The Roaming Pen

As it was our sixth anniversary, we decided to
see exactly what a romantic weekend could
be. Bath has been a favourite place for
weekends for over two thousand years. The
Romans knew about such things and we drove
down to darkest Somerset to find out more.
North East Somerset, which is virtually part of
the Cotswolds, is packed with very
picturesque little villages with equally
picturesque names, like Limpley Stoke, Little
Cumberwell and Hinton Charterhouse.

Holmwood Park Hotel

Just six miles south of Bath, we found the 19th
Century manor, Homewood Park, a luxury
country house just off the A36, set in 10
acres of parkland, in the lovely Limpley Stoke
Valley, an area of outstanding natural beauty.
The atmosphere reflects its peaceful
surroundings and well-manicured grounds, but
there' nothing imposing or stuffy about this
fine house whiches dates back to 1832.
We had a junior suite, almost a small flat,
modern and traditional at the same time. The
bed was so sumptuous that we found it
impossible to get up in the morning. The
bathroom was huge with a large freestanding
tub, a separate big shower and two wash
basins; we could shave together – ahh.

The head chef, Daniel Moon has won loads of
awards including Country Restaurant of the
Year in the Good Food Guide. I had lamb done
three ways – no need to do it quite so often I
thought but it was very good if not
particularly lamby. Mike had venison which
was great. Absolutely no complaints about
the food; breakfast also terrific.
You do need to watch out for small extras
though. On arrival the very charming young
receptionist, who seemed to be there the
entire time, offered us tea now and how
about some in the morning, she also asked if
we would like a morning paper. Yes please we
said, what she didn' say was that this was
extra. Tea for two was £7, afternoon and
morning and the paper was charged at normal
price. Not a lot of money but at a hotel of
this quality it should have been complimentary.

Outside there' a small swimming pool open
during the summer and the 10 acres of
grounds are really lovely to stroll around.
All this is surprisingly reasonable with threecourse
dinner from £48.50 per person.
Rooms range from a Classic at £125 per
night; Deluxe £165; Junior suite £205 and
a Master suite from £245.
This place has to be what a romantic weekend
is all about, we loved it and we really wanted
to stay in the mood so headed to Bath.

And feeling extremely romantic we booked into
The Royal Crescent Hotel. This is a world of
pure fantasy and completely over the top old
BATH TIME DOWER fashioned luxury.

We were lucky and got
upgraded to a suite. Of course there was a
huge sitting room, dressing room, vast
bathroom and a bedroom with the biggest bed
I have ever seen with a snowdrift of white
pillows and duvets. The cherry on the cake was
when the concierge lit the fire in the sitting
room. All we needed was a kitchen and there
would have been no reason to leave. Bathroom
freebies were from Culpepper, which is not
surprising as the hotel group happen to own
Culpepper, good product placement!
The spa is called The Bathhouse and is across
the beautiful gardens. This is really unusual.
They have a smallish swimming pool, all black
granite floors, two large barrel type tubs with
hot and cold water and a sauna steam room.

The restaurant is called The Dower House and
is, of course, lovely. In fact everything you
would expect in a five star hotel. Nothing is
ever perfect, our dinner was extremely good
but my pudding was not nice and when I
mentioned this to the waiter he really wasn'
particularly bothered.

The Royal Crecent - Bath

The Royal Crescent Hotel is fabulous, it can
be very pricey but it appears to be busy; it'
loved by the Americans and wealthy tourists.
It' part of Relais & Chateaux, officially the
most beautiful hotels in the world. Rooms can
vary in size and can in fact be quite
reasonable; the whole place exudes tradition,
go for a one-off weekend or a very special
occasion. The big bonus is that you get to see
Bath, one of the loveliest cities in the country.
The Royal Crescent Hotel is owned by the Von
Essen group, who have a collection of 30 or
so hotels, most of which seem to be of a very
high standard.

www.homewoodpark.co.uk
www.royalcrescent.co.uk
www.vonessenhotels.co.uk
www.visitbath.co.uk

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"Roaming Pen"