The perfect couples getaway – Dormy House Hotel and Spa

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My husband and I have just returned from a gorgeous night away at Dormy House Hotel and Spa in the Cotswolds, to celebrate our wedding anniversary. I thought I’d share this special place in case you too are looking for somewhere to celebrate a special occasion – or just splash out on an indulgent mini break!

1st December 2018

At a glance…

Where: The Cotswolds, approximately a 1.5hr drive from Marlow.
The vibe: It describes itself as ‘farmhouse chic’. For me it hits the perfect spot of laid back luxury.
For who: It’s for everybody. The hotel welcomes children although personally I think it’s best enjoyed leaving the kids at home! Dogs are welcomed too.
The Spa: Sometimes the word ‘spa’ is used by hotels who just offer treatments and perhaps have a pool. This hotel is not in that bracket. It’s a place where you can spend hours unwinding and truly relaxing. There’s an infinity pool, thermal suite, outdoor hot tub and spa cafe for smoothies and nutritious lunches.
Treatments: there is an array of treatments on offer as well as a nail bar, couples treatments rooms and all the top end products you’d expect.
Dining: there are two restaurants to choose from for dinner. The more relaxed ‘Pottery Shed’ or the more formal ‘Garden room’. 
Rooms: we stayed in a standard ‘intimate room’. It was small but perfectly formed including a king size bed.  There are lots of different room options available including some with your own hot tub!
Outside: The hotel is situated in beautiful countryside ideal for walks. 
Surrounding areas: There is lots to explore in the local area from Cotswold Gin tasting in the local distillery to boutique shopping.

Our Experience…

How excited I was to be setting off for a night away, just my husband and I – no kids! A chance to remember how it feels to be ‘just us’ again for nearly 2 full days. Obviously we LOVE our kids to bits but time for just us is a total rarity and very much needed. 

It took us just over 1.5hrs to get to Broadway where Dormy House is nestled in the picturesque countryside on the Farncombe Estate. Dormy House is one of 3 hotels on the estate. The area is full of beautiful Cotswold charm. We parked up and entered the gorgeous house, greeted by the warmth of the open fire and homely but luxury interior. Immediately I knew we’d made a good choice…
 
Guests are able to use the facilities including the spa from midday on their arrival day. We arrived just after 12pm and headed to The Green House within the spa area for our arrival glass to champagne before getting our robes on and collapsing on the day beds. It’s a good view looking horizontally over the end of your toes across the infinity pool. And relax!
 
The changing areas and spa facilities are really lovely. Very clean, very luxury. We peeled ourselves off the day beds just long enough to try out the sauna, steam room, lavender room and outdoor hot tub. And of course to do a few obligatory lengths in the pool (to make us feel better about the inevitable over eating and drinking to follow!).
 
We both had a treatment. I had a half hour ‘Pure Mixer’ massage. My therapist Hannah was excellent and knew how to hone in on my sore points, really working them out rather than some of the seemingly more random massage experiences that I’ve had in the past.
 
We checked into our room at 3pm. The room was small but perfectly formed. Nicely decorated, immaculately clean and most importantly a super kind size bed! 
 
The hotel has a choice of two areas for dinner. There is the relaxed ‘Potting Shed’ and bar area and the more formal Garden Room. We opted for the Potting Shed. I had Wild mushrooms on toast, poached Billy’s hen’s egg with watercress to start and then Stuffed butternut squash, bulgur wheat, pomegranate, sage butter for a main. They were both delicious. My only comment would be that my main was very small. That said, it was a perfect portion for my appetite but had it have been served to my husband we would have had a problem! Thankfully his corn-fed chicken kiev was sized appropriately for his large appetite!
 
After dinner we enjoyed sitting at the bar for a bit. It’s a lovely cosy vibe in the Pottery Shed, just the kind of place to catch up with each other after far too long of busyness, tiredness, stress and the general chaos of life with young kids.
 
The next morning we did what I expect most would not want to… and that was we played a very early game of tennis before breakfast. The bonus of this was that we’d worked up a good appetite for the gorgeous breakfast that was on offer. Breakfast is served until 11am which we thought was nice (had we have been able to lie in!) and then check out is not until 12pm. 
 
In summary the things we loved most about the hotel was the general cosy, warm, luxury feel of the place, the spa, the good service and the late check out.
 
After we left we took a look around the village of Broadway. So picture postcard Cotswold loveliness. Great shops and cafes too. 
 
If you are feeling like you haven’t splashed enough cash already (!) then a tip for the journey home would be stop at Bicester village. What better way to finish an indulgent night away than with a bit of designer retail therapy!
 
Then home and back to reality.. for me this equalled clearing up after my toddlers ‘accident’ in the bathroom – or rather the fact that he didn’t quite make it to the bathroom. Welcome home mummy!
 

My husband and I have just returned from a gorgeous night away at Dormy House Hotel and Spa in the Cotswolds, to celebrate our wedding anniversary. I thought I’d share this special place in case you too are looking for somewhere to celebrate a special occasion – or just splash out on an indulgent mini break!

1st December 2018

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At a glance…

Where: The Cotswolds, approximately a 1.5hr drive from Marlow.
The vibe: It describes itself as ‘farmhouse chic’. For me it hits the perfect spot of laid back luxury.
For who: It’s for everybody. The hotel welcomes children although personally I think it’s best enjoyed leaving the kids at home! Dogs are welcomed too.
The Spa: Sometimes the word ‘spa’ is used by hotels who just offer treatments and perhaps have a pool. This hotel is not in that bracket. It’s a place where you can spend hours unwinding and truly relaxing. There’s an infinity pool, thermal suite, outdoor hot tub and spa cafe for smoothies and nutritious lunches.
Treatments: there is an array of treatments on offer as well as a nail bar, couples treatments rooms and all the top end products you’d expect.
Dining: there are two restaurants to choose from for dinner. The more relaxed ‘Pottery Shed’ or the more formal ‘Garden room’. 
Rooms: we stayed in a standard ‘intimate room’. It was small but perfectly formed including a king size bed.  There are lots of different room options available including some with your own hot tub!
Outside: The hotel is situated in beautiful countryside ideal for walks. 
Surrounding areas: There is lots to explore in the local area from Cotswold Gin tasting in the local distillery to boutique shopping.

Our Experience…

How excited I was to be setting off for a night away, just my husband and I – no kids! A chance to remember how it feels to be ‘just us’ again for nearly 2 full days. Obviously we LOVE our kids to bits but time for just us is a total rarity and very much needed. 

It took us just over 1.5hrs to get to Broadway where Dormy House is nestled in the picturesque countryside on the Farncombe Estate. Dormy House is one of 3 hotels on the estate. The area is full of beautiful Cotswold charm. We parked up and entered the gorgeous house, greeted by the warmth of the open fire and homely but luxury interior. Immediately I knew we’d made a good choice…
 
Guests are able to use the facilities including the spa from midday on their arrival day. We arrived just after 12pm and headed to The Green House within the spa area for our arrival glass to champagne before getting our robes on and collapsing on the day beds. It’s a good view looking horizontally over the end of your toes across the infinity pool. And relax!
 
The changing areas and spa facilities are really lovely. Very clean, very luxury. We peeled ourselves off the day beds just long enough to try out the sauna, steam room, lavender room and outdoor hot tub. And of course to do a few obligatory lengths in the pool (to make us feel better about the inevitable over eating and drinking to follow!).
 
We both had a treatment. I had a half hour ‘Pure Mixer’ massage. My therapist Hannah was excellent and knew how to hone in on my sore points, really working them out rather than some of the seemingly more random massage experiences that I’ve had in the past.
 
We checked into our room at 3pm. The room was small but perfectly formed. Nicely decorated, immaculately clean and most importantly a super kind size bed! 
 
The hotel has a choice of two areas for dinner. There is the relaxed ‘Potting Shed’ and bar area and the more formal Garden Room. We opted for the Potting Shed. I had Wild mushrooms on toast, poached Billy’s hen’s egg with watercress to start and then Stuffed butternut squash, bulgur wheat, pomegranate, sage butter for a main. They were both delicious. My only comment would be that my main was very small. That said, it was a perfect portion for my appetite but had it have been served to my husband we would have had a problem! Thankfully his corn-fed chicken kiev was sized appropriately for his large appetite!
 
After dinner we enjoyed sitting at the bar for a bit. It’s a lovely cosy vibe in the Pottery Shed, just the kind of place to catch up with each other after far too long of busyness, tiredness, stress and the general chaos of life with young kids.
 
The next morning we did what I expect most would not want to… and that was we played a very early game of tennis before breakfast. The bonus of this was that we’d worked up a good appetite for the gorgeous breakfast that was on offer. Breakfast is served until 11am which we thought was nice (had we have been able to lie in!) and then check out is not until 12pm. 
 
In summary the things we loved most about the hotel was the general cosy, warm, luxury feel of the place, the spa, the good service and the late check out.
 
After we left we took a look around the village of Broadway. So picture postcard Cotswold loveliness. Great shops and cafes too. 
 
If you are feeling like you haven’t splashed enough cash already (!) then a tip for the journey home would be stop at Bicester village. What better way to finish an indulgent night away than with a bit of designer retail therapy!
 
Then home and back to reality.. for me this equalled clearing up after my toddlers ‘accident’ in the bathroom – or rather the fact that he didn’t quite make it to the bathroom. Welcome home mummy!