Something of a mystery to me, a place which I have always wanted to find out more about, but had never, until now, had the chance to experience. Having been invited to an awards ceremony in one of The Belfry’s lavish hospitality suites, I seized upon the opportunity to book a room and see for myself what this recently redeveloped hotel has to offer.
And I wasn’t disappointed. It would be hard to spend £5.5 million and not notice a difference, even though some professional football clubs manage just that on twice the money, on a more regular basis! As the website says, the hotel has transformed from “the superb to the sublime”.
And in every way, the hotel scored highly. The staff were courteous, attentive and “bothered” – all too often the “not bothered” attitude seeps out from every pore of hotel staff, but not here. When we checked in, a desperate would-be guest was practically begging the receptionist for a room – “Sorry sir, we are full”. Feeling slightly embarrassed that we did have a room (but a little smug at the same time), we were checked in very efficiently and made our way to the room, taking in the unpretentious and welcoming décor.
With 154 bedrooms, including doubles, twins, singles and suites, which have comfortable lounge and dining areas and a luxurious bathroom with a walk-in shower and private Jacuzzi bath. There is an excellent range of accommodation for all sizes of party and budget. Our double was spacious, superbly decorated and perfectly appointed. The bathroom, with roomy walk-in shower and bath, was huge. We were left wanting for nothing, and, as we were both to find out later, the beds were sumptuous and facilitated a well deserved lie in after a testing week.
And it got better. The food during the awards ceremony was first class, the service exemplary and the wine chilled – and to cater for up to 150 and tick all of these “must tick” boxes is an achievement in itself.
Breakfast was equally gratifying – the long queues for the cooked breakfast (some repeat business in the same morning we noticed!) quickly knocked out my “just fruit for me” pledge. Scrambled eggs on toast isn’t that naughty anyway!
A massive hit of a stay, my only regret being that we hadn’t made use of the excellent facilities. As well as a superb leisure centre, there are two tennis courts and a croquet lawn. There is also a spa. If you go (and you should!), chill out in the steam room and indulge in some pampering at the experienced hands of the hotel’s holistic therapists. We are certainly going back!
Literally just ten minutes from Oxford, what excuse have you got not to go?
