THE SWAN HOTEL & SPA: NEWBY BRIDGE

23/11/18

WHY YOU SHOULD VISIT:

Enjoy the cool eclectic decor
Snuggle away in your very own Love Nest
Tuck into delicious food
Relax with a book in front of a roaring fire

DESTINATION:

The Swan Hotel & Spa is situated in a great spot for exploring The Lakes, with Windermere, Arnside and Cartmel all only around a 20-minute drive away.

Arriving at the hotel is rather grand, as you drive over a bridge and are greeted by a stunning period black and white building and picturesque lake. The hotel has various different rooms and also cottages alongside its own restaurant, bar and spa.

I’d visited before for lunch and was excited to be back again, but this time to stay overnight with my husband Steve. It felt like the perfect spot for a night away relaxing and it was exactly what we planned to do!

DECOR:

The decor is one of my favourite things about The Swan. For someone who loves pattern and colour, it is right up my street! Each area of the hotel is decorated in a different style, featuring lots of florals, bright colours and vintage furniture, yet it all fits together to give a modern yet country charm.

As with the main hotel, the rooms are all decorated differently and we were staying in The Love Nest, which is situated on its own near the hotel’s cottages.

The Love Nest has a pastel pink and blue colour scheme with a vintage shabby chic interior and it is a self-contained cottage with its own kitchen and living room alongside the bedroom and bathroom. The open-plan layout made the space feel really cosy, especially with the addition of the log burner in the lounge, and the bathroom was a really generous size and featured a stylish pink bath.

That afternoon, we cosied up with the paper and some magazines in front of the fire with a cuppa and it was blissful and very relaxing. You could quite easily have been in a remote cottage in the woods and it was easy to forget you were in the grounds of a hotel.

We had a slight hiccup on arrival as our room hadn’t been supplied with any milk or logs and kindling but a porter soon brought these to our cottage. One thing the room could do with is a phone as our mobile signal was patchy so we had to walk to reception in the main hotel if we needed to speak to the hotel about anything.

DINING:

We were eating both dinner and breakfast in the hotel and I was looking forward to sitting in the hotel’s dining room, The River Room, which is decorated stylishly with fun floral and pink seating.

For dinner, I chose Gambas Pil Pil to start and Chicken Kiev with Mashed potato and Broccoli for main. Steve decided on Duck Wontons with Sticky Plum Sauce and then Venison loin with Duck fat Potatoes, Celeriac and Blackberry to follow.

The whole meal was absolutely delicious but the stand out dish had to be the chicken kiev, which was the best I’ve ever eaten! It was oozing with garlic butter and the mashed potato was silky smooth and quite literally melted in the mouth.

The only disappointment was that we were never offered coffee or dessert after our main course so decided to just retire back to our bedroom for the night.

We also ate in the restaurant for breakfast the next day, which was only open to hotel guests with the bar area open to non-residents. There was a continental buffet available with fruit and yoghurt pots, pastries and cereals and also a menu to order hot items.

Steve chose pancakes with bacon and maple syrup and I ordered avocado on toast with roasted tomatoes and poached egg. The pancakes were light and fluffy, with an almost crumpet-like texture, and were so enormous Steve couldn’t finish them! My avocado on toast was delicious.

DEBRIEF:

We enjoyed a relaxing stay at The Swan in our very own Love Nest for the night. One let down to our stay was unfortunately the service, as we didn’t find staff particularly helpful or friendly on occasion, so this is an area which could be improved for future. The food was a particular highlight and I will definitely be visiting again for a meal.