reborn in May 2025 after a meticulous £10 million redevelopment, the manor rises from its blanket of ancient trees with a sense of calm grandeur. Its story layered: during the war it was requisitioned by the army and served as the Officers’ Mess for the REME regiment, while today, it stands transformed into a 49-bedroom retreat and the latest addition to the Nirvana Spa Collection. Original carved fireplaces and Jacobean panelling remain lovingly preserved, while its soul threads through sumptuous fabrics, contemporary comforts and quiet devotion to service. Outside the house, beds of colourful flowers tumble away from the house and across the vast grounds and the tennis courts, once the playground of military officers, have been perfectly restored. It’s the kind of place where you feel history in your bones, but luxury at your fingertips.
Andrew, the sort of hotel manager who greets you like an old friend and remembers not only your name but every little detail, welcomes us in and gives us a quick tour to help get our bearings and explain some of West Court Retreats impressive history. We’re here to celebrate my Mum’s 70th, and when we step into the Princess Marina Suite, it’s clear we’ve landed somewhere rather special. There’s a gleaming copper roll-top bath, antique wardrobes that stand guard over polished bureau desks, floor-length windows swathed in heavy textile curtains that frame acres of garden views and a beautiful wooden carved fireplace commands the room. At the centre, the enormous, cushion-strewn bed, draped in soft, cuddle-like throws, practically dares you to leave it, to sink in and let the world slip away. Three centuries ago, only generals were granted this suite; today, it’s the sort of room that makes anniversaries, birthdays and even ordinary weekends feel unforgettable.
Tempting as it is to hunker down with a book and never move, at 11am a Bentley is purring at the door. A complimentary transfer for overnight guests, it whisks us a short 10-minute drive down the road to Nirvana Spa – and if the butter-soft leather seats and in-built massagers are anything to go by, we’re already halfway to relaxation before we even arrive.
The spa itself is a kind of modern Roman fantasy. A labyrinth of pools, corridors, lined with palm trees and heat rooms (including an innovative Real Sunlight lamp area) that you mindlessly drift through. Robes cinched, towels under arms, we move from space to space until we reach our favourite of the day: the Sea Salt Roman Bath. Imagine – the Dead Sea in Berkshire. The water, heavy with salt and minerals, makes you buoyant in the most extraordinary way, joints suddenly light and muscles supported. It’s deeply therapeutic and a tonic for aching joints, a healer for sports injuries, and for me, a rare sensation of weightlessness unlike anything I’ve ever known.
Later, we drift into the main Colosseum suite balneotherapy pool (filled with warm, gently moving, extra-oxygenated water under a domed ceiling sparkling with stars), sip iced lemon water on loungers, and pause for a long, lazy lunch filled with chatter in the glass-walled dining room. The spa day package at Nirvana includes an abundant salad bar or a two-course à la carte, plus unlimited teas, coffees and soft drinks so you will definitely not go without. Not your average salad bar, we opt for this option and pile our plates high with colour and nutrition, sunlight streaming across the table, Roman statues keeping watch over the guests and outdoor pools beyond. It feels private, though later we realise the place is alive with guests, cleverly dispersed across its warren of spaces.
We could have stayed chatting for many more hours, but our afternoon is devoted to treatments. Natasha works her magic with the 50-minute Amazonia massage using Germaine de Capuccini products. Hot pads pressed into tired muscles, a honey-thick balm melting into oil under her hands, and a nourishing scalp massage that carries me in and out of a near-meditative state. Afterwards, glowing and almost boneless, I curl up on a heated bed infront of a glowing healing crystal before joining my Mum for a private Mud Rasul session. Fully relaxed, we slipped into our own private steam chamber where a step-by-step ritual promised soft and radiant hair and skin. Trays were already in the chamber with everything we’d need carefully arranged in order: a full body salt scrub, a rich hair mask and mineral-laden Dead Sea clays to coat us from head to toe. We laughed at our reflection – anyone peeking in would have thought we’d taken a swamp day – yet twenty minutes in the steam seemed to work its magic. After rinsing off, the ritual left us pink-cheeked, silky-skinned and utterly pampered.
Evenings at West Court Retreat are no afterthought. In the bar, named The Devil’s Highway, after the Roman road beneath the manor – Tom stirs a G&T that’s crisp, balanced, and far too drinkable. Dinner unfolds in the Dining Room, where heritage meets elegance under the gentle soundtrack of piano covers (Oasis, no less, a personal delight having seen them live at Wembley just a couple of days before). Plates arrive like little artworks, service is graceful without ever being fussy, and by the time we’ve shared the most delicious sticky toffee pudding and retreat upstairs, it feels as if we’re sleepwalking through a dream.
Sipping our morning coffee by the pool, still wrapped in robes after a quick dip in the warm, heated waters, with blue skies stretching endlessly above West Court Retreat, it feels as if the city is a world away. Perhaps it’s the centuries layered into every panel and beam. Perhaps it’s the people – the Barley family’s vision, Andrew’s warmth, Natasha’s care, Tom’s charm. Or perhaps it’s simply that West Court has a way of slowing time and stretching celebrations until they feel infinite. Whatever it is, it works.
And the best bit? This kind of magic is no longer a once-in-a-blue-moon indulgence. The Nirvana Collection has introduced a Spa Club Retreat Membership. For just £30 a month, members and a guest receive an annual overnight stay at West Court Retreat complete with dinner, breakfast, and a spa day with full access to those serene pools and calming Roman-inspired spaces. A way to weave indulgence into everyday life and to make retreating a ritual, not a rarity.
We leave reluctantly. My Mum radiant from her birthday, me already scrolling my diary for excuses to return with my other half. Because once you’ve found a place that makes you feel this deeply cared for, it’s impossible not to stay away for long.
