- 🏛️ Where · 8-10 North Parade, Bath, Somerset, opposite Parade Gardens and the abbey, in a World Heritage city
- 🗓️ Opening · September 2026, first guests announced for 21 September, restaurant following at the end of the year
- 🛏️ Keys · 49 rooms across six floors, from Snug rooms to suites for four, plus three Spa Garden Rooms with green roofs
- 🧖 Spa · The Courtyard Spa in the enclosed garden: sauna, cold plunge, hot tub, outdoor shower, relaxation room
- 🏗️ Building · Three Grade I listed Georgian townhouses, designed around 1740 by John Wood the Elder, completed in 1748
- 🏢 Operator · Providence Hotels, with rates advertised from £150 per night
Bath has not seen a hotel opening of this kind in quite some time. The Parade, featuring 49 rooms set within three 1748 Georgian townhouses on North Parade, welcomes its first guests in late September 2026, complete with a courtyard spa hidden behind stone walls and a bar named after the year of its construction. Providence Hotels has transformed the former Parade Park Hotel into a charming retreat just a two-minute walk from the abbey.
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Contents
Three townhouses by John Wood the Elder
North Parade is one of the streets that defined 18th-century Bath. Its houses were designed around 1740 by John Wood the Elder, the architect behind the Circus and Queen Square, as lodgings for spa visitors, and completed in 1748. The three buildings that make up the hotel are Grade I listed, the highest level of British architectural protection, overlooking Parade Gardens, the abbey and the River Avon.
The restoration has preserved the buildings’ character: original wood panelling in the communal areas and most of the bedrooms, sash windows and ornate cornicing. The central staircase, complete with half-landings, was originally designed so that chairmen could carry spa guests directly up to their apartments without them having to walk after taking the waters.
49 rooms, no two alike
The 49 rooms are spread across six floors, with their shapes dictated by the architecture: compact Snug rooms, attic rooms, interconnecting family rooms, suites sleeping four, and three Feature rooms with freestanding bathtubs positioned in front of double-height windows. All feature air conditioning, smart TVs and tea-making facilities, while a selection of rooms are dog-friendly.
The colour palette embraces a biophilic ethos, bringing the outdoors in with deep greens, neutral tones, timber, stone and linen. Stylised acorns are subtly woven into the woodwork and fabrics, a nod to King Bladud, Bath’s legendary founder whose pigs supposedly healed themselves in the hot mud of the springs after feeding on acorns.
A courtyard spa behind the walls
The Parade’s hidden gem is tucked away in the enclosed rear garden. The Courtyard Spa features a sauna, cold plunge pool, hot tub, outdoor shower and relaxation room, set within a garden planted with lavender, rosemary, bay and olive trees. Designed by Spratley & Partners under the direction of Emily Moult, the project required seamlessly fitting new facilities into a protected heritage site without altering its silhouette.
Three Spa Garden Rooms, complete with living grass roofs, open directly onto this garden. The wellness ritual alternates between hot, cold and rest, echoing the Roman Baths just a five-minute walk away. Treatment rooms will follow in a second phase.
| Building construction | 1748, to designs by John Wood the Elder |
| Listing status | Grade I |
| Rooms | 49, across six floors |
| Spa Garden Rooms | 3, with green roofs and direct spa access |
| Feature rooms | 3, with freestanding tubs by the window |
| Opening rates | from £150 per night |
| Restaurant | Phase 2, late 2026 |
The 1748 bar, then a restaurant in late 2026
The lounge bar is named after the year the townhouses were completed. The 1748 serves breakfast featuring West Country produce, artisanal cheeses, local ciders and spirits, followed by coffees, late lunches and evening cocktails. The restaurant, promised for the end of the year, will blend local ingredients with global flavours.
General manager Nicola Fender describes the project as an “extraordinary journey” to bring the building back to life, while Joe Bester, head of Providence Hotels, calls it a hotel “in one of Bath’s most special locations.” Providence Hotels, which already operates character properties across South West England, is positioning this as its flagship venue.
Our verdict
Bath is home to several ultra-luxury hotels, led by the Royal Crescent, alongside numerous guesthouses, but options in between were scarce. The Parade targets this polished mid-market segment, starting from £150, offering a genuine historic building and a spa that most city hotels lack. Its location does the rest, with the abbey and Roman Baths both within sight.
The courtyard spa gamble is a smart one. In a city whose very name means bath, offering an open-air hot-cold ritual framed by 1748 stonework is a promise visitors will immediately appreciate. The final piece of the puzzle is the restaurant; until it opens, guests will rely on the city’s ample dining scene.
Practical information
- The Parade, 8-10 North Parade, Bath BA2 4AL · +44 (0)1225 463384 · paradehotelbath.com
- Bath Spa station 5 minutes’ walk away, London Paddington 1 hour 20 minutes by train
- Roman Baths, abbey and Pulteney Bridge less than 5 minutes’ walk away
Photo credit Parade Hotel Bath
