Hotel review: Four Seasons, Hampshire
For children there's a kids' club, family swimming pool with fountains and slides, on-site ponies and a buffet selection featuring all the carrot sticks with hummus they could ever dream of. For parents, there's the fact your darling offspring are happy, plus a sleek spa and beautiful grounds to enjoy while your kids are occupied. Welcome to one of the UK's most luxurious family-friendly hotels.
Rooms and facilities
We arrived in our vast room to discover a William Morris-patterned tent set up for the kids to play in, and the wonders didn't cease there. Marble bathrooms, long picture windows and décor exquisitely matched to the Georgian manor house greeted us – this is truly a 'wow' hotel, as you might expect from the Four Seasons brand.
To the water, and while our children were squealing with delight in the separate kids' pool, the adults-only area was at the opposite end of the volume spectrum, and glorious. I'd booked in for a lymphatic massage at the spa, but after chatting to a knowledgeable therapist about my rigid back, she recommended a deep tissue massage (£180) and it was one of the best I've ever had. Knots released, I headed back to the changing rooms to wrestle the baby into his clothes, noting helpful touches such as a baby changing table and swimming nappies provided.
The kids' club is great too – you can either leave your children there to be cared for by the friendly staff (Thursday-Sunday term time, daily in school holidays), or accompany a younger (or more uncertain) child as the potter round and play. Elsewhere you can hire bikes, groom ponies, play tennis and even try your hand at axe-throwing.
Food and drink
The Wild Carrot restaurant is chic but unstuffy, serving up Hampshire ingredients ranging from Isle of Wight tomatoes (with burrata) to ice cream made with Laverstoke Park Farm Buffalo Milk. There is a wide choice of mains – including five vegetarian choices, which as a long-time veggie I can tell you is unheard of – and steak that made my husband's heart sing (poor lad never gets that at home).
In the morning, the breakfast buffet is the stuff of hotel dreams. It was all I could do not to grab three plates and start filling them, such was the array of pastries, bakes, bread, fruit, hot food and cereal on offer. Of course, there were plenty of chocolate things that the kids beelined for.
Hotel highlights
Don't miss a stroll around the verdant grounds. They include a pretty walled garden and sprawling acres of grass dotted with trees, from which you can get great views of the building (especially if you are walking around for hours trying to get your toddler to nap).
Best for
Heaven for families, although I look forward to visiting sans kids one day…
Rooms at the Four Seasons Hampshire start from £520 on a bed and breakfast basis. For more information, visit the website here.
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