Lainston Country House Hotel Review

Last weekend I spent an amazing time at Lainston House Hotel, a 17th Century country house hotel in Winchester, Hampshire. The hotel is set in 63 acres of gorgeous parkland complete with kitchen gardens, falconry, walks, bee hives, fields and just all round gorgeous countryside. This amazing five star hotel has just 50 bedrrom and they are all individually designed so not two are the same.
I stayed in the stunning Chapel Suite which has recently been refurbished and is both luxurious and cosy at the same time. It has it’s own private garden and overlooks the ruin of the 12th Century St Peter's Chapel. The suite has a sitting and dining room with television, desk and sofa and upon arrival we had been left a chilled bottle of Nyetimber bubbles which was just the icing on the cake of such an amazing day. If you've never tried Nyetimber you can find their website here http://nyetimber.com/ they are an English brand and their aim is to create sparkling wine, in Sussex, to rival that in the Champagne region of France.
The bedroom has a handmade bed which contains the television in a concealed wooden box at the foot of the bed. At a touch of a button in the bed’s headboard the television ascends! The huge bathroom is just breathtaking, with a walk-in shower with massage jets and a giant dinner plate sized rain shower head, spa jets inside and a television at the end of the bath and his and hers sinks for those who just don’t want to share! I spent at least 2 straight minutes wandering around the room totally gobsmacked with my mouth open saying "WOW" and "OMG"!!! I was so delighted with the gorgeous room; this would be THE MOST romantic hotel room I have ever seen in my life and perfect for your stay if you had your wedding or reception at Lainston house. It would also make an amazing gift to your partner for valentine’s day or an anniversary.

Starter Mackerel- Honey, cucumber, pea, watercress
Mains Veal rump - Goat’s curd, lemon, cheek croustillant Pork fillet - Braised pig’s cheek, pear, broccoli, kohlrabi
Dessert Tahitian vanilla cheesecake - Garden rhubarb, sorbet, macaroon Coconut parfait - Pineapple, lime, cardamom
The food in the Avenue restaurant is absolutely superb, perfectly presented and the staff in the restaurant, as with the rest of the hotel, couldn’t have been more kind and helpful. Each course was beatifully presented and the flavours and textures of each part of the meal really had been well thought out, it was a thoroughly excellent meal and you can tell that the Chef and kitchen staff are passionate about the food they present. The staff are really a credit to the Exclusive Hotel group and I can imagine if you are hosting an event or wedding there, really make the experience amazing.

The deep bath (complete with spa jets and its own TV) delivered a luxurious soak followed by a spin in the walk in shower which was definitely powerful! After all the excitement of the day I flopped into the gigantic bed, covered in the softest covers, snuggled up to one of the many pillows and had an excellent night’s sleep. It turned out to be so good in fact that I snoozed my alarm twice before scrabbling around to get ready for breakfast and only turned up slightly before it was due to close, minus my camera, forgotten in my rush which I was most annoyed about as the food was amazing and definitely deserved a picture.

After breakfast and a brief rest to totally enjoy the last couple of hours in the room before checkout we dropped our bags at reception and had a stroll around the grounds and towards the fields where we took some photos of the scenery and the distant hills and valleys. On our way back we wandered around the kitchen gardens (complete with Labrador Ben), bee hives and even falconry with three owls. According to a sign near the owl’s cages there are displays at weekends and at special times of the year such as Halloween. You could happily while away an entire day just leisurely wandering around the grounds here.

Overall, in my opinion, Lainston House is the jewel in the crown of the Exclusive Hotels group. It is so picturesque and relaxing that you really cannot imagine anyone being stressed whilst being there. As soon as we got to the room I felt all of my work dramas melting away and the ridiculously high level of service across the board from the staff at the hotel made the stay absolutely A*

If you want to see some different photos to the ones I have taken, perhaps if you are planning on having your wedding here then you can check out this website for some lovely pictures (and ideas) http://www.tony-hart.com/files/lainston_house_wedding_dc.php
Overall Review Rating - 5 *

Details: Woodman Lane, Sparsholt, Hampshire, www.lainstonhouse.com
Where to go after
Once we left the hotel we caught a cab to Winchester town centre and had a look at the cathedral and surrounding areas, had a few drinks in Alfie’s pub (although I hear the Wyndham Arms is the real place to go) and then walked back to the train station for the trip home. When I got home I realised that a) my house seems very boring in comparison and b) er maybe I should decorate since everything is still beige and white! So that’s another post to come, me attempting to do DIY….!!