Gorgeously glamorous!
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Northumberland is renowned for its stunning scenery and rich history, so it’s no surprise the county has enjoyed a tourism boom.
As the least-densely populated county in England, it oozes space and a feeling of well-being and relaxation.
And you don’t need to be a tourist to appreciate the beauty of Northumberland.
Living within an hour of the county, I still get blown away every time I visit, and a perfect place to call home for a night or two is Matfen Hall Hotel & Spa.
Matfen Hall, a magnificent Gothic house built in 1832 in an age of wealth and prosperity and set, as the best always were, in landscaped parkland, is owned by Sir Hugh and Lady Blackett, who have the fine taste and extremely high standards of their ancestors.
And those that thrive on hotel history will dine out on all the detail at Matfen.
The buildings of Matfen Hall incorporate two earlier houses – one Medieval and the other dating from 1685 – and the hotel team is extremely well versed in the history of the building and can regale a number of fascinating facts.
For example, the marble Chantrey fireplace, named after its 19th-century carver, in the Terrace Room, is a popular backdrop for wedding photographs – however, its original owner was less impressed with it.
The fireplace was originally commissioned by King George IV for Buckingham Palace but was rejected for being too narrow.
From 1997-99, Sir Hugh and Lady Blackett lovingly restored and transformed Matfen Hall into a 31-bedroom luxury hotel.
In 1998 they also restored the gardens with the large formal Dutch garden on the east side of the hotel being brought back to life, and a large pergola built with roses, wisteria and laburnum. A rose garden with more than 400 traditional English roses has also been established.
In May 2004 the completion of a £4.5million expansion project resulted in the completion of the Blacketts’ development plans.
This included the building of an additional 22 bedrooms, extensive spa and leisure facilities and a state of the art conference suite. Today Matfen Hall employs more than 170 members of staff.
During 2006 and 2007, Matfen Hall brought further development to their golf facilities, which included the building of a bespoke Golf Academy and the nine-hole Dewlaw course. The 18 hole Matfen Hall course opened in 1995 and is now rated as one of the best in the region, as is the Golf Academy.
The Keepers Lodge, which opened in 2003, overlooks the 18th green and is an integrated pub, restaurant, clubhouse and pro shop.
All of the 53 bedrooms have been individually designed by Lady Blackett and include four poster, premiere, deluxe and classic rooms.
The rooms are spacious, some being traditional and some contemporary, with
satellite television and lux-urious Gilchrist & Soam es toiletries to use.
The two AA Rosette Library Restaurant is a genuine fine dining experience with taste explosions and attention to detail that you could not replicate.
I’d swotted up about the hotel’s background before my visit, so had high expectations of a luxurious, grand stay.
After I checked into the hotel, a late salad and sandwich lunch was the perfect choice in the chilled ambience to set the scene for my much-needed away-fromit-all break.
My partner and I were more into pampering than putting on this visit, so headed off to the spa. A quick blast in the wellequipped gym, then we were ready to enjoy the glass-ceiling pool, whirlpool and the ‘Fire and Ice’ Thermal Suite, designed specifically for Matfen Hall, with a tropical shower, ice fountain, crystal steam room, salt grotto and herbal sauna.
The spa treatments are extremely popular and next time we visit we’ll book in advance as we weren’t able
to get an appointment to sample the candlelit treatment rooms.
Even after a few hours our high expectations had been more than met.
We kept it informal for our evening meal in the Conservatory Bistro and enjoyed sharing an antipasti platter of meats, cheeses and ciabatta and a goats’ cheese and sun blushed tomato salad with sweet potato fries.
The conservatory ambience is one of total relaxation, with a view across the hotel’s 27-hole championship golf course, par 3 course and driving range.
After a wonderful night’s sleep, I almost skipped down to breakfast in the Library restaurant.
The dish of sausage, black pudding and caramelised apple was so deliciously different, I had it again the following morning.
And as we checked out we saw wedding guests arrive. The room looked lovely, so it is no wonder it’s one of the North East’s most popular venues – and we were told couples can get exclusive use of the entire East Wing, with its own private entrance. How gorgeously glam. One day, perhaps!