The Spa Hotel Review: Feversham Arms & Verbena Spa, Helmsley, North Yorkshire
Sitting pretty on the boarders of the North Yorkshire moors lies the quaint and picture postcard market town of Helmsley – home to our destination for the weekend; Feversham Arms Hotel & Verbena Spa.
Surrounded by some of Yorkshire’s finest countryside, this boutique-retreat hotel & spa is deceptive in size and it’s hard to imagine on first sight it actually houses 33 rooms and spacious suites, some of which have direct access onto the heated outdoor pool area or boast sweeping pool view balconies.
The east wing of the hotel features the Verbena Spa’s Heat Experience from which leads outdoor to the bubbling hot tub and relaxation area with sun loungers surrounding the heated pool. All of which shows the extent of development, which has gone into making this former 17-room pub into a blissful country spa retreat.
As we arrived we were greeting by the concierge and handed over our car keys for the valet parking (in the hotels underground car park) We checked in at 3pm and were given a brief overview of spa, bar and restaurant locations and shown to our room. A Luxury Poolside Suite was our residence for the evening and featured a huge glass balcony overlooking the pretty pool. Our super spacious suite had an expansive living area with 2-seater sofa and armchair, flat screen tv, tea & coffee making facilities, desk, and a dining table and chairs for 2. In the bedroom the beds had sumptuous soft mattresses draped in duck-down duvets, plump pillows and Egyptian cotton sheets.The bathroom featured double-ended bath, monsoon shower and Temple Spa bath & body products. All bedrooms and suites are individually decorated but all fit into the chic country-house style. We were lucky to arrive on a sunny day and basked in the sunshine on our balcony while we pretended we were in the South of France.
After changing into our spa robes and slippers we ventured downstairs to take some downtime in The Verbena Spa. We walked through the spa lounge, past the treatment rooms to the very east wing of the hotel.The Verbena Spa offers membership, spa day packages and a compact thermal suite featuring Aromatherapy Room , Steam Room, Saunarium , Monsoon Feature Shower, Foot Spa , and Outdoor Hot Tub Jacuzzi – which is amazing!
A Tuesday afternoon seems an optimum time to visit if you like a quiet spot of steam and sauna therapy as most of the time myself and my guest didn’t have to share the Heat Experience rooms with anyone else. Outside the weather was practically a heat wave so we took a dip in the heated outdoor pool and basked in the glorious weather and relaxed in the outdoor hot tub. Even if the weather had been a touch on the chilly side the pool is heated at a glorious 30 degree so you can still enjoy a blissful swim in all weather. The only downfall was the customer service in the spa, from arrival to departure didn’t quite match every other fantastic element of service throughout the hotel.
For dinner we headed to The Weathervane restaurant where we opted for the a la Carte menu. Guests and non resident diners can also to for the Tasting menu option with wine match. We took a seat in the bar area where pre-dinner drinks are served and our order was taken. As soon as our starter was nearly ready we were taken through to the restaurant and seated at our table. The restaurant had a great atmosphere which would be most welcome on a Saturday evening, but this was a Tuesday night – which says great things; a warm welcoming space with regular guests and restaurant staff who are impeccably trained and quite clearly enjoy their job. Residents of all ages were dining and almost every table was occupied. If I lived close by, this would most definitely be one of my regular restaurants to visit – there’s a great sense of familiarity and its pretty easy to see that alot of the dinner guests had been here before – the warm inviting feel of the room and the guests was actually quite special.
To start I had the Rabbit Terrine with apricot puree and pistachio crostini which was absolutely delicious. My guest had the Crab with avocado puree and beetroot sorbet – the beetroot sorbet interestingly complemented the crab perfectly. For mains we both had the Aged Beef with heritage carrots and mustard mash dressed in a red wine jus. A simple yet absolutely perfect dish.For dessert we had the Rhubarb Cheesecake, stewed rhubarb pieces and a refreshing rhubarb sorbet sprinkles.
This is a dining spot which is thoroughly recommended and which also welcomes non-residents to dine along with the hotel guests. All service staff were friendly, knowledgeable on the dishes and nothing less than first class professionals. Our dinner experience was definitely a highlight of an already impressive stay.
A hefty dose of friendly Yorkshire hospitality teamed with fine food, luxe accommodation and a great outdoor relaxation area make this country- boutique hotel a retreat to return to.
Feversham Arms Hotel & Verbena Spa
Helmsley
North Yorkshire
YO62 5AG
email: info@fevershamarmshotel.com
Hotel: 01439 770 766
Verbena Spa: 01439 772 930