Our stay was provided to us on a complimentary basis in exchange for an honest review – A WINTRY WEEKEND AT THE DEVONSHIRE ARMS HOTEL & SPA, BOLTON ABBEY
I have to say December really is one of my favourite times of year to have a little staycation. Especially here in Yorkshire. It seems to have become a little tradition and it certainly gets me in the mood for the festivities that are about to begin with the run up to Christmas. Heading off to the Yorkshire Dales on a crisp yet sunny morning set us up perfectly for our wintry weekend at the Devonshire Arms Hotel & Spa, Bolton Bolton Abbey.
Just under an hour from our home we took the winding roads through Ripley and the outskirts of the Dales to reach our destination for the weekend and crikey, was it a good one. I’ve always loved our beautiful countryside. As a proud Yorkshire woman, there is something very magical watching the ever changing scenery through the seasons in our home county. The Devonshire Arms is nestled on the Bolton Abbey Estate which provides hours of endless walks, views and historical sites that can easily fill up a full weekend and that’s before you’ve even checked out the hotels spa.
Built in the 17th century, the Devonshire Arms has notable royal connections throughout time. The 4th Duke of Devonshire owned it in 1753 as part of the Bolton Abbey Estate and many royals have stayed here over the years. It’s interior flare within the public areas was overseen by Her Grace, The Duchess of Devonshire . The dog room is a wonderfully cosy room with textured dog themed wallpaper and dog portraits. We sipped on a warm coffee in here in front of the fire and thawed off before we went on a nice long, winter walk. In fact, it’s the roaring fires that make this place feel so wonderfully magical!
As much as the hotel and it’s grounds itself are absolutely stunning, sadly, our Deluxe Room didn’t quite cut the mustard for me. They had clearly done a beautiful job on refurbishing the bathrooms but in contrast to the gleaming white, bright bathroom it seemed a little tired in the bedroom area. Nothing quite matched and not in a quirky way.
The artwork on the wall was of a seaside scape, which is completely different to the beautiful, green, countryside right out of the window, which I felt could have been brought in to the bedroom – it just seemed like they really missed a trick with what this hotel offers in terms of countryside, luxury charm. In short everything, except for the bathroom, seemed a little misplaced and in need of replacing. However our room earned it’s brownie points from the views out of the window, overlooking Beamsley Beacon – a perfect sight to wake up to as frost covered the lucious green grass.
I did however, have good sleep quality. The bed was comfy and there were no bumps in the night or bright lights shining in to our room which made for a peaceful nights sleep which is paramount when having a night away from your own bed.
Overall, in terms of what I would expect if you were to be spending the amount that is charged for these rooms, our room fell a little short. In contrast though, we did get a sneak peak of other rooms on our floor as we wandered down our hallway (when the maids were busy cleaning other rooms) and these looked to have been refurbished and had a much brighter feel and look in comparison to our our darker room.
Note from the hotel: The Devonshire Arms hotel has contacted me to advise that the room that I stayed in is due for refurbishment in 2020 and have taken my notes on board about this room.
Our evening meal was at the Brasserie where we had a £35pp spend limit included within our stay and a free bottle of wine. We decided that steak featured pretty heavily on the menu (not to our disappointment) and we ordered the chateaubriand with a side of truffle mac and cheese and skinny fries. The large plate also came with onion rings, mushrooms and tomato’s and boy did it deliver. I have to give a special shout out to the the truffle mac & cheese because it was delicious!
We asked for the steak to be rare and it was cooked exactly to our liking and the bottle of Chilean Merlot that was suggested by our waiter was perfectly paired to go with our evening meal. The chateaubriand will set you back £70 in total for 2, which may sound pricey, however you got a lot for this price and would happily pay for this standard and quality again.
After being stuffed we still wanted to try some of the cheese board so we decided on 6 different types which went down much better than what a sweet desert would have!
Overall we were super impressed with the service, quality of food and the relaxed atmosphere in comparison to the rather high brow tasting meals that could be seen being taken in the conservatory. The food definitely won me over!
Ah, the heart of a good hotel, has to be the breakfast. The most important meal of the day! The extensive menu really packs a punch (as you can see in the photo.)
I’m a huge lover of Eggs Benedict and one of the previous hotels I had stayed at to review had flunked it massively. Thank goodness the Devonshire Arms restored faith in the classic brekkie dish because, oh my word, it was delicious. I could have gobbled up ten plates it was that yummy. The poached eggs were cooked to perfection (that perfect egg pop does exist!), the shredded ham just melted in my mouth and the hollandaise was so, so, so tasty.
James had the Full English which he enjoyed, the only criticism was that it needed a bit more “moist maker” – i.e. he wanted something like baked beans. However, all in all he said it was really god quality.
The rounds of toast & coffee kept coming as we wished and there was also a continental bar that you could choose cereals, pastries and yoghurts form which I feel is always a nice addition to the cooked option.
I have to say we were very pleased with the breakfast at the Devonshire Arms!
If you cross the road you will find a separate building that is home to the Devonshire Club Spa. James had forgotten his swim shorts so the day we checked in we had to make a mad dash to go buy some from them and the staff were excellent and really tentative with helping us with what could have been a mammoth catastrophe! (I mean who forgets their swimming gear on a spa break?!) Luckily robes, towels and flip flops are also provided.
The one thing I really liked about the spa was that they had individual private changing rooms rather than a communal area! Normally you only have one or two cubicles (or even none and you have to use the toilets!) so you’re waiting for ages to get changed or undressed. My only slight criticism is that the cubicles were on the smaller size so plus sized travellers may find this a little intimidating and there seemed to be only stair access and I don’t recall seeing a lift up to the changing rooms or treatment rooms, so for those who struggle with stairs may find this place a little difficult.
Our massages were so lovely, Juliet found my knots pretty quickly in my shoulders (the joys of having an office job) and we discussed what was happening as I can get a little jumpy during massages, she also use the hot stones to try and loosen my shoulders up which was a really nice touch and thoroughly appreciated. I asked for my massage to be of a medium firmness which does help with my “jumpiness” and Juliet was happy to adjust the pressure if I was struggling with any pains I was having with my neck & shoulder. The spa uses Temple Spa products which I’m familiar with and my skin absolutely adores it!
In terms of the facilities of the Devonshire Arms spa I feel that the building has the potential to be quite special but lacks different facilities that some other spa’s have access to. You of course have the standard sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi & pool but I don’t think I’d be able to spend a whole day here. However, the massage and treatments more than made up for that.
I do feel that they could utilise their outdoor space more as the hotel and spa is in such a beautiful part of the world. There could be a gorgeous outdoor cedar wood sauna, a hot tub and more and I think if that was added I wouldn’t hesitate booking another trip here. After all, with so much beautiful countryside around it, it would be such a shame to not use that as an advantage!
The location of this hotel is exactly why people flock here, it is simply put, quite stunning. The hotels public areas exude warmth and country charm and all the food we ate was truly magnificent – I could honestly not fault it. The only thing I would change about our stay is our room, and had we have gotten a brighter, more welcoming room this could have been a different story, however, if we ever stay again we know to book a different room or if we go for the same category to request one of the newly refurbished rooms (although not always guaranteed, it is worth a shot.) The good bits far outweigh the room!
If you like escaping to the countryside and eating good, quality food surrounded by rolling green hills and beautiful stretches of land as far as the eye can see, plenty of cosy warm fires to sit and enjoy a hot chocolate in front of, then I would thoroughly recommend a stay here.
Bee
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