Hotel Review: Carden Park – Cheshire’s Country Estate

As you drive through a winding and scenic country road, you arrive at the 1000 acre luxurious country estate in Cheshire, only 2o minutes from Chester. Here you will find a capacious hotel with so many things to do. It is absolutely perfect for a weekend away with award-winning restaurants, two golf courses and a new £10 million 4,500 sq metre stand-alone spa to keep you feeling zen, relaxed and recharged!

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Getting to Carden Park

If you are travelling by public transport, you can take the train to Chester, and then take a taxi to the hotel. The drive is approximately 14-miles.

We drove from North London and it took approximately 2 and a half hours to get there. There is plenty of parking available at the hotel.

Facilities

I was amazed at the large selection of activities available at Carden Park. For the keen golfers there are two championship golf courses to play on (one of them is designed by Jack Nicklaus) and for wine enthusiasts they have their own on-site three-acre Vineyard. They even produce their own sparkling wine!

For those seeking more adventurous activities you can opt from archery, quad biking, Segways, aerial ropes, Jeep off-roading experiences to falconry and much more.

There’s also a leisure centre which has a  pool, sauna and gym, as well as a hairdressers in case you feel like getting pampered.

It is one of the few rare places I have been to where there is literally something to suit everyone from spa break seekers, golf enthusiasts, families, couples to oenophiles.

Spa

The pièce de résistance at Carden Park is their state of the art Spa. I have been to lots of Spas across the country and am happy to make the bold claim that this is out there as one of the best, and not surprisingly it won Britain’s Best New Spa in the Good Spa Guide Awards last year.

Indoors, there’s a pool, thermal experiences, a glamorous beauty lounge, three relaxation rooms and a restaurant with a view of the grounds.

Outside is the incredible Spa Garden which comes with assorted hot tubs, heated seating pods, a fire pit, sauna and a Champagne Bollinger bar, which we definitely took advantage of.

We spent the afternoon relaxing in the Spa Garden, sipping on glasses of bubbly and then had an Afternoon Tea booked in for 4.30pm. Unfortunately we lost track of time a little in the Spa Garden as it was just so divine so they kindly gave us our treats in boxes so we could indulge later.

 

While we were in the Spa Garden we momentarily forgot we were in the UK , that’s how glamorous and beautiful it is.

I loved the cosy pods you could relax in, the various hot tubs and the sauna. It never felt crowded either which was really nice.

We were lucky to experience that golden hour glow whilst we were in the Spa Garden, which made it even more of a lovely experience.

We were so besotted with the spa that we booked a botanical massage each for the next morning. It was utter bliss and the perfect way to unwind. Though we were lucky they had availability when we decided on the whim, I highly recommend booking this in advance of your stay.

The treatment room was spacious and they played the genre of music of your choice during your treatment. After the very blissful treatment we were taken down to the various indoor relaxing rooms. My favourite was the Deep relaxation Room, which had lounges to sleep on, warm fluffy blankets and a large fireplace all in a dark setting, with stars twinkling on the ceiling. It really eased our morning into pure relax mode.

The other relaxation room had a screen showing calming scenes as well as huge bean bags.

The Spa is honestly spectacular. I can’t recommend it enough, either for a spa day or to enjoy whilst staying at the hotel.

Rooms

There are 196 bedrooms at Carden Park, split between the main building and smaller blocks set round an attractively landscaped courtyard. We were in the twin room on the first floor which had two doubles, which we were really chuffed about.

The room was lovely and spacious, decorated in a classic contemporary style with views across the golf course to the distant Welsh hills.

The room had all the mod cons you’d expect from a luxury hotel including a 39 inch HD plasma television with selected Sky channels, Tea and coffee making facilities and an En-Suite bathroom with luxury toiletries.

Dining

Morgan’s Bar

On arrival we had cocktails and ciabattas at Morgan’s Bar, located within the main hotel, steps away from the reception. It is a lovely relaxed setting to have some light snacks, afternoon tea or a mid-day beverage.

The cocktail menu had everything from the classics to some creative concoctions but we stuck to our favourites.

Elements

Afternoon Tea during our time at the Spa Garden would have been served in Elements, which has stunning views of the Welsh hills as well as the Spa Garden.

The Vines

Dinner was a fantastic gourmet experience at The Vines, which is under the helm of Executive Chef Graham Tinsley MBE and Head Chef Harri Williams. Here we dressed up and had a wonderful time indulging in dishes from their carefully curated A La Carte Menu, whilst enjoying a really easy to drink bottle of Rioja. I loved that the produce was all fresh, locally sourced ingredients too! The cuisine was traditional British dishes complemented by Graham’s signature flare.

Graham Tinsley, MBE has a seriously impressive culinary background, having worked at renowned restaurants such as The Dorchester Hotel, The Castle Hotel Conwy and Switzerland’s five-star Atlantis Sheraton Hotel.

Graham has also created menus for events at Number 10 and the Queen and other members of The Royal Family have tasted (and loved) his cuisine on multiple occasions. He was appointed Disciple of Escoffier by the Association Culinaire Francaise in 2020 and was awarded Cheshire Life Chef of the Year in 2017.

We knew we were in for a real treat!

First to arrive was our amuse-bouche, which was a fine dining rendition of mushroom on toast and utterly divine.

For starters I opted for Confit Jerusalem Artichoke with Verjus caramel, Ragstone goats cheese mousse and a malt soil and it was incredibly moreish.

 

My dining partner had ‘A tasting of scallop and lobster’ which was pan roasted West Coast Scallop served in a lobster sauce accompanied by a lobster tartlet.

For mains we both had Roast dry aged beef fillet with Wirral watercress, beef cheek beignet, boulangere potato, kohl rabi and a bordelaise sauce, which was beautifully plated.

For dessert I couldn’t resist the Classic Tiramisu with Amoretti jelly, mascarpone iced parfait and a coffee infused ganache. The whole dessert menu was tempting!

If you are staying at the hotel definitely book a dinner here! The food, service and ambience is impeccable and it is an experience not to miss. I won’t be surprised if the restaurant gets more awards in the near future as it was superb from start to finish.

The Vines is open for dinner service on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, as well as luncheon service on Sunday from 12.30pm to 3.30pm and is open to both guests staying at the hotel and local residents, so if you happen to be in Cheshire or Chester, definitely spend an evening dining here.

Redmond’s Restaurant

Breakfast is served in Redmond’s Restaurant which is the main restaurant at Carden Park Hotel. It has a brasserie style setting and is a relaxed dining experience.

I was so pleased that there was a Breakfast buffet and it had a huge variety of cereals, fruits, meats, pastries, juices and what I really liked was before we were seated they asked if there were any allergies. It may seem like a small thing but it doesn’t happen often.

All in all Carden Park is one of those hotels where I know I will return as it was perfect for a break, was so relaxing, had delicious dining options and there was so much to see and do. If you are looking for a fantastic place for a weekend away or for a spa break, definitely consider booking it.

It is worth checking their packages too as they have some great deals on throughout the year, depending on the season.

Address: Broxton Rd, Chester CH3 9DQ, England.

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