A short mini break with my daughter was just what I needed and to make it even more enjoyable it was just on my doorstep just an hour away in the beautiful county of Surrey, no driving to the airport or worrying what I could fit into my hand luggage made this a refreshing change. Don’t get me wrong I absolutely love travelling around the world but the whole airport experience can be a pain and I’ve been introduced to some amazing UK hotels over the last few years and decided I should spend more time in our beautiful England, with the lovely weather here for us ( how long for who knows) I headed to beautiful Surrey. This summer I’m going to try and enjoy what we have in the UK as much as I can, the weather tends to put us off I think more than anything, if only we were to have nicer summers I’m sure more people would holiday in the UK.
Now Great Fosters hotel is a luxury four red star hotel and Michelin star restaurant near Windsor, set within 50 acres of the most stunning landscaped gardens and parkland just off the M25. Egham station is just five minutes by taxi, you can get from Waterloo in around 40 minutes making Great Fosters a wonderful short break.
We left around 11am so as to miss any traffic and the journey was a breeze an hour or so later and we were pulling into the stunning grounds of Great Fosters a 16th century mansion which originally lay within Windsor Great Park, this grade 1 listed building oozes character and charm. Great fosters offers a collection of 43 suites and bedrooms, all individually styled, with some boasting grand four-poster beds.
As you walk through the doors to the reception Great Fosters feels welcoming which can sometimes not be the case with old dark buildings, the reception was warm and inviting with bold electric blue sofas and fresh flowers.
We were shown to our room ‘The Tapestry Room’ a sumptuous historic room, the walls covered in early 17th century Flemish tapestries, a huge emperor size double bed, Jacobean fireplace and beautiful moulded ceilings. The room stretched from front to back of the building giving us fantastic views from all windows.
A roll top bath sat in the middle of the large bathroom, there was an open fireplace for colder nights, his and hers wash stands, a walk in shower, separate toilet, L’Occitane toiletries and a view of the geese paddling away. We quickly unpacked not really wanting to leave the room but a short break means little time to see and enjoy what Great Fosters had to offer so off we went.
We were graced with fantastic weather making our stay even more enjoyable and ventured out to make the most of the sunshine and have a G&T around the outdoor heated pool, a secluded area which had around 16 sun loungers keeping it nice and quiet and original 1920s bathing boxes. The hotel also offers a tennis court, croquet and in room spa treatments, far too warm to experience any of these during this visit with the temperature hitting 32 .
With tummies rumbling it was time for a snack, we were tempted by the afternoon tea but had seen how large they were so decided to save ourselves for dinner. We settled for a cream tea instead, warm scones, homemade jam and clotted cream just enough to see us through, sitting by the water sipping tea gave us a break out of the sun and a chance to enjoy the views.
After enjoying a stroll around the grounds we had a tour of the hotel, the building is so lovely and one of the most interesting hotels in England I’ve stayed in for a long time, kept to a high standard, this once 16th century royal hunting lodge will have you wandering around for hours.
We returned to our room and there was a chilled bottle of Champagne waiting for us, we relaxed enjoyed the room and got ready for dinner. We dinned in the Estate Grill a lovely three course meal with pairing wines, we both had ribeye steak cooked to perfection.
Our stay went really too fast, there’s loads to see and explore at this beautiful hotel. Superb stay and we would most certainly return again. Thank you for hosting us.
