Cowley
Manor is the type of hotel you would design if you were to design a hotel
yourself and money was no object. It is just gorgeous on so many levels.Firstly, the setting; it's an old, old building set in superb grounds deep in the English countryside. Originally the manor house was very grand with amazing grounds, but fell into disrepair, changed owners many times and was finally bought by a couple (not a corporation), who converted it into a hotel. The entrance, drive, parking and grounds as you drive up all give an accurate impression of how your stay will be.
Pulling up to the front a concierge pops out and welcomes you and offers to help with your bags. ""What a friendly chap"" you think as you wonder why he's not in uniform, but cords and a t-shirt. We enter into the main building to see a stunning reception, not just 'funky' but really really clever. Also through a door way you can see a huge snooker table and outside into the stunning gardens. You're checked in by some more friendly staff as you notice they're also in cords and t-shirts... as it strikes you, perhaps these ARE the uniforms?! Yes, apparently they owners wanted a very non-stuffy, non-patronising, very relaxing feel to the whole hotel, and that includes what the staff are wearing! I must say, it seems to work!
The trip to the room was interesting as you saw more bits of the hotel that got you excited; the lounge flanked by books, games, newspapers, the gorgeous patio, the stunning gardens, the supercool bar. As you climbed the grand stairs you realised that no expense has been spared on the hotel, that someone really cares about making the best hotel they can rather than concentrating on a budget. The room we stayed in was gorgeously huge. Lovely views over the countryside, an enormous bed, lovely huge wardrobe (which already had the bags in), sofa, tables, chairs, and still loads of space. And then there was the bathroom - WOW! It wasn't only big, wasn't only trendy, but it was so functional - a bathroom everyone says ""I want that at home!"". We later found out that when converting the building into a hotel they could have had 68 nice rooms or 42 huge rooms... they went for the latter and boy, does it show!
Just
one other note about the bedroom: The bed was the most comfortable ever, and
when we returned home we got in touch with the hotel to find out which mattress
they used (so we could buy one ourselves). They kindly told us and we looked it
up... £1,700 - for a mattress! Well, that certainly explained a lot - no wonder
we had a good night's sleep!We went outside for a walk in the grounds and although they're not the biggest they were very dramatic and well maintained, allowing for quite a long time of meaningless strolling. Sitting on the patio sipping a drink whilst reading the paper was so very relaxing. The staff were attentive, polite, friendly, but not in the way.
The hotel boasts a facility they call ""C-side"", which is a lovely big patio area with an outdoor heated pool, a superb indoor pool, steam room, sauna, excellent gym facilities and a full range of Spa treatments, all 'hidden' into the ground. Very very nice, and I can't think of how it could have been better.
In the evening the food was good, but not stunning or exceptional. You almost felt the chef wasn't in that day and was slightly disappointed as the rest of the hotel had raised your expectations to such a high level. Four of us had an evening meal there, all had different dishes and all felt the same.
In
the morning, breakfast was on another patio, overlooking the garden. It was so
pleasant that we made it last about 3 hours! It might not have been so wonderful
had it not been a warm, sunny, windless day, but hey - that was what we thought!
:) (One small point, the booking confirmation stated ""breakfast included"", but
when we came to pay, breakfast was extra. Querying this point we were told
'continental' breakfast was included. Hmm... I have a real dislike to this sort
of ""small print that you weren't shown"" trickery.. )We learnt that Cowley Manor was made by the owners who wanted to go away to 5* hotels but could not take their children... so they made their own! Whilst there were children around during our stay, they seemed to be the near-invisible and extremely well behaved type. Not quite sure if we were lucky, they look after them well, or it's something in the air, but we never found it a problem.
After 2 days we did not want to leave Cowley Manor and as we did, we realised how very relaxed we were. In a nutshell, I think Cowley Manor is the nearest to a perfect hotel that I have ever stayed in. It's just absolutely gorgeous. Recommend it? YES!
