A Night in the Country

So you’re probably wondering whether Dr Husband and I made it to Paris? Well despite having planned my packing days in advance, unusually organised for me, unfortunately Daisy wasn’t well enough for us to leave her. So, instead we left her with her Grandparents and travelled 1 hour away from them, so we could be on hand in case of an emergency. Where did we go? Well because it was so amazing, I thought I’d share it with you. We had one, child free (!), night at The Greenway Hotel and Spa in the countryside, just outside the Regency town of Cheltenham.

During my time working as a fashion buyer, I travelled endlessly so hotels are usually my last option for a break as they remind me of work. But, I loved this hotel, it was really small, just 21 rooms so you didn’t feel like you were away with the rest of the world. Also it felt incredibly homely, The Greenway is a 16^th Century Elizabethan Manor with beautiful wood beams and a really higgledy-piggledy feel to it. Our room, Chestnut, was on the top floor, and so we had to climb several staircases to reach it. I half expected to find a huge wardrobe with a door to Narnia inside. Instead we had a huge bed wider than it was long, and a dressing table, and sofa area with coffee table and an adjoining bathroom with luxury ESPA products. Bliss. Square footage wise, I wonder whether the room was bigger than our flat in London?

We booked, in truly last minute style, through offpeakluxury.com, and our deal included use of the spa facilities, a bottle of Champagne, 3-course meal in the two AA Rosettes Garden Restaurant and full cooked breakfast. The cooked breakfast, and extensive whisky menu were essentials for Dr Husband. For me, it was the spa. My toes, previously in hibernation, are now expertly painted in Orly’s Moonlit Madness by @evieedgworth. Apt, as my favourite part of the weekend was sinking into the outdoor hot tub with a bottle of fizz. Life doesn’t get more decadent than that. Even a bout of rain didn’t oust me from my position, instead Dr Husband and I laughed like teenagers.

The food was, as expected, wonderful. I tried to stop myself from filling up on homemade tomato bread, and convinced myself three pieces was a moderate amount to eat. We received nibbles and canapés in the bar, before being given an amuse-bouche of smoked mackerel on arrival to the table. I won’t bore you with details of everything I ate, but let’s just say a pecan and muscovado tart with stem ginger ice cream was a great way to finish. We were suitably bowled over by the service and quality of the food, facilities and cleanliness of the hotel, and weren’t remotely surprised to learn they were winners of the ‘Small Hotel Group of the Year’ category at the AA Hospitality Awards.

A trip to Paris would have been lovely, but I wasn’t remotely disappointed with the alternative.