A Stay At The Manor*

Last weekend, my boyfriend and I were invited to spend the night at The Manor Country House and Hotel. The hotel is located in Oxfordshire, just a short drive away from Bicester Village, which is pretty handy if you're looking for a mini weekend break that involves luxury shopping and a luxury stay! I was incredibly excited to have been asked along to do a review- it's probably one of the most exciting opportunities to have come out of my blog and is definitely not something I'd done before. Prior to our arrival we were told we'd be staying in the Chapel Suite and be receiving a complimentary dinner and breakfast. I honestly couldn't wait. 

I suppose from the name 'The Manor', and from the brief look at the website, we should have known how posh the hotel would be, but I'm honestly not sure anything could have really prepared us. As we drove up the long, tree lined gravel drive towards what looked like a miniature stone castle, we honestly couldn't believe our eyes. Was this really where we would be staying?! I was suddenly glad I hadn't put my huge hoop earrings in, but my boyfriend did panic about his choice of Nike trainers...

       Inside The Manor

The entrance hall was incredible, with a gorgeous open fire. We were greeted straight away with a friendly smile and I was impressed when the receptionist knew who I as without me having to introduce myself! She walked us to our suite (something else that impressed me!) whilst pointing out where the bar was and the restaurant, reminding us what time our booking was for- which was very handy! 

The interior throughout the hotel was fitting with the exterior of the building! What looked like an old castle from the outside was adequately decorated inside- thick red carpets, ornate mirrors, large paintings and mirrors in golden frames, stuffed animals and deer antlers on the walls- it was all very regal, very grand and so unlike anywhere else I've ever stayed. 

When we reached our suite, we were handed a key- not a key card like in an ordinary hotel, an actual key, attached to a wooden keyring with our door number on. I love small, intricate touches like this and I think it really added to the feeling of The Manor! Having an electric keycard on the door would have ruined the fact that our front door was  heavy wooden one with a metal latch! 

       

      Our Suite

I tend to be a little over dramatic at the best of times, but let me tell you that I am being absolutely accurate when I say that the suite was absolutely unreal. The main room was generously sized with a desk, a chest of drawers, two large mirrors, a large TV, a sofa and- my favourite thing of all- a four poster bed. I was so excited as I have wanted my own four poster bed my entire life, so getting to sleep in one in a manor house that looked like a miniature castle really did make me feel like a princess! 

The bathroom was almost as large as the main room, with a large cupboard-wardrobe with dressing gowns and slippers, a full length mirror, heated towel rails, a decent sized shower and great lighting for selfies! (Always important, right?)

The only thing I would say was "wrong" (hardly) with the room was that even with the lights on, it was quite dingy- as it gets dark quite early at the moment, we were straining our eyes a little and it was quite tricky to get any high quality photos to show you guys just how brilliant our room really was...I guess you'll have to book a night there to find out for yourself, hey!

         Dinner at The Manor

Dinner at The Manor was something else. Let's start with the layout of the table because there was so much cutlery- I actually said to my boyfriend "thank God I have watched The Princess Diaries so many times and know what most of this is for!". See, pretending to be a Princess my whole life has come in handy!

We were provided with a set menu, with starters, mains and desserts and three different options in each category to choose from. There was also a complimentary basket of bread to snack on while we waited. In all honesty, the starters weren't really my boyfriend and I's kind of thing- we both despise almost all vegetables and the options were:

- Raw Sweet Potato Noodles with marinated wild mushrooms, sweet mino sauce and micro herbs

- Chicken Broth with chicken julienne sliced vegetables and homemade pasta

- Smoked Duck with carrot puree and fig relish

Aside from the fact that we didn't know what all the ingredients were (what the heck is a micro herb?!), as far as we could tell there were vegetables in every dish. I settled for the noodles and my boyfriend went for the broth. It was pretty amusing watching him gag over the vegetables he was given, but my noodles were actually a lot nicer than I expected! It was - essentially- like a cold Chinese dish, so I was happy! 

I can confidently say that the main course was a lot nicer! The options here were:

- Pan Seared Venison with celerlac, beetroot and braised venison bon bon

- Pan Seared Sea Trout with creamed potato, peach and pea puree

- Quinoa with caramelized cauliflower puree, onion textures and braised fennel

As soon as we looked at the menu, we knew what we were getting; the venison! And boy oh boy was that a good decision! I think that it was probably without a doubt one of the nicest pieces of meat I had ever eaten. I'd never tried venison before so was worried I wouldn't be a fan, but it was absolutely gorgeous, and both my boyfriend and I really enjoyed the meal.

Dessert was a lot more tricky to try and choose, as all three dishes sounded incredible: 

- Strawberry Brulee with strawberry sponge, gel, mint meringue and jasmine ice cream

- Chocolate brownie with popcorn ice cream 

- Sticky Toffee Pudding with toffee sauce, chocolate soil and vanilla ice cream

My boyfriend chose the brownie whilst I opted for the sticky toffee pudding and both dishes were honestly incredible. My boyfriend said how the brownie was pretty much melting in his mouth, and my sticky toffee pudding was just dreamy. 

The setting for the meal was lovely- the room had incredibly high ceilings and a large chandelier lighting the room. However, I would say again it was a little dingy and so we were often struggling to see things, but this was a very minor point. They had a great 70's playlist playing too which created quite a romantic atmosphere! 

After dinner, we went to the bar for a bit, were the lovely Lucas served us for about an hour and a half. He was an absolute star, chatting away about the hotel, about his work there, about the alcohol behind the bar (there was a bottle worth over £2,000 on display!) and just about his life- he was really, really lovely and I'm very glad we got to meet him! 

Our night in the suite was very comfortable- the bed was absolutely amazing, the room was very sound proof so we weren't disturbed by outside noises and we both had a great nights sleep!

         Breakfast at The Manor

Although I used to say that without a doubt dinner was my favourite meal of the day, one thing I absolutely love doing is going out for breakfast! Breakfast and brunh dates are just the best and I will never turn one of those down- and now I actually think I'd rather go out for breakfast than dinner sometimes!

Breakfast at The Manor did not disappoint. Obviously- after everything else being so brilliant, why would it have?

There was a buffet of non cooked breakfast, cereals and fruit, toast and juices etc. which was eat as much as you like- you could just go up and help yourself. However, neither me nor my boyfriend chose to use this as there was actually quite an extensive, delicious sounding menu full of cooked breakfast options! 

First of all, can we appreciate how cute it is that the menu says 'good morning!'? Like I said earlier on in the post, I really do appreciate small touches like that! 

I was so spoilt for choice and found it quite hard but eventually settled for a classic full English, 'The Manor Breakfast' minus the black pudding! When it came, you could tell the eggs were fresh and of an excellent quality because the yolks were quite large and very, very orange! 

I do wish I'd maybe broken out my comfort zone and tried something that I wouldn't have usually had, but I guess that just means I'll have to make a trip back in order to try something else, doesn't it! 

Luckily in the light of the morning, the dining room was lit much better and so I could get a good photo of our food (hashtag blogger problems).

After breakfast, we decided to take a nice walk around the large gardens, which housed an outdoor pool, tennis courts and a croquet lawn (pitch? arena? What is the terminology here?!) and even a secret garden which really felt like I was walking straight into the settings of The Secret Garden book. The gardens were gorgeous, even if the weather was a little grey and drizzly- I can only imagine how lovely it must be to take a stroll around the grounds in the summer! It would definitely be a brilliant spot for a blog-based photo shoot and a wedding! 

I was really sad when it was time to check out! Our stay at The Manor was actually the final part of our nine day holiday, and it was such a fabulous way to round off our break away- neither of us wanted to go! We truly had been treated like royalty, living in the lap of luxury for the weekend and we were sad to be going back to reality. We have definitely said we will return for another trip though, because it really was such an excellent hotel.

There are a lot of great deals at the hotel, particularly over the course of Christmas and New Year! My boyfriend and I have already had a quick look at them, and I highly recommend you do too! It might seem a little costly but for a special occasion and for the service you receive it really is worth it- I promise. And to appeal to any bloggers, it is such an Instagrammable place- you'll be able to create at least a weeks worth of content here!

Thank you so much to The Manor for their hospitality over the weekend and for being so accommodating of me and my boyfriend- I am truly grateful and I really do hope to be back soon!

What do you think of The Manor? Have I tempted you into visiting for a weekend break?

Love from,
Florence Grace

This trip was gifted to me by The Manor Hotel in exchange for a review but all thoughts and opinions are my own. For more info on sponsored content, please read my disclaimer at the top of the page.