The best Edinburgh hotels with spas, including Hebridean seaweed treatments and infinity hydro pools

Choosing where to spend a spa day can be tricky. Do you, for instance, seek infinity pools with a city view? Massage treatments using local techniques and products? You might look for the latest tecchy wellness equipment, or the latest trends. Perhaps you just want a quiet corner to bed down in with a magazine while you pop in and out of the thermal suites. There is choice aplenty when it comes to decadent spa hotels in Edinburgh, from Hebridean seaweed treatments to candlelit snugs, there is something to suit all tastes.

This modern hotel has everything you would expect from the brand, with bells on. Although predominantly aimed at business travellers, the location, range of rooms and services, luxurious spa and well-regarded restaurant make it the perfect choice for travellers who like to know exactly what they’re getting. The spa is one of the best in town, with a 19-metre infinity swimming pool, thermal suite with seven treatment areas, Espa treatments, gym, café and utterly relaxing rooftop hydro-pool. It’s located on Festival Square on the Lothian Road overlooking the west side of Edinburgh Castle, an easy walk from the city centre or the Old Town.

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This neo-Renaissance building with its massive clock tower has been an Edinburgh landmark for more than a century. With elegant bedrooms and over-the-top marble bathrooms, and the Palm Court for champagne afternoon teas, this is a 21st-century version of a grand hotel. The exceptionally large spa offers Rocco Forte Rituals and ESPA treatments, and has a 15-metre lap pool, sauna, steam room and gym. It's next to Edinburgh’s main Waverley railway station, at the eastern end of Princes Street, and a short walk from the National Gallery and shopping areas.

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Driving down the long front avenue through 50-odd impeccably landscaped acres, it is hard to believe Edinburgh airport is only two miles away. It’s a comfortable stepping off point for flights or a peaceful alternative to staying in the city. Located in a stunning sunken-glass building in the old walled garden, the splendid spa has swimming and hydro pools, steam and sauna rooms, treatment rooms (including double treatment rooms for friends/couples) offering a range of treatments, all with Elemis and Ishga (made from Hebridean seaweed) products. The health club boasts a serious gym and exercise studio, and there’s a bright café-bar and outside terrace.

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Charles Dickens – once a guest in Edinburgh’s first purpose-built hotel – certainly would not recognise this latest incarnation. It displays its intent from the moment you enter the dramatically contemporary lobby: palely gleaming marble floors, deep purple walls and snazzy lighting. The PURE spa, though a little compact, has a gym, steam and sauna rooms, ozone pool and a good choice of both Elemis products including a ‘Frangipani Body Nourish’ and ‘Lime and Ginger Salt Glow’.

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Imagine a health club with rooms and you won’t be far wrong. It’s a faux-hipster-meets-shopping-mall mash-up, but with better upholstery. You can sweat, steam, swim, spin and spa before hitting Starbucks, or the bar and grill, then retire to pleasingly simple, comfortable bedrooms. The spa includes a 20-metre pool; a vast gym full of shiny equipment; a spinning studio with 40 bikes; studios and classes; and a sauna, steam room and whirlpool spa. There’s also waxing, wrapping, tanning and tinting (must be pre-booked) in the beauty spa.

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The Caledonian is an imposing and historic building in the heart of Edinburgh, with a Galvin restaurant, castle views and a Guerlain spa, complete with fitness room, swimming pool, steam room and sauna, plus thoroughly spoiling massages, facials and beauty treatments. The restaurant collaboration with London’s Galvin brothers is one of the hotel's greatest strengths alongside its location in one of the city’s premier spots – great for shoppers and sightseers alike.

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The hotel is just off the Canongate, with the Royal Mile a few steps away. It's not a bad base for sightseers, with the Scottish Parliament, Holyrood Palace, Arthur’s Seat and Dynamic Earth all close by. The spa is compact, but offers a range of facial treatments and massages using Elemis products, with fake tanning, manicures, pedicures and makeovers available. There’s a 14-metre swimming pool, sauna, steam room, well-equipped Technogym (with instructors) and a small candlelit relaxation room with loungers and soft woollen throws.