Tortworth Court House
If you’ve seen my last few posts you’ll know that my boyfriend Tom and I celebrated our two-year anniversary by doing something special.
Originally it was just going to be a nice meal at a local restaurant like last year but then Tom came up with the idea to do something a bit bigger. We booked a last-minute luxury package at Tortworth Court Four Pillars Hotel.
Our room
Tortworth Court is a four star Victorian country mansion hotel in South Gloucestershire, UK. A grade II* listed building, it has a very long and interesting history which includes links to royalty and ghost stories but after a disastrous fire in 1991 the house was left derelict for almost a decade. Then it was taken over and restored into a magnificent hotel complete with an impressive lobby, beautifully decorated dining hall, spacious bedrooms and a luxurious spa which includes a gym, pool, sauna and steam room. The picturesque grounds surrounding the hotel also boost a mature arboretum with 300 rare and protected trees.
Thanks to our package deal, when we entered our room we were greeted with a luxury hamper filled with goodies including two bottles of wine, nibbles and luxury bath treats. It was quite late when we arrived and people were already arriving for dinner. When Tom said people dressed for dinner he meant it. Women were arriving in cocktail dresses and the men were wearing suits. At least I packed the dress I wore for graduation last minute.
Luxury hamper
We arrived at Moreton’s Restaurant where we would be eating both dinners and one breakfast. The food was fantastic. There was Goat’s Cheese and Beetroot Salad, Trio of Salmon, King Prawns – and that’s just for starters. For dinner there was a choice of high quality roasts, sausages, and even pigeon which I just had to try. After building up the courage – thank you wine list – I tucked in and it was better than expected (it’s not like chicken). We finished with desserts which included English classics like bread and butter and sticky toffee. I even tried the dessert wine which was very sweet and very strong and if you don’t finish it with dessert then your stuck because it’s too expensive to waste.
On Saturday we took things slow. I pried Tom out of bed early to go to the breakfast buffet. Then we went for a morning walk around the grounds and arboretum and got into a habit of reading the tags on trees to find out what they were. We found trees like White Oaks, American Maple and a Monkey Puzzle Tree, to name a few.
The orangery
Then we went to the gym. I’ve not been to the gym in over a year since I left university and it is becoming noticeable. So we spent some time there, realised how depressingly unfit we were and then made our way to the pool. I convinced Tom to try the sauna and steam room but quickly realised they weren’t his thing. We were in there five minutes before he complained about being too hot and we returned to the pool. Where’s my sauna and steam room experts Gemma and Gillian when I need them!
On our last day we decided to eat breakfast in the orangery which, if you didn’t know, is an old-fashioned conservatory or green house. Then we waved goodbye.
Now that’s how you celebrate an anniversary.
Me walking around the grounds
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