When we first opened our glamping cabins at Prospect House Farm, the private hot tubs were obviously going to be an important part of the experience. What we probably didn’t appreciate at the time was just how much they would change the whole rhythm of a stay.
Our two adults-only glamping lodges, Little Lodge and Little Big Lodge, sit in the North Yorkshire countryside just outside Scarborough. Each has its own private outdoor area complete with a hot tub, and over the years, and from the reviews we’ve read, we’ve seen that every guest uses it a little differently.
Some head straight for the tub within minutes of arriving. Others save it until after dinner. Some are back in with a coffee the following morning, while plenty seem to spend considerably longer in there than they’d originally planned.
That’s the thing about having your own private hot tub. It isn’t really something you do while you’re away. It becomes part of the stay, the reason to slow down and really take a moment.
Hot Tub Glamping at Your Own Pace
There’s a big difference between having access to a hot tub and having one completely to yourself.
There’s no booking a time slot, sharing it with other guests or deciding whether it’s worth going back in for another half an hour. At both our lodges, the hot tub is there whenever you fancy it.
That freedom changes things.
You can wake up slowly and get in before breakfast, spend the day exploring the Yorkshire Coast and come back for another dip, or sit outside long after dark without having anywhere else you need to be.
For us, that’s what hot tub glamping in North Yorkshire should be about. The hot tub isn’t there to give you another activity to squeeze into the weekend. It’s there to make it easier to stop doing things for a while.
Which fits rather nicely with our philosophy of The Art of Being Lazy.
The Best Seat in the House Might Be Outside
One of the things we love about Prospect House Farm is that nature already provides most of the entertainment.
We’re surrounded by open North Yorkshire countryside, yet only a few minutes from Scarborough and the Yorkshire Coast. There are deer wandering around the site, birds constantly coming and going and, once daylight disappears, some pretty impressive skies overhead.
Sitting in warm water outside makes you notice all of it a little more.
There’s something particularly good about being in the tub when it’s cold outside, watching the steam rise while the temperature drops around you. Equally, on a summer evening, it’s very easy to lose track of time as daylight slowly disappears.
Our guests regularly mention the wildlife, the peace and quiet and the dark skies in their reviews. The hot tub simply gives them somewhere comfortable to stop and enjoy it.
A Hot Tub Lodge Made for Two
We don’t try to cram lots of people into our cabins.
Little Lodge and Little Big Lodge are both adults-only and designed specifically for two people. That means the space, the private hot tub and the whole experience can be centred around spending proper time together.
That’s one of the reasons romantic breaks have become such a big part of what we do.
We welcome couples celebrating anniversaries, birthdays and special occasions, but just as often they’re here because life has been busy and they fancy disappearing for a couple of days.
You don’t necessarily need a reason.
Sometimes a couple of nights away from home, with nowhere you particularly need to be, is reason enough. And what better place to do that than God’s Own County, Yorkshire.
Coming Back Is Half the Fun
Scarborough, Whitby, Robin Hood’s Bay and the North York Moors are all within easy reach of Prospect House Farm, so there’s certainly no shortage of places to explore.
But one thing we’ve noticed over the years is that guests often spend more time at their lodge than they expected.
Part of that is knowing what’s waiting when you get back.
You can spend the afternoon walking along the Yorkshire Coast, have something to eat in Scarborough or head out across the North York Moors, knowing that when you return there’s a private hot tub waiting for you.
And quite often, plans for going back out again mysteriously disappear.
We can’t say we blame them.
The Hot Tub Has Become Part of Our Story
Our glamping cabins have taught us quite a lot about what people actually want from a few days away.
It isn’t necessarily more things to do.
Quite often it’s the opposite.
Guests want somewhere comfortable, private and peaceful where they can properly switch off. And from the reviews we read, that experience is exactly what we have created: a place to do less so you can experience more.
That thinking has also had a big influence on what we’re building next at Prospect House Farm.
From Private Hot Tubs to Wood-Fired Saunas and Outdoor Baths
We’re currently creating two new adults-only cabins at Prospect House Farm: The Fire Cabin and The Bath House.
Neither will have a hot tub.
That might sound like a strange decision after everything we’ve just said, but we’re not trying to replace the hot tub experience. We’re trying to take what we’ve learnt from it and create another way to slow down.
Both new cabins will have their own wood-fired sauna, outdoor bath and outdoor shower, creating a different set of rituals around heat, water and being outside.
We wanted to create a journey for our guests. There’ll be the process of lighting the sauna, waiting for the heat to build, stepping outside into the North Yorkshire air and sinking into an outdoor bath beneath the sky.
The experience will be different, but the feeling we’re trying to create is exactly the same.
A few days where life runs at a slightly slower pace.
A Different Way to Experience North Yorkshire
Whether it’s a private hot tub or the wood-fired saunas and outdoor baths coming to our new cabins, the thinking behind them all is fairly simple.
We want to create places where couples can stop, somewhere you don’t feel the need to fill every minute.
Somewhere the countryside, wildlife and dark skies become part of the experience rather than simply the view from the window.
And somewhere that, for a couple of days at least, being lazy feels like exactly the right thing to be doing.
That’s our idea of a lazy escape in the North Yorkshire countryside.
