Aaaaaaand relax…
I have just come back from a very brief stay at the Swinton Estate Hotel and Spa in North Yorkshire, and I feel about 10 years younger.
Those of you without kids might not appreciate just how little time you get to yourself as a parent. In the evenings you are either cooking or washing or catching up on work you missed because the kids have been ill/on school holidays/at the dentist/whatever, and even in the hour or two on the sofa before you fall asleep your brain isn’t really your own. Maybe the kitchen tap needs fixing, maybe the car insurance needs sorting – there’s always something.
My partner and I have never really had a break just the two of us since we became parents, but with some friends of ours very kindly offering childcare (I and C you know who you are, thank you so much), we began searching for somewhere to go.
We knew we wanted a posh hotel, we knew we wanted it to be calm and secluded and we knew we wanted it to be somewhere with some history. We also knew we wanted a spa. Well, I knew I wanted a spa, my fella wasn’t bothered.
We found Swinton Estate online and they were offering a Seasonal Spa Package deal that looked perfect. Swinton is a 4* hotel in an old stately home situated on a 20,000 acre estate with a spa and a Michelin Guide restaurant offering fine dining.
You my friend, are booked!
The Hotel
As you can see, this place is a-maz-ing.
We drove in through a huge stone gated entrance, along a winding road that took us to the main building. Here we were offered a free drink on arrival and our bags were taken to our room – which had been upgraded with Swinton Estate’s compliments.
Our short trip couldn’t have got off to a better start.
The porter or attendant who took us to our room was called Trevor. He showed us around the house so we had our bearings and even gave us a bit of a guided tour. We learned some of the history of the house and he pointed out interesting features as we passed them. We both love this sort of stuff so it was a great introduction.
I can’t do the building justice in words so here are a few pictures to give you an idea of the grandiosity of the place.
It had all been so well thought out.
Throughout the building were buttons you could press to call someone to your location and ask for a drink, for example, and there was a boot room where you could borrow wellies and other outdoor gear if the weather was bad. Everything is charged to your room too. The team take care of literally everything, and the best thing is they all seem happy to be there, it was such a happy welcoming atmosphere.
When we got to our room, Trevor checked we had everything we needed and showed us how to contact reception then left us to settle in.
We wanted to give him a tip but neither of us had cash. We felt a bit bad about that but people so rarely carry cash these days – I hope Trevor understands!
The Room
We had booked a Baron’s Room, which is advertised as offering “traditional opulence”. However, we received a complimentary upgrade so ended up in an Earl’s Room. Similar traditional vibe, but much bigger.
The rooms are all named after nearby towns and villages, and ours was called Castle Howard.
It was massive, with windows on two sides letting in loads of light (but blocking it all out in the morning thanks to original wooden shutters and heavy curtains) and offering some beautiful views.
The bed was ginormous. We have a King at home but whatever this was it was significantly bigger.
The room also contained a small box of chocolates, biscuits, a coffee machine, robes and slippers, an umbrella, a teddy – because all hotel rooms should have a teddy – and even country jackets to wear out in the grounds if it was a bit nippy!
The bathroom was nearly as big as the bedroom and had all sorts of lotions, soaps, conditioners and shampoos, a big bath and an amazing walk in waterfall shower.
It all felt very authentic but had everything you would want in the modern day and more too.
I had such a good night’s sleep, and it wasn’t because I was drunk or anything like that – I’m still not drinking actually so I stuck to mocktails, unlike my fella who was a little worse for wear in the morning.
The Spa
We opted for early access to the spa on the day we arrived, so after dropping our bags in the room we headed across the courtyard to the Country Club and Spa.
My word what a place.
This isn’t the sort of spa that’s full of blow up lips and tits judging all the regular girls, it’s classy and refined and everyone is welcome. There are specific times when kids are allowed in too, so it’s good for families.
We collected our robes and flip flops and headed to the changing rooms, meeting up in the pool afterwards. We had a bit of a swim then ordered a coffee (using the same buttons found in the hotel) which was charged to our room, and sat on the loungers. We sipped flat whites and listened to the relaxing music and chatted a bit, then decided to try the foot spas. He had a cold one (the freak) and I had a hot one.
Next we moved across to the hydrotherapy pool which was probably my favourite. Bubbles for days! There were also a couple of saunas in this section, one was Finnish, but we didn’t use them or the steam rooms. We just ran out of time.
Moving on, and the outdoor pool was next. This was supposed to be a ‘bio-filtered al fresco swimming experience’, but the water was bloody freezing so for me it was more of a ‘snuggle up under a blanket on the loungers and read a book experience’. My other half went in though. I told you he was a freak.
We then strolled barefoot around the spa garden before going for our treatments. I had a facial and he had an Indian head massage.
The facial was great, maybe even the best I’ve had, but what is more telling is that my fella enjoyed his massage. He really isn’t a spa kind of guy, he’s never had a massage in his life and he doesn’t believe in mindfulness or anything like that. But he came out full of praise. His shoulder had stopped that clicking thing it does, he felt lighter, his muscles felt ‘melty’… whatever that’s supposed to mean.
In other words, he has been converted, and has already signed up to a few mailing lists for spas closer to home.
Samuels’ Restaurant
We headed back from the spa at around 6ish and got ready ready for the evening meal.
Swinton was really rubbing off on my partner: he not only ironed his shirt but also his t-shirt for the next day 😂
Our table was reserved for 7pm when the it opened and couldn’t have been better. It was right in the window looking out onto the estate. We could also look back into the room and see the whole length of it, including the incredible gold leaf ceiling.
We ordered drinks then spent 10 minutes asked each other what we were going to order from the menu, which is apparently the law when visiting any restaurant. Here though, we were also asking each other what half of it meant. I love fine dining, but I don’t do it often, and I’m not always entirely sure what I’m ordering.
We usually end up sharing anyway, and tonight was no different. The food was sublime. The sort you want to eat in smaller mouthfuls to make it last longer. They use ingredients grown on site in the estate gardens, so none of it had travelled far. A lovely touch.
Of course we ordered dessert as well, which was equally impressive.
I won’t pretend to be a food critic. All I know is that this was one of the best meals I have had in my life, and once again, the staff were wonderful.
They must have known we were just a couple of plebs on a package deal, just as we could spot the millionaires a few tables away, but they really looked after us.
We were back in the morning for breakfast, where you could order anything off the menu and it was all included. We had toast, a basket of mini pastries, coffee, juice, a full English and eggs benedict. It would have cost upwards of £40 ordering all of this at a bog standard café somewhere in Manchester, but this was a much higher standard and all part of the deal. Incredible.
The Grounds
After breakfast we went for a brisk morning walk around the grounds.
It would take absolutely hours to cover them all so we stuck fairly close to the main building, but nevertheless we ended up in the woods by Coffin Lake, where more daring guests can go wild swimming. We explored the stone coffins and the old bridge, meandered through the walled garden and then stopped off to look at the birds of prey.
There are about 20 different birds of prey – all of whom are let out of their cages regularly – and they seem to like company too as they were very vocal when we showed up. Maybe it was nearly feeding time.
We saw herds of deer roaming freely across the land plus loads of butterflies, and we barely came across anybody else on our travels. It was so nice to be around nature and have it all to ourselves.
There is plenty we didn’t see, such as the Druid’s Temple, the Bivouac Cafe which is located among the yurts and treehouses that serve as alternative accommodation options, or any of the activities that were being held. We just didn’t have time.
The Cost
I know you’re all dying to find out what we paid for all of this.
Here goes: £505!
That’s it. For two of us, with access to the spa plus two x 45 minute treatments, a meal for two in Samuel’s Restaurant, cooked breakfast, a mahoosive room, free car parking, access to the grounds and everything in them, plus any activities running while we were there.
If I break that down:
- 2 x spa treatments priced at £95 each individually = £190
- 2 meals equates to £55 each on any combination of starters, mains and desserts = £110
- 2 breakfasts which were included and had no limit
- 1 room for the night with chocolates, free drink on arrival and a departure gift
The spa treatments and food budget alone comes out at £300, so for £205 we got the room, breakfast, the gifts, a mini guided tour of the building, access to the grounds and gardens, and even though we didn’t do them we could have gone to any activities. Sunday morning was Laser Clay Pigeon Shooting -how much would that cost on its own?
If you don’t think that’s a bargain then I don’t know how to help you.
We ended up spending an extra £68 on drinks and by going very slightly over the evening meal budget, but we both thought this package offered fantastic value.
We were only there for one night and were worried it would fly by, but given how much was packed into that 24 hour period the time felt very well spent and not a second was wasted.
Take me back to Swinton 🧳