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When it comes to luxury hotels in Bath, UK, the Gainsborough Bath Spa hotel has something no other hotel can match: thermal water piped right into the pools in their Roman-inspired Spa Village. Add to that fine cuisine, sleek design and a location in the centre of Bath, and you’ve got a great way to vacation in Bath and connect with the culture. Here’s my experience. Connecting with spa culture It’s almost a shame there is so much to see in Bath, UK, because all I want to do is loll around in the water.  After all, isn’t travel all about connecting with a place, the history and the culture? If you ask me (and I’m aware you didn’t), connecting with steamy thermal water is the best kind of connection of all, especially in Bath, the only place in England with hot springs. Gainsborough Bath Spa hotel " width="620" height="418" /> I never look this good when soaking my head ‘Connecting’ is how I justify lingering in the spa pools at the  Gainsborough Bath Sp...

With its famous Georgian terraces , thermal spa waters , cream teas and Jane Austen – you can’t say Bath isn’t on the UK tourist trail . Its quintessentially English charms pull in visitors from around the world and it has so many historic buildings the entire city has been made a UNESCO World Heritage Site . But although you might have to dodge a few tour groups, its still more than worth it to explore the sights of one of England’s most beautiful and historic cities. So here’s my guide on how to spend 48 hours in Bath. More weekend guides: Oxford, Cheltenham, Cambridge, Canterbury, Rye, Cardiff, Chester, York, Glasgow Royal Crescent , Bath" width="720" height="456" /> Curved buildings around the Royal Crescent Friday evening If you fancy splashing out, head to the city’s most desirable address at the Royal Crescent Hotel . Two 18th- century Georgian townhouses have been merged to create a five-star hotel and spa. It has lots of period features, a hidden ...

Photo The crowning feature of the Gainsborough is a two- level spa complex with three thermal pools. Credit Ytl Hotels Rates Rooms from £255 (about $315). Basics In a city that has attracted visitors to its mineral- rich thermal baths since Roman times, the opening of the first hotel with its own natural thermal spa on site was a major event. The Gainsborough Bath Spa , which opened in July 2015, occupies two historic buildings with handsome Georgian and Victorian facades. But the crowning feature of the luxurious 99-room property is the spacious, two- level spa complex , which has three thermal pools fed by the area’s famed natural spring water . Champalimaud Design, based in New York, created elegant interiors that, in conjunction with the staff’s considerate service, ensure guests’ comfort even when they’re not “taking the waters.” Location The property is on a quiet lane in Bath’s historic center, the entirety of which is a Unesco World Heritage site known for its lovely Geo...

The Arctic Bath, a unique luxury hotel and spa floating on the Lule river in Swedish Lapland is scheduled to open in 2018. Reminiscent of a bird’s nest or natural dam, the exteriors of the circular spa buildings will be covered with piled logs, providing added insulation to guests during the winter months. The spa buildings, with saunas, treatment and relaxation rooms, a restaurant and lounge bar, will encircle an open-air cold bath. Accommodation will take the form of six minimalist floating cabins which will be moored to the spa buildings. Arctic Bath – open all year – will be free-floating on the river during the summer and frozen in place in winter. It will be located outside the village of Harads, 50km south of the Arctic Circle. Designed by architects Bertil Harstr öm and Johan Kauppi, the concept for the hotel and spa was inspired by the region's logging heritage, with its distinctive design acting as a reminder of the importance of the forest in Swedish history. Arctic...

Bath is first and foremost a Georgian city, but its newest attraction is founded on impressive Victorian engineering . Last Saturday, Combe Down Tunnel – bricked up since the closure in 1966 of the Somerset and Dorset Railway – opened with great fanfare to cyclists and walkers. Burrowing through the hills south of Bath, the tunnel is just over a mile in length, and as such, it is being trumpeted as Britain's longest cycle tunnel . Riding through the underground thoroughfare is a striking sensory experience . The tunnel curves at both ends, so there is little daylight inside. Instead, lights placed every seven metres cast soft pools of illumination on to the smooth road surface and the sooty brick and limestone walls. So as not to disturb the resident bats, the low roof of the tunnel is kept in semi-darkness. Halfway along, you hear violins playing . An acoustic trick, you wonder. But no: the music is in fact coming out of speakers set into recesses. The transformation of the tun...

Arriving at the St. Moritz station , I was able to arrange for a pick-up from the hotel. Normally guests should request a pick up with their train arrival information by e-mail though for some reason, I had forgotten to do until the day before my train journey and by then the hotel did not seem to receive it in time. While there is a shuttle van to ferry passengers to and from the hotel, the driver picked me up in a Range Rover Evoque . It was a 15 minute drive to the neighouring town of Surlej where Nira Alpina is located at. Nira Alpina hotel exterior That is right, Nira Alpina is not exactly located in St. Moritz proper. Instead there are the neighbouring towns of Silvaplana and Surlej across the lake. In fact the hotel is a ski-in/ski-out property that is attached to the Corvatsch ski area . Guests could purchase ski passes that allows access to Corvatsch, Corviglia and Diavolezza and there is even a promotional price of CHF35 (~$38)for guests staying more than one night at recog...