Type in the words “Woolley Grange” into Google and many of the sites that come
up have names like babyworld and mumsnet. The Jacobean manor house near Bath
has built quite an enviable reputation among families with small children -
it is highly recommended on the net more often than not.
My wife and I, both avid readers of hotel reviews on the web, have long
wondered whether Woolley would live up to its billing. We have two small
boys, aged two and a half and one and family holidays have so far consisted
of a trip to Italy (fantastic) and a couple of breaks in the UK (almost
unspeakably awful).
The most important lesson we have learned it that ripping small children out
of their happy routine at home is not worth it unless you can find somewhere
that instantly feels as comfortable - and comforting - as being at home. And
crucially, it also has to be somewhere where you can get away from the kids
for a while (much as I love them).
And that is where Woolley Grange comes in. It has a staffed creche, the Bear
Den, open all day, every day as part of your package. The hotel opened in
1989 as the first “country house hotel of its kind to openly welcome
children” and the creche is key to that.
So it was with keen anticipation that we parked up outside the hotel one
weekend earlier this month (May). The boys were asleep after a hard day’s
animal hunting at nearby Longleat Safari Park (a good day out but the kids
need to be at least three to really enjoy it). So we left them there for a
moment and walked over to the creche, set in an old coaching house next to
the main building. It looked great, a large room stuffed to the gills with
toys and cars and games. The staff were friendly (there are always two on
duty) and things were looking good.
The hotel itself is as fine as you would expect - lots of rambling 17th
Century rooms (there are 26 bedrooms in all, some in other more modern
buildings) and higgledy-piggledy landings (which made walking to meals an
enjoyable adventure in itself for Tom our two-year-old).
There are 14 acres of gardens and fields, an outdoor play area, an outdoor
pool heated to bath temperatures, an indoor play area for older children and
a trampoline. No prizes for guessing that the trampoline was the biggest
hit.
The staff were just right - friendly but unobtrusive - and the service for
parents - bottles cleaned, milk warmed and babies monitored while you dine
in the restaurant in the evening - is exemplary. The food is good: modern
cuisine that ticks all the boxes that you would expect in a luxury
establishment but perhaps tries a little too hard to be classy. And even if
the food were horrible, eating in a restaurant and not having to worry about
the kids is for many parents such a luxury that I would be recommending it
anyway.
Of course, more important than any of this is the amount of sleep you get. We
had a suite and it was a great relief that the boys, who normally do not
share a room, went to sleep with a minimum of fuss both nights. The hotel
provides all manner of combinations of rooms and fold-up beds/cots to suit
parents.
None of this comes cheap. The weekend tarif for dinner, bed and breakfast per
night starts at £200. For interconnecting rooms, you can pay as much as
£370. But children sharing their parents’ room are accommodated free of
charge and midweek rates are more reasonable.
So what about the creche? As a restaurant, it was a big hit. The boys ate,
under our watchful eye, their lunch and tea there. It was nothing fancy, ham
sandwiches, baked potatoes and baked beans, chicken goujons, broccoli and
carrots and so on but familiarity is certainly what my boys prefer when they
dine out.
Unfortunately, as a creche, the Bear Den was a big flop. On day one we
managed to leave Jo-Jo, our youngest, for about half an hour without
eruptions of tears and Tom for a little longer. By day two, both were
determined not to let their parents out of their sight. We gave in. So much
for the “finding time for yourselves” promised by the brochure. We had a
nice wander round the hotel’s lovely walled organic garden instead and
bought some fennell seeds for Tom to plant at home. (They are doing very
nicely, since you ask.)
So was it a success? Yes, we had a great time. We relaxed, we played with the
boys, we ate and drank and slept well. The hotel deserves its reputation.
But actually, the best bit of the whole break was the presence of some
friends. They have a three-year-old boy and we shared child-care duties and
bottles of wine with them. And that’s my real tip for good family holidays.
Good friends make creches unnecessary.
Need to know: Woolley Grange (www.luxuryfamilyhotels.com) opened in
1989, the first in the Luxury Family Hotels group. They all aim to pamper
parents. Ickworth in Suffolk is currently gathering most of the best reviews.
