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A restored manor house, awe-inspiring gardens
and a spa housed in an old cow barn all underpin
the UK’s hottest new hotel. Magali Robathan
speaks to Karen Roos, owner of The Newt
Karen Roos spotted The Newt while flicking through a magazine
When South African telecoms billionaire Koos Bekker and his wife Karen Roos began their search for a Georgian country house to use as a weekend retreat in England, they knew the gardens were always going to be at the heart of their vision.
The pair are the creators and owners of Babylonstoren, a historic Cape Dutch farm estate that’s been converted into a stylish boutique hotel, spa and winery near Cape Town, South Africa. It’s a beautiful, painstakingly restored 17th century farmhouse with an 8-acre fruit and vegetable garden inspired by the mythological hanging gardens of Babylon.
This is a couple that takes gardens very seriously. Which is a good job, because the Somerset estate that Karen spotted for sale while leafing through a copy of Country Life magazine in 2013 is the result of the work of generations of gardeners. This includes Arthur Hobhouse, one of the founders of the UK’s national parks system, and more recently garden designer, writer and presenter Penelope Hobhouse, who lived and worked there until 1979.
“I loved it immediately,” says Karen Roos, of Hadspen House, which has been renamed as The Newt in respect for the 2,000 endangered amphibians which slowed down its transformation. And arriving at the sprawling estate on a bright, windblown day – six weeks before coronavirus took hold – it’s easy to see why.
What started as a hunt for a private residence has grown to become one of the UK’s most talked about hotel openings. It has only 23 rooms set across the honey-coloured limestone main house and in converted farm buildings, a spa in an old cow barn and a standalone new-build boasting a plant-based cafe and interactive museum about the history of gardening.
FROM COW BARN TO SPA The design of the hotel and gardens, opened last September, was led by Roos, who also oversaw the interiors at Babylonstoren and is a former editor of Elle Decoration in South Africa.
The classical rooms in the main house boast four poster beds and sash windows overlooking the grand sweeping grounds. In the former stable yard, old horse boxes have been replaced with dark, cozy spaces featuring wood panelling, wood burning stoves, hay mangers, king size beds and luxurious bathrooms. Meanwhile, those in the converted Granary building have the feel of a Scandinavian cabin, with futons, exposed stone walls and fur-style throws.
The landscape has inspired the overall design, with a varied palette of greens used throughout and opposite Roos tells Spa Business about her vision, passion for the land and how she’s grown to love the infamous newts.
The design enthusiast also had a hand in the garden-scented spa, with the help of industry consultant Tracey Chappell, who previously oversaw the global spa division at ESPA for 20-plus years. The spa is beautiful – housed in an old cow barn – with a roaring fire, exposed limestone walls, natural oak and forest marble. A glazed wall by a swimming pool looks out onto a medicinal herb garden designed to evoke monastic gardens of the medieval era and provide a calming space for guests. The spa also features an indoor/outdoor hydro pool, sauna, steamroom, Himalayan salt room, rasul and an authentic full-sized hammam – all installed by Barr + Wray. A high-spec gym is located opposite, and was designed by Invisible Studio as a giant window to minimise the impact on the landscape and gives guests views across the vegetable gardens.
The treatments, offered in one of seven therapy rooms, have been inspired by an English country garden. The 60-minute nourishing and hydrating Apothecary Blend Facial, for example, use locally-made botanical ingredients. It costs £90 (US$111, €103) as is one of the lower priced services, along with a 60-minute mud rasul experience that costs £80 (US$99, €92) for two people. At the top-end is the £195 (US$241, €223), results-driven Linda Meredith Vtox Oxygen Facial, a 90-minute treatment which infuses the skin with neuropeptides and algae; or a 60-minute hammam soap treatment combined with a 30-minute couples massage for £240 (US$297, €275).
It’s a sizeable wellness offering for the boutique hotel, which has rooms starting at £320 (US$366, €395) a night based on two people sharing. At the time of writing, both hotel and spa are closed following the coronavirus outbreak. But once reopened, it’s believed that the spa will still only be available to hotel guests – when it first launched it was inundated with requests for the day packages advertised, so marketing has stopped and it will look to keep a low profile initially.
GARDEN OF ENGLAND Although The Newt is one of the UK’s most talked about hotel and spa openings, it’s the gardens that really take centre stage and daily tours are led by experienced horticulturists. Next year, it’s also looking to introduce Great Garden Escape day trip packages from London.
Visitors are welcomed in the triple height threshing barn – part of a new cluster of buildings designed by Benjamin and Beauchamp which also include the Farm Shop, Cyder Press and Bar and Greenhouse, and which have been designed using traditional techniques to create a historic feel.
The formal gardens have been designed by Italian-French landscape architect Patrice Taravella, who also designed the edible and medicinal gardens at Babylonstoren. Visiting in February, many of the plants were dormant, but the sheer scale and ambition of the outside space is clear.
Highlights include the walled parabola garden, which contains apple trees from each apple growing county of England, trained to form a maze as they germinate. There are also kitchen gardens that supply the restaurants, coloured gardens, a fragrance garden, wildflower meadows which I’ve been assured look stunning in the spring and summer, and a beautiful Victorian-style greenhouse with a small bar where guests and visitors can drink tea surrounded by tropical plants and ferns.
The estate also features a deer park, orchards with more than 3,000 apple trees that favour traditional apple growing methods over more recent commercial methods (the trees are widely spaced, meaning they are able to grow much taller) and several miles of walks through ancient woodlands and meadows.
A steel and timber elevated treetop walk – the Viper – has been shipped from South Africa, and leads visitors above the trees to the newly-opened Story of Gardening museum. This immersive experience centre explores and celebrates gardens and their impact on culture through history. A series of multi sensory interactive exhibits explore historic and current gardens from different parts of the world, and the museum culminates in a virtual reality trip to Babylonstoren, Monet’s Garden and Tivoli Gardens Italy.
It’s these outdoor-based experiences that are likely to be the first things on offer once the country-wide lockdown is lifted. Stays at the hotel and treatments in the spa will hopefully follow soon after as domestic travellers seek some much-needed respite from the devastating pandemic.
Karen Roos
Owner, The Newt
Roos, a former editor of Elle Decoration, worked with Tracey Chappell and Barr + Wray on the spa
What were your first impressions when you discovered Hadspen House? For years I’d been looking for a Georgian country house in the UK. I was in the Seychelles, paging through a magazine, when I noticed this one in Somerset: one of the most beautiful I ever saw. Classical proportions; Hadspen limestone the colour of burnt orange. I loved it immediately.
What was your vision and do you think you’ve achieved it? Initially the idea was merely to enjoy the house as a weekend retreat. But one thing led to another, and the project ran away with us…
What were the biggest challenges of this project? The house itself is Grade II-listed, so restoring it presented challenges. We had to preserve wood panelling, cosset bats in the ceiling and of course entertain the newts! The critters delayed building work by about a year, but in the end we embraced them as dear friends.
How did the location and history of the building influence the design? I love the Georgian period: symmetrical, restrained, sun-filled. And I now like Somerset immensely: it’s about copses and rolling hills; apple trees and cyder; meadows and cows and cheddar.
Why was it important to use local materials and craftsmanship where possible? The spirit of the place is everything to us. That runs from hiring staff to working with local craftsman as well as using designs from British designers such as Tom Dixon. Hadspen limestone and blue lias pops out of the local quarry, while the skill of local architects, blacksmiths, carpenters and stonemasons sustained us.
What are you proudest of with this project? That it was fun!
Do you have a personal favourite part of the hotel? I love the bar. To sip a superb glass of viognier at 7pm: that’s my idea of valhalla.
What are you working on now? We’re soon adding a restored Farmyard, so I’m furnishing that. Set to open mid-summer, it will have 17 bedrooms within a former dairy farm on the estate. The tone is laid back, a private experience with a separate swimming pool.
The bar is a design favourite for Roos
Magali Robathan is editor of the design title CLADmag, a sister publication to Spa Business | [email protected]
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2020 issue 2
Editor’s letter: Our greatest challenge
Spa and wellness businesses will reopen while COVID-19 is still circulating in the community, meaning we have to find models which work in this new reality, says Katie Barnes. So how will this change the industry?
On the menu: Pivot to digital
Which forward-thinking spas are taking their offerings online during the coronavirus pandemic?
Interview: Mary Celeste Beall
The celebrated Blackberry Farm has opened a sister property in the mountains of Tennessee. The owner tells Spa Business why wellness through nature underpins the new destination
Everyone’s talking about: COVID-19
Spa operators, wellness companies and organisations from around the world talk to Spa Business about the impact of coronavirus and what to expect down the line
Promotion: Simone Gibertoni: Clinique La Prairie
World-renowned medical spa, Clinique La Prairie, is creating a global network of
locations to support clients with their wellbeing, every day of the year, says its CEO
Research: First responders
ISPA’s COVID-19 survey offers insights into how the industry has responded to the global pandemic. Spa Business magazine examines the findings
Hotel spa: Country life: The Newt
Karen Roos, owner of the world-renowned hotel The Newt, on design, gardens and a spa housed in an old cow barn
Insights: Calls to action
Industry leaders around the world come together in a crisis to share ideas and innovations in a series of GWS Collaboration calls. Spa Business magazine reports on the highlights
Insights: Webinar wisdom
Spa Business shares its industry-relevant takeaways from the masses of webinars that are being streamed worldwide
Research: Measure for measure
Intelligent Spas reveals its latest global spa benchmarks and explores what they mean in today’s ever-changing climate
Focus on: Extreme wellness
Spa Business tries out two boundary-pushing, cold immersion retreats led by ‘The Iceman’ Wim Hof and Dr Marc Cohen
Promotion: Barr and Wray: Creating
a seamless journey
With 60 years of experience, Barr and Wray has long been known for excellence in technical design for wellness. Design director Graeme Banks explains the company also offers interior design services
Interview: Juliu Horvath
The founder of Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis tells Spa Business why he’ll never stop adapting his famous movement modality
Promotion: ISPA publishes Reopening Toolkit
A much-needed guide by ISPA gives essential advice on business planning, standard operating procedures, marketing and communications to support spas through the coronavirus crisis
The Spa Life UK Convention returns from 21–23 June 2026 at Whittlebury Park Hotel, Spa &
Golf Resort, bringing together spa managers, directors and owners for two days of focused
education, meaningful connection and commercial insight. [more...]
A restored manor house, awe-inspiring gardens
and a spa housed in an old cow barn all underpin
the UK’s hottest new hotel. Magali Robathan
speaks to Karen Roos, owner of The Newt
Karen Roos spotted The Newt while flicking through a magazine
When South African telecoms billionaire Koos Bekker and his wife Karen Roos began their search for a Georgian country house to use as a weekend retreat in England, they knew the gardens were always going to be at the heart of their vision.
The pair are the creators and owners of Babylonstoren, a historic Cape Dutch farm estate that’s been converted into a stylish boutique hotel, spa and winery near Cape Town, South Africa. It’s a beautiful, painstakingly restored 17th century farmhouse with an 8-acre fruit and vegetable garden inspired by the mythological hanging gardens of Babylon.
This is a couple that takes gardens very seriously. Which is a good job, because the Somerset estate that Karen spotted for sale while leafing through a copy of Country Life magazine in 2013 is the result of the work of generations of gardeners. This includes Arthur Hobhouse, one of the founders of the UK’s national parks system, and more recently garden designer, writer and presenter Penelope Hobhouse, who lived and worked there until 1979.
“I loved it immediately,” says Karen Roos, of Hadspen House, which has been renamed as The Newt in respect for the 2,000 endangered amphibians which slowed down its transformation. And arriving at the sprawling estate on a bright, windblown day – six weeks before coronavirus took hold – it’s easy to see why.
What started as a hunt for a private residence has grown to become one of the UK’s most talked about hotel openings. It has only 23 rooms set across the honey-coloured limestone main house and in converted farm buildings, a spa in an old cow barn and a standalone new-build boasting a plant-based cafe and interactive museum about the history of gardening.
FROM COW BARN TO SPA The design of the hotel and gardens, opened last September, was led by Roos, who also oversaw the interiors at Babylonstoren and is a former editor of Elle Decoration in South Africa.
The classical rooms in the main house boast four poster beds and sash windows overlooking the grand sweeping grounds. In the former stable yard, old horse boxes have been replaced with dark, cozy spaces featuring wood panelling, wood burning stoves, hay mangers, king size beds and luxurious bathrooms. Meanwhile, those in the converted Granary building have the feel of a Scandinavian cabin, with futons, exposed stone walls and fur-style throws.
The landscape has inspired the overall design, with a varied palette of greens used throughout and opposite Roos tells Spa Business about her vision, passion for the land and how she’s grown to love the infamous newts.
The design enthusiast also had a hand in the garden-scented spa, with the help of industry consultant Tracey Chappell, who previously oversaw the global spa division at ESPA for 20-plus years. The spa is beautiful – housed in an old cow barn – with a roaring fire, exposed limestone walls, natural oak and forest marble. A glazed wall by a swimming pool looks out onto a medicinal herb garden designed to evoke monastic gardens of the medieval era and provide a calming space for guests. The spa also features an indoor/outdoor hydro pool, sauna, steamroom, Himalayan salt room, rasul and an authentic full-sized hammam – all installed by Barr + Wray. A high-spec gym is located opposite, and was designed by Invisible Studio as a giant window to minimise the impact on the landscape and gives guests views across the vegetable gardens.
The treatments, offered in one of seven therapy rooms, have been inspired by an English country garden. The 60-minute nourishing and hydrating Apothecary Blend Facial, for example, use locally-made botanical ingredients. It costs £90 (US$111, €103) as is one of the lower priced services, along with a 60-minute mud rasul experience that costs £80 (US$99, €92) for two people. At the top-end is the £195 (US$241, €223), results-driven Linda Meredith Vtox Oxygen Facial, a 90-minute treatment which infuses the skin with neuropeptides and algae; or a 60-minute hammam soap treatment combined with a 30-minute couples massage for £240 (US$297, €275).
It’s a sizeable wellness offering for the boutique hotel, which has rooms starting at £320 (US$366, €395) a night based on two people sharing. At the time of writing, both hotel and spa are closed following the coronavirus outbreak. But once reopened, it’s believed that the spa will still only be available to hotel guests – when it first launched it was inundated with requests for the day packages advertised, so marketing has stopped and it will look to keep a low profile initially.
GARDEN OF ENGLAND Although The Newt is one of the UK’s most talked about hotel and spa openings, it’s the gardens that really take centre stage and daily tours are led by experienced horticulturists. Next year, it’s also looking to introduce Great Garden Escape day trip packages from London.
Visitors are welcomed in the triple height threshing barn – part of a new cluster of buildings designed by Benjamin and Beauchamp which also include the Farm Shop, Cyder Press and Bar and Greenhouse, and which have been designed using traditional techniques to create a historic feel.
The formal gardens have been designed by Italian-French landscape architect Patrice Taravella, who also designed the edible and medicinal gardens at Babylonstoren. Visiting in February, many of the plants were dormant, but the sheer scale and ambition of the outside space is clear.
Highlights include the walled parabola garden, which contains apple trees from each apple growing county of England, trained to form a maze as they germinate. There are also kitchen gardens that supply the restaurants, coloured gardens, a fragrance garden, wildflower meadows which I’ve been assured look stunning in the spring and summer, and a beautiful Victorian-style greenhouse with a small bar where guests and visitors can drink tea surrounded by tropical plants and ferns.
The estate also features a deer park, orchards with more than 3,000 apple trees that favour traditional apple growing methods over more recent commercial methods (the trees are widely spaced, meaning they are able to grow much taller) and several miles of walks through ancient woodlands and meadows.
A steel and timber elevated treetop walk – the Viper – has been shipped from South Africa, and leads visitors above the trees to the newly-opened Story of Gardening museum. This immersive experience centre explores and celebrates gardens and their impact on culture through history. A series of multi sensory interactive exhibits explore historic and current gardens from different parts of the world, and the museum culminates in a virtual reality trip to Babylonstoren, Monet’s Garden and Tivoli Gardens Italy.
It’s these outdoor-based experiences that are likely to be the first things on offer once the country-wide lockdown is lifted. Stays at the hotel and treatments in the spa will hopefully follow soon after as domestic travellers seek some much-needed respite from the devastating pandemic.
Karen Roos
Owner, The Newt
Roos, a former editor of Elle Decoration, worked with Tracey Chappell and Barr + Wray on the spa
What were your first impressions when you discovered Hadspen House? For years I’d been looking for a Georgian country house in the UK. I was in the Seychelles, paging through a magazine, when I noticed this one in Somerset: one of the most beautiful I ever saw. Classical proportions; Hadspen limestone the colour of burnt orange. I loved it immediately.
What was your vision and do you think you’ve achieved it? Initially the idea was merely to enjoy the house as a weekend retreat. But one thing led to another, and the project ran away with us…
What were the biggest challenges of this project? The house itself is Grade II-listed, so restoring it presented challenges. We had to preserve wood panelling, cosset bats in the ceiling and of course entertain the newts! The critters delayed building work by about a year, but in the end we embraced them as dear friends.
How did the location and history of the building influence the design? I love the Georgian period: symmetrical, restrained, sun-filled. And I now like Somerset immensely: it’s about copses and rolling hills; apple trees and cyder; meadows and cows and cheddar.
Why was it important to use local materials and craftsmanship where possible? The spirit of the place is everything to us. That runs from hiring staff to working with local craftsman as well as using designs from British designers such as Tom Dixon. Hadspen limestone and blue lias pops out of the local quarry, while the skill of local architects, blacksmiths, carpenters and stonemasons sustained us.
What are you proudest of with this project? That it was fun!
Do you have a personal favourite part of the hotel? I love the bar. To sip a superb glass of viognier at 7pm: that’s my idea of valhalla.
What are you working on now? We’re soon adding a restored Farmyard, so I’m furnishing that. Set to open mid-summer, it will have 17 bedrooms within a former dairy farm on the estate. The tone is laid back, a private experience with a separate swimming pool.
The bar is a design favourite for Roos
Magali Robathan is editor of the design title CLADmag, a sister publication to Spa Business | [email protected]
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2020 issue 2
Editor’s letter: Our greatest challenge
Spa and wellness businesses will reopen while COVID-19 is still circulating in the community, meaning we have to find models which work in this new reality, says Katie Barnes. So how will this change the industry?
On the menu: Pivot to digital
Which forward-thinking spas are taking their offerings online during the coronavirus pandemic?
Interview: Mary Celeste Beall
The celebrated Blackberry Farm has opened a sister property in the mountains of Tennessee. The owner tells Spa Business why wellness through nature underpins the new destination
Everyone’s talking about: COVID-19
Spa operators, wellness companies and organisations from around the world talk to Spa Business about the impact of coronavirus and what to expect down the line
Promotion: Simone Gibertoni: Clinique La Prairie
World-renowned medical spa, Clinique La Prairie, is creating a global network of
locations to support clients with their wellbeing, every day of the year, says its CEO
Research: First responders
ISPA’s COVID-19 survey offers insights into how the industry has responded to the global pandemic. Spa Business magazine examines the findings
Hotel spa: Country life: The Newt
Karen Roos, owner of the world-renowned hotel The Newt, on design, gardens and a spa housed in an old cow barn
Insights: Calls to action
Industry leaders around the world come together in a crisis to share ideas and innovations in a series of GWS Collaboration calls. Spa Business magazine reports on the highlights
Insights: Webinar wisdom
Spa Business shares its industry-relevant takeaways from the masses of webinars that are being streamed worldwide
Research: Measure for measure
Intelligent Spas reveals its latest global spa benchmarks and explores what they mean in today’s ever-changing climate
Focus on: Extreme wellness
Spa Business tries out two boundary-pushing, cold immersion retreats led by ‘The Iceman’ Wim Hof and Dr Marc Cohen
Promotion: Barr and Wray: Creating
a seamless journey
With 60 years of experience, Barr and Wray has long been known for excellence in technical design for wellness. Design director Graeme Banks explains the company also offers interior design services
Interview: Juliu Horvath
The founder of Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis tells Spa Business why he’ll never stop adapting his famous movement modality
Promotion: ISPA publishes Reopening Toolkit
A much-needed guide by ISPA gives essential advice on business planning, standard operating procedures, marketing and communications to support spas through the coronavirus crisis
Longevitix, a clinical platform for preventive and longevity medicine, has launched its AI-
powered intelligence system to help physicians deliver continuous, personalised longevity-
focused care at scale.
Atmantan Wellness Centre, an integrative wellness destination in Mulshi, near Pune in India, is
expanding its portfolio by adding a new centre in Hyderabad that will launch between 2028 and
2029.
A recent survey by the UK Spa Association (UKSA) into the industry’s approach to cancer care
has revealed that almost half of participating respondents (46 per cent) are unaware that
cancer is a disability and guests with a cancer diagnosis must be given
Mexican operator, Solmar Hotels and Resorts, is hosting a series of events in celebration of
Global Wellness Day, including a Temazcal ceremony at its Playa Grande Resort and Spa in Los
Cabos.
Mandarin Oriental has announced a standalone residence brand, Mansions, which will debut at
Emirates Palace, Mandarin Oriental Mansions, Abu Dhabi, in 2029.
Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai in Hoi An, Vietnam, has put together a Global Wellness Day
(GWD) agenda with activations rooted in nature and shaped by four pillars of Joy – in
alignment with the day’s theme #JoyMagenta.
The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the 2026 event in
Phuket, Thailand, later this year with the theme: The Science, Art and Soul of Wellness.
Auko, an all-inclusive development, is opening in Phong Nha in Vietnam in Q3 2026, with a
series of 30 tented eco-lodges and wellness hospitality operations by Lumina Wellbeing.
The Spa Life UK Convention returns from 21–23 June 2026 at Whittlebury Park Hotel, Spa &
Golf Resort, bringing together spa managers, directors and owners for two days of focused
education, meaningful connection and commercial insight. [more...]
