A NEW £1m spa garden was officially launched this week with the help of a host of well-known faces.

Middlesbrough players George Friend, Ben Gibson and Grant Leadbitter, were among the guests at Rockliffe Hall to celebrate the opening of the 5* resort’s new outdoor spa facilities, located within the 365 acre estate.

The spa garden, developed following a £1m investment, has two outdoor hot pools- including one with an infinity edge hydrotherapy pool with massage features and a separate warm Jacuzzi, under-floor heated decking, lounging areas, a traditional glass-fronted sauna cabin, a fire pit, a water feature, landscaped gardens with views across Rockliffe’s grounds and heated relaxation loungers.

Rockliffe Hall, at Hurworth, near Darlington, already has a 50,000 square feet indoor spa which includes a 20 meter leisure pool, a thermal bathing suite with a tepidarium, caldarium, roman and heat saunas, tropicarium, hydropool and ice fountain, sound wave therapy beds and an extensive range of treatments.

Chief executive, Eamonn Elliott, said: “Rockliffe Hall’s new Spa Garden is the most significant development since the resort was launched six years ago. We have invested a lot of time to ensure it offers something completely new and is spectacular. Our spa is already one of the most successful in the UK but we will never become complacent hence we continually strive to offer people yet another reason to come to the North East for spa breaks.

Rockliffe Hall’s spa manager, Victoria Lees, said: “The spa garden was something that we always aspired to have to constantly offer our guests something new. This has been in the planning and development for five years so it’s incredibly exciting to now see it all coming together. We are such a popular spa that there was a definite need to expand and clients have always fed back to us that the only thing that we were missing was outdoor hot tubs. As a five star resort, we always strive to exceed expectations and want to stay ahead of the competition and this will certainly set us apart.”

Work started on the new development in January with local contractors, Wharton Construction in Darlington, managing the project.

The original vision was designed by Sparc studio and Rockliffe Hall also worked with architects Xsite.