carden park, chester
relax at a glam venue set in 1,000 acres of cheshire countryside that features a £10 million spa
What is it?
You feel a sense of decadence the moment you enter the gated 1,000-acre Carden Park estate. The major draw of this 4-star luxury venue is the award-winning spa, but you’ll also find four fabulous dining options, beautiful grounds to explore and two 18-hole golf courses. It’s the place to be seen this summer.
If you feel too Zen to go home, book one of the 197 rooms. Our very comfortable double overlooked the gardens – the estate’s vineyard was just out of view but accessible on foot. The bed was so comfy it felt like sleeping on a cloud, so no wonder it was the eviction night spot for last year’s I’m A Celebrity stars.
how deluxe is the spa?
The spa’s reception alone exudes opulence with its white Carrara marble staircase and living-moss wall. But it’s the spa garden that gives the instant wow factor with spotless artificial grass, heated pods, an alfresco Bollinger bar and three hot tubs alongside a beautiful outdoor pool. There’s countryside as far as the eye can see and, as I lounged under a parasol sipping an Aperol spritz, I felt I could have been anywhere in the world – nothing signals holiday time quite like an obscenely bright orange drink!
As well as an indoor pool and Love Island-style fire pit, there are specialist saunas and steam rooms with a limit on numbers. My signature spa treatment – a top-to-toe massage and facial combining Elemental
Herbology products, fresh ingredients from the spa garden and grape juice from the vineyard – was so chilled I dozed off.
What’s the food like?
We had a Caesar salad for lunch at the spa restaurant Elements. We added a side order of chips for £5 but were underwhelmed to count only nine of them – just over 55p a chip! Things improved later when we had dinner at The Vines, whose menu celebrates locally sourced ingredients. Each plate in the three-course meal was more indulgent than the last. A whipped goat’s cheese mousse was followed by pea and broad bean agnolotti with a twist – the waiter poured a thyme and onion tea over the pasta, bringing out the already intense flavours. A baked Alaska, soaked in limoncello and set alight before our eyes, made for an exciting finale.
What else can i do there?
The evenings are lively for a spa hotel, thanks to the fact that it attracts golfers. Morgan’s Bar is a great place for an after-dinner cocktail with a piano player providing the soundtrack. If there’s only so much enforced relaxation you can handle, or you want to bring along younger members of the family, there’s plenty to do. Activities include archery, tennis, a giant chess board, an aerial adventure course and 4x4 off-roading.
rates at Carden park start from £159 b&b. for more info or to book, visit Cardenpark.co.uk or Call 01829 731000