Headlam Hall Hotel & Spa | Headlam | Near Gainford| Teesdale | DL2 3HA
Review: Val Jones
Headlam Hall is a 17th century hotel, spa & golf resort which boasts a majestic exterior blanketed green and red Virginia Creeper. The location of the hotel sits in the pretty, rural countryside of Teesdale.
The hotel is owned by the Robinson family who have farmed the area for 4 generations, and still do. It’s dog friendly with a selection of rooms accepting our furry friends. There are 38 rooms in total, 16 in the Main Hall, 6 in the Mews, 9 in the Coach House, and 7 in the spa.
Golfers can take advantage of the 9 hole golf course and driving range, complete with equipment hire and a golf pro if you want to brush up on your swing. This country retreat really ticks all the boxes with tennis courts on site, fly fishing by arrangement, electric bike hire, and last but not least classic car hire, which boasts an Aston Martin DB7 Vantage if you want to push the boat out.
We received a friendly greeting as we entered the hotel and were shown to our room via the original 17th century grand staircase, passing antiques aplenty before we arrived at our on suite room, number 10 – The Peach. this room was a delight, with serene décor combined with antique furniture, a huge bed, and beautiful views across the gardens and grounds. The bathroom was equally as luxurious and features huge bath, rainwater shower, soft towels, robes, and Molton Brown toiletries.
On later taking a stroll down another open staircase on the way to the spa, we passed the comfy but impressive lounge, with a sleek piano, original grand fire place, sandstone columns, and grand comfortable sofa’s – I had already picked my spot to enjoy a nice glass of red later.
When we entered the spa the receptionist was welcoming and we chatted about my treatment time and the facilities the spa offered. We continued on to the changing rooms having been given, our robes and towels.
We went into relaxation mode for the next couple of hours; swam the 15m swimming pool, enjoyed the steam room, sauna and outdoor Hydrotherapy spa pool – which turned out to be quite a sociable hot spot, it was lovely to catch up with the spa regulars to find out more about the history of the area and hotel, along with a bit of local gossip!
I then headed off for my treatment, the Muscle Melt Back Massage, and I couldn’t wait. I had already filled in a consultation form and myself and my therapist had a quick chat about my problem areas and she left me to get changed and relax on the bed.
The massage was said to “release any stress and aches in this relaxing back and shoulder massage”, and it really did do just that. The products used were from the gorgeous Elemental Herbology range. My therapist had taken note of my ‘seasons’ consultation for which she followed the ‘Wood/Spring’ profile by using the muscle melt balm and moving to my ‘Water/Winter’ profile by using soothe bath and body oil – apparently it’s all about regaining balance to your body. I can confirm it seemed to work for me as I felt wonderful after the treatment I only wish I had booked a full hour and not the 30 minutes.
Dinner that evening was in the Orangery Restaurant, where the tables were laid out with crisp white tablecloths, sparkling cutlery and gleaming glasses. This was a sleek dining affair with a circumference of floor to ceiling windows which flooded light into the space where in the summer months the doors opened onto the patio.
Before taking a seat in the restaurant we took time for pre-dinner drinks in the Library Bar and perused the menus.
We were shown to our table just before our starters were ready to be served. It was a Sunday evening and so expected the restaurant to be a little quiet, however the atmosphere was actually nothing short of vibrant.
My starter was fresh white crab, brown shrimp, salmon parfait, grapefruit, avocado and baby herbs, which was absolutely delicious, the grapefruit addition totally enhanced the flavour of the dish. My husband had the cream of white onion soup, cheese on toast (his favourite snack) and crispy kale. For mains we both had the chargrilled sirloin with all the trimmings, cooked to personal choice and perfection.
Compliments to the Head Chef Austen Shaw for such an impressive dinning experience and the restaurant staff gave such wonderful service. Headlam Hall Hotel & Spa is a true delight of the Durham Dales.
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You can book your stay at Headlam Hall & Spa right here with The Hotel Guru
Rates from £160 bed and breakfast.