Seeking Relaxation At Chewton Glen Hotel, Hampshire

It’s that time of year when wedding anniversary celebrations pop up on my Facebook feed left, right and centre. Our anniversary happens to be one of them and knowing we would be out of the country for our actual anniversary, sought an early getaway – just the two of us. Last year we celebrated at the stunning Pennyhill Park spa hotel in Surrey (a favourite with the England rugby team) and had a luxurious, relaxing time there but this year we settled upon the boutique hotel Chewton Glen in the New Forest.

As someone who always likes to try different places (more me than my husband if I’m honest – it drives him a bit crazy), we were prepared to travel slightly further than Surrey this time around. Not too far from our London home but enough in the countryside to feel away from it all and relaxed as well as some good quality food and wine.

Around two hours from central London we arrived at the five star hotel around noon. We entered a sweeping drive and our car was swiftly parked by a valet. Chewton Glen certainly looked the part for our mid-week country getaway. 

With our room not yet ready we decided to go for a walk to the beach which was around 10/15 minutes away. We had barely set off across the hotel’s nine hole golf course when it begun to rain – that’s August in the UK for you! At 19 degrees it wasn’t exactly the warmest August day either. Undeterred, we took the risk and the rain soon eased. It was still cold though with the most terrific wind sweeping across our faces. We got a taste of the countryside by cutting through an area of woodland, Chewton Bunny, and followed a path once used by smugglers, passing a small waterfall on the way, until we came to the beach at Highcliffe.

 A stony area of the coast, the first thing that hit us was the wind. Lots of it! Battling our way through it we reached the rugged coastline looking out onto the choppy, angry sea, crashing onto the shore. With the Isle of Wight in the distance, it felt refreshing to be out in the elements and not hard to imagine the perilous seas experienced by smugglers and sea farers back in the day. In fact, it felt a bit like the setting from an Enid Blyton Famous Five book. We certainly felt far away from London. 
We stood the wind and chill for as long as we could then retreated back to the hotel, a fitting place to escape from the weather. Set in 130 acres of grounds and parkland, Chewton Glen is a traditional English manor house with a modern twist and the most beautiful grounds to admire.

Wandering past very old, magestic looking paintings along a creaky red carpet, we felt quite at home at the 70 room hotel (not that our home looks anything like this)!   With the main restaurant booked up for lunch, we headed to the spa restaurant for a bite to eat. We had a delicious buffet lunch which was packed with healthy bites such as roasted vegetables, cous cous dishes, prawn cocktails and wraps as well as some naughtier desserts. We gazed out onto the grounds and read the paper, feeling very chilled.

When our room was finally ready, we were delighted to be informed that we had been upgraded (don’t you just love that)! The modern, well decorated room was perfect: plenty of wardrobe space, a little sitting area, king-sized bed and views over the grounds. The bathroom was roomy, had a great shower and was in very good condition while all the furniture in the room looked relatively new.  

What really impressed me was the inclusion of a hairdryer AND straighteners – it’s the little touches that make a great hotel, right? I’ve never been to a hotel which provides straighteners as standard in rooms and thank goodness they did because I had left my own at home and without them my hair looks like Worzel Gummidge. Also in the room was an electronic tablet to provide guests with more information about the hotel and local area. Yep, forget bulky ring binders, this is the way forward! It had all the information you need to know about the hotel, its facilities, activities and menus as well as a section to order DVDs to watch in your room – many of which were complimentary.

Having marvelled at the room for a bit we got ready for some spa action. Voted one of the top 10 spa hotels by Conde Nast back in 2011 we had high hopes – but mainly I was just looking to relax and get some reading in (it’s a bit of a rarity nowadays with a little one in tow). I liked that the spa was just a short walk along the corridor so no going outside.

The large indoor swimming pool was housed in an airy, elegant room. With sun beds around the edge and plenty of magazines at our disposal, I got reading and could easily have had a snooze. There were also chairs and sun beds outside to lounge on if the weather had been good (which it wasn’t for us). In an adjoining room, there was a large hydrotherapy pool housed in a glass, conservatory type space. There was a choice of bubble intensity depending on where we stood/sat and also a small outside hot tub.  I have still to find a spa area as large and as varied as the one Pennyhill Park but this was quiet and very relaxing.

The indoor pool can only be used by children during set hours (9-10.30am and 4-5.30pm) but the outdoor heated swimming pool can be used at anytime and is open April – September.

I booked a fantastic massaget there with the therapist using a unique oil blend mixed by the spa, containing essential oils including grape seed oil. It was bliss and I now felt thoroughly relaxed.

Just next to the spa, there was a gym with all the latest equipment. We obviously had to give it a whirl. Well, we needed our bodies to be ready for a good feed at the much talked about restaurant, Vetiver.

Before we sat down for dinner, we relaxed in the bar – an old gentleman’s smoking room complete with red leather chairs and a musty smell. Very countryesque! There were also a couple of lounges you can relax in and outside space but only the brave were daring to sit out on this particularly chilly August evening. Drinks were what you’d expect in a hotel (ie not cheap) but slightly less than hotels in London.  We were soon escorted to our table in the main dining room and we decided to go for the tasting menu. With the package we had purchased for our stay, this was included, although we could have eaten from the al la carte and paid the difference – if there had been any. Chewton Glen has a very extensive wine collection with a bulky menu to wade through. The sommelier was helpful though as were the rest of the staff who were a friendly bunch. Beware of ordering the mineral water though, it was particularly pricey!

We were glad of our trip to the gym…it was a six course meal with everything from trout tartar to scallops with confuit pork belly and chocolate fondant. Here’s some food porn for you…

We were stuffed by the end but were thoroughly impressed with the dishes, the mix of tastes and presentation. For large groups there is a top table available in the wine room. No doubt the wine fanatics could spent a good part of the meal checking out the bottles surrounding them.

As we were only going for one night, we didn’t take up all the facilities the hotel has to offer. Well, it would be almost impossible even if you were staying there for a week! As well as the nine hole golf course, paid activities include pigeon clay shooting, falconry, archery as well as a family treasure hunt.

Although we went as a couple without Mrs T, it did appear to be a very child friendly hotel with many families staying there.

For starters, it has a kids club which is complimentary for hotel guests, and offered some very fun sounding activities including a bug hunt.

For activities together, bikes can be hired for the whole family with the New Forest National Park to explore on your doorstep. Free activities include croquet (junior sets available). At breakfast I was also impressed to see children’s plates and cutlery.

Nearby places of interest include Highcliffe  Castle (once home to the Selfridge family), Stonehenge, Marwell zoo and Monkey Workd to name a few.

We left Chewton Glen feeling very well rested thanks to the large comfy bed, well fed following a delicious, hearty breakfast  (and that six course meal) and far more relaxed. After our car was delivered back to us, we sunk into our seats to find two bottles of water and some shortcake biscuits for the journey home. Pure class. Of course, class does come with a five star price tag so it may be a little while (and another special occasion) before we return to the peaceful country retreat of Chewton Glen.