The second I got my drivers license, one of the first things I did was book a weekend away at Chewton Glen in the New Forest. I had heard such great things about the hotel and spa that I needed to try it for myself.
After an easy two hour drive, we pulled up to the glorious property. We were warmly welcomed and whisked right into our gorgeous suite which overlooked the main hotel and the croquet lawn. Everything in our suite was controlled by an iPad located on the desk. In addition to the lighting and room service, there was a full entertainment menu. I mention this because I rarely find that there are movies available in UK Hotels. Usually there is outdated selection of DVDs behind the front desk, so to see an on-demand current movie selection was very exciting. Enough about that… My favorite part of the room, (apart from the view and movie selection), was the giant bathroom, which included a vanity to do my make-up, two showers, and a bath. Finally no arguing about who gets first shower!
I forgot to mention at the beginning that we left the kids at home for this weekend. While this was a san-children trip, I have to say that the hotel is super family friendly. Walking the grounds there were children everywhere, but not in an in-your-face kinda way. We felt guilty for not bringing our own at first, but didn’t feel that bad when we got in robes and headed for the award-winning spa.
Before our massages, we had lunch in the Pool Bar located right next door to the spa. There were perfect healthy selections of quinoa, grilled vegetables, chicken wraps, and lovely fruit-based desserts, all light bites that wouldn’t fill us up too much before getting rubbed down. The tables in the restaurant overlook one of the fantastic indoor pools, and it was nice to sit and relax for a bit after our drive.
Then came my highlight of the weekend, the Kundalini Back Treatment. I always book in for a deep tissue massage at the spa, but I wanted to try something new. The treatment menu said it had a profoundly restorative effect on the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, while realigning the body’s rhythm and restoring a balanced state. “I’ll try it!” It..was..INCREDIBLE. The massage was just on the back, back of legs and arms, and the entire thing was set to music. Instead of being in pain during the massage (like a normal deep tissue), I felt like my body instantly turned to jello, and I was in and out of sleep pretty much the entire time. It was so incredibly relaxing, I can’t even tell you how much I loved the whole thing.
At the end of the treatment my therapist, Holly, brought me a lovely cup of tea, and we stumbled back to our rooms in our spa robes. After a short cat nap, it was already time for pre-dinner cocktails in the bar. We sat by the roaring fire and I had a delicious espresso martini before we were shown our table for dinner.
My Husband is obsessed with trying new wines, and especially ones local to the area that we were in, so we actually had a great wine from the New Forest, which my husband had fun choosing with the sommelier. For dinner I had the most delicious lobster red curry. It sounds like it would be heavy, but it was actually perfectly light, and meant that I didn’t feel so bad ordering dessert. Still feeling totally zen (Kundalini Back Treatment plus a few cocktails) we went back to our beautiful room for a fantastic night’s sleep, and no children to wake us up in the morning.
The next morning we decided to explore. There is a great little beach walk that the hotel will give you directions to, along with Hunter wellies and a giant umbrella, all available at the front door. We put on our boots and started walking the gorgeous grounds. We passed the outdoor swimming pool, the kids play area (including Bug Hotel), and a 9-hole golf course. After about 20 minutes walking through the forest along a steam, we literally popped out and were were on the coast. England is pretty amazing, and sometimes I feel like being in London we forget that there is so much to explore outside the city. It was a bit too cold (for me anyways) to continue the walk around the coast so we set off back to the hotel for a nice warm cup of coffee.
Before leaving the hotel, I asked the front desk if I could check out the Treehouses, to possibly come back with the Minis. The Treehouses are separate rooms located just across from the main hotel and they have golf carts to take you there. We did a quick tour of one, and I have to say they are pretty darn cool, and perfect for a family of four. The room is literally built in the trees, and the views are spectacular. There’s a hot tub on your balcony, and a separate little room for the kids accessible by ladder. So perfect.
On the drive home we stopped at The Pig in Brockenhurst for lunch, more to come on that soon. On our way back to London all we could talk about was when we could return to Chewton Glen. Summer? “It would be so great to do the beach walk with the kids!” Husband said. “But the fireplaces and treehouse would be perfect for Christmas” was my response. Either way I know we will be returning as soon as we can.
New Milton, New Forest, Hampshire, England, UKBH25 6QS
All photos were taken by yours truly, so if you’d like to use them, please ask for permission first- thanks!
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