Heythrop Park – Our First Ever Stay At A Warner Hotel

You may have already seen the adverts for Warner Hotels, adults-only luxury breaks in the country or on the coast. But what are they like in reality? Will there be enough to do? Is it too regimented? Or simply not to your taste.

Well, we were lucky enough to be invited by Warner Hotels to visit the latest addition to their collection, Heythrop Park in the Cotswolds. We tried many of the restaurants and activities the hotel has to offer. Including their Saturday headline act ‘Ibiza In Symphony’, one for all of us who remember the 90s.

So first, let’s have a look at the history of this grand country house.

The Hotel And Its History

The Heythrop Park Hotel is set in 440 acres of parkland on the northeastern side of the Cotswolds. It has three restaurants, two entertainment venues and several lounges. There is an 18-hole golf course, a spa, an indoor heated swimming pool and hot tubs.

So, back to the history, Heythrop Park is a Grade II* listed early 18th-century house and grounds.
It was designed by the architect Thomas Archer in a Baroque style for Charles Talbot, the 1st Duke of Shrewsbury.

Talbot was inspired to build a grand Baroque-style home after he visited Italy on his Grand Tour.

Unfortunately, a fire destroyed the original interior of the house in 1831. It remained derelict until railway contractor Thomas Brassey bought the house in 1870. Brassey commissioned architect Alfred Waterhouse to rebuild the grand interior.

Heythrop Park became a Jesuit college in the 1920s, then a training facility and conference centre before becoming a hotel.

So that was a brief history of Heythrop Park. Let’s have a look at the hotel’s facilities in more detail.

The Room

We stayed in room 617, a deluxe room near the Manor House. It’s described as a deluxe room which is at least 23sqm containing a super king-size bed. The hotel has a total of 311 rooms. These range from single ‘cosy’ rooms to historic ‘mansion’ rooms.

Despite being an old building, our room was modern and well-equipped with plenty of plugs and USB sockets (including USB-C). A nice touch in our type of room is the fridge containing a couple of bottles of water and fresh milk instead of those plastic UHT packs.

One aspect of the room which was a pleasant surprise was the larger bathroom. This contained a bath as well as a stand-alone shower.

The Bars And Restaurants

The hotel has three restaurants and many bars and lounges. Breakfast and dinner are included in the price of your stay. The largest restaurant is the Market Kitchen in the Orangery. It serves breakfast and dinner in either buffet or à la carte style.

The Orangery and Market Kitchen are very bright and airy. We chose to have breakfast there on several occasions.

One of our favourite places to eat was The Travelling Duke Pub and Kitchen. This was open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. As you can see from the menu below, it mainly serves British classics.

Mellissa had the steak and ale pie with, of course, chips! She was very impressed with the quality of the food and the service. The menu also featured a few vegetarian and vegan options.

And to finish, there were some tasty desserts to choose from. Instead of dessert, I settled for a cocktail. Mel went for the cheesecake with cream.

The third restaurant is ‘Brasserie 32. which is located in the manor house. The Brasserie is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and afternoon tea. We tried the afternoon tea with plenty of scones, cakes and sandwiches. The decor in the Brasserie rooms is very grand. You can feel those ‘Downton Abbey‘ vibes while tucking into your tea.

There are many bars in the entertainment venues around the hotel. However, our favourite was the traditional styled Brassey Bar. The bar is named after the railway industrialist mentioned earlier, Brasseyrenovated the derelict Heythrop Park back in the 1800s

Entertainment

There is plenty to do at Heythrop Park. But don’t worry, it hasn’t got that ‘compulsory fun’ holiday park vibe. You can do as much or as little as you want. You can relax, walk, cycle or play a round of golf on their par 72 championship standard course. 

We had a try at archery, and with the help of the instructor, we even hit the target! Mel declined to stand with an apple on her head.

You can still play billiards in the original panelled billiard room. It’s easy to imagine the Victorian gents playing a game in the room after dinner.

The evening entertainment was very different to what we expected before our visit. The Saturday night headline act was ‘Ibiza in Symphony‘, A 16-piece orchestra that played classic Ibiza anthems from the 90s.

The headline entertainment was far from stuffy or old-fashioned. But if it isn’t to your taste, there are quiet bars and lounges where you can enjoy your evening.

It was back to the 80s and 90s again on Sunday with an Erasure tribute act in the Live Lounge. This proved to be another popular event. And just like on Saturday night, the dancefloor was packed!

One activity we nearly forgot to mention was the gin tasting we tried earlier Saturday evening. Once again, the member of staff hosting the group was knowledgeable. As well as being good fun. Mel wasn’t a big fan of gin. However, since the tasting, she has discovered Hendrick’s and Fever Tree lemonade.

The Pool And Spa

We didn’t have time to experience all of the spa facilities due to the other activities and entertainment on offer. We did have a quick swim in the 20-metre pool and enjoyed a dip in one of the hot tubs. Also, Mel did have a manicure before going out in the evening.

We’ll have to try the sauna, steam room, thermal suit and gym next time.

Final Thoughts

We had previously spoken to people who have stayed at a Warner Hotel. So we already knew that the standard was good. We wouldn’t have accepted the invitation if we had any doubts regarding the accommodation quality.

However, we were surprised at how much we genuinely enjoyed our stay. The food and drink were excellent, and so was the entertainment. Any holiday camp vibes were nowhere to be found.

If you have watched our Heythrop Park video, then you may have heard our final comments. We are thinking of booking another stay very shortly. Maybe we will see you there!

* We were invited to stay at Heythrop Park but all comments are our own.