Monday, 16 September 2013
Anniversary Weekend Away
On Saturday it was our second wedding anniversary and a few months ago we had booked ourselves a little break away to celebrate via secretescapes.com - a website I would thoroughly recommend for getting a good deal and saving money. It seems like it was only last month we had booked it, I can't believe how fast this year has flown by! We were excitedly counting down the days last week though and looking forward to getting away for a couple of days.
We had booked a long weekend at the Lakeside Spa Hotel in Ryde on the Isle of Wight, part of the package was that a chilled bottle of prosecco would be waiting in our room as well as getting a complimentary back massage treatment in the spa. When we booked it I wasn't pregnant but because I now am I obviously couldn't have the alcohol or the back massage but I had a scalp massage instead and had managed to book in a cheeky facial too.
The hotel and spa was lovely and the food was amazing! The last perk of the package we bought was that we could have a complimentary dinner in the restaurant from their a la carte menu. I expected it to be OK but the restaurant was a Michelin star restaurant and the three course meal we had was delicious! One of the best meals either of us has had.
As well as using the spa we went to a few places that caught our interest on the island. Neither of us had been to the Isle of Wight since being a child so were surprised by how much there was to do there. We went to visit the oldest and only working watermill on the island which was fascinating; t was like stepping back in time so hard to imagine it is still a place of work. There was also a museum which had tons of old gadgets, bits and bobs and equipment that would have been used in homes once upon a time such as old cookers, sewing machines, crockery, prams and much more.
After visiting there, we went for a coffee in a highly recommended cafe ran by a man who is married to an Italian lady and who has studied the Italian art of coffee making and only buys the best Italian products to make his drinks from. I had a mocha and hubby had a cappuccino, both of which were delicious and warmed the cockles on a cold day.
After a mooch around the town, we went to the Garlic farm. As soon as we got out of the car the scent of warm garlic filled the air and made us salivate. You got to taste all of the different products they made with garlic such as chutneys and sauces. You could learn about the different types of garlic and what they were best used for then buy lots of yummy goodies in the shop. We had a quick bite to eat in the cafe and I had garlic mushrooms which were out of this world! There were also birds there you could hold and other farm animals such as chickens and pigs.
After the Garlic farm, we made our way back to the hotel to get ready for our complimentary spa treatments (and try and stifle the garlic smell with a nice hot bath) before getting ready to go out for an anniversary dinner. We went to a pub that was recommended and had a yummy meal while a live band played. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.
Before heading home on the Sunday (and after a yummy breakfast) we stopped at a local pottery for cream tea (I had fancied it all weekend and didn't really want to go home having not had it). You get two big home made scones with your tea so I was stuffed afterwards and we didn't eat anything else for the rest of the day until dinnertime.
We have both said we would go back to the Isle of Wight as there was a lot more to do and see that we didn't get time to. We would also book a deal through a website like Secret Escapes because we saved so much money and got a great deal. I think the package came to £300 for the two nights with the complimentary add on's but when we looked at the hotels website separately we worked out it would have been a lot more. The grounds and the lake that the hotel overlooked were stunning too, we had a quick look around the morning we were due to be leaving as it was the only morning the weather was nice! But I bet it is lovely in the summer.
Perfect anniversary weekend had!!
*N.B. This post is not in association with Secret Escapes and is just my personal opinion and experience. They have not asked me to write a review about the package we purchased.
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| The Hotel |
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| The watermill |
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| The garlic farm |
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| The pottery |
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| Cream tea |
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4 comments:
I'm really intrigued by the garlic farm and would love to taste some of their produce! I didn't realise there was so much to do on the IoW - definitely one to consider for a long weekend away!
Looks like you had a fab weekend - happy anniversary you two (three!) xx
Sounds like you had a lovely time! I live in Portsmouth so I have been to the island a couple of times but never checked out any of the places you went - they sound great :) x
We have said we would go back, there was so much more we wanted to do and see and just didn't have the time. It was a lovely weekend!! Thanks :) xx
It was a lovely weekend thanks luv! We had lots of fun :) xx
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