Good old December. The month of festivities, christmas parties, presents, a few too many mince pies and over indulging to the max. As exciting as it sounds, I’m sure the most of you will agree, it can all get a little overwhelming, so what better way to escape the hustle and bustle and festive mayhem than a nights stay out of town?
And that is exactly what we did. Chewton Glen, in the New forest, was top of my list, having stayed in one of their tree houses earlier last year on a press trip. They have a range of different tree houses from the Studio Suite which is perfect for two, the Loft Suite for four, the Hideaway Suite, perfect for a romantic couples stay and The Yews, the most secluded abode which sleeps up to twelve. (House party anyone?) We were treated to the loft suite, with our own front room area, kitchen, private balcony, hot tub, ensuite bathroom with a shower and bath as well as an upstairs area with an extra bedroom.
Our ambitious plans of going for massages and utilising their spa upon arrival (Which, by the way, looks insane) quickly disintegrated as we entered our treehouse and realised we didn’t actually want to leave. We instead spent the afternoon listening to music on their Bose speakers with the balcony doors wide open, sipping on the champagne we received upon arrival, along with an array of sweet treats, muffins and cakes and watched the sun set as we sat in the hot tub taking in the surroundings…..Sounds pretty dreamy, right? And yes….we were very lucky with the weather!
We had dinner booked in The Dining Room that evening, the Hotels award winning main restaurant and no surprise at all, the food was absolutely delicious. Run by head chefs, James Martin and Jean Christophe-Novelli, the menu is a mixture of contemporary and cosmopolitan options and a lot of fresh seasonal ingredients from the hotels Kitchen Garden. Tip – Go for the lobster Thai curry, it is insane and the wasabai mash as a side is to die for! If you know me, you’ll know I have the biggest sweet tooth but we were so tired we decided to order an array of desserts back to the treehouse which arrived when we got back… Deliveroo who? Tip- The chocolate fondant and apple tart are an absolute must try.
In retrospect, only staying the one night doesn’t leave too much time to get involved in some of the many activities there are to do at Chewton Glen. Going for a walk in the new forest, playing a spot of golf, tennis, archery, mountain biking or simply relaxing it up and getting pampered in their spa are all on offer if you don’t just fancy lounging around the tree house, like we did.
The next morning, we had the choice of going to breakfast in the main hotel or eating at leisure in our treehouse, we obviously opted for the treehouse and a breakfast hamper was subsequently delivered to our door full of fresh pastries, baguettes, milk, cereals, yoghurt, you name it and being the absolute gannets we are, we also ordered a tonne of hot food too. Eggs, avocado on toast, mushrooms, salmon. Breakfast Goals? Hell yeah! It was an absolute feast to say the least.
After a late check out we hopped back on the train to London. A super quick 1 hour 50 min journey from New Milton back to London Waterloo. Simple. I honestly returned to London feeling so much more relaxed, refreshed ( slightly on the full side) but certainly ready to tackle the masses of christmas shopping I had left to accumulate. A definite must for a weekend or few days luxurious winter escape. Thank you so much Chewton Glen!