Eastwood Hall
Eastwood Hall, located just off junction 26 of the M1, Nottingham is a popular wedding and events venue, though I recently discovered isn’t just available for special occasions, but also has extensive conference facilities, a spa, restaurant and several hotel rooms. I recently went to investigate…
We were welcomed by Brett on reception, who checked us in and directed us to our room, which was modern in design with all the basic amenities and to my delight a bath with overhead shower.
We decided to explore immediately and wandered the hotel to be greeted by Matt, who explained he would be looking after us during our afternoon tea at 3pm. We took this on the casual sofa’s in the lobby area, where we were able to people watch, as a wedding was also taking place in the area.
A selection of sandwiches, scones and cakes with of course our choice of tea was served and we packaged up the remaining uneaten cakes to take back to our room having been defeated.
We then decided to hit the pool/spa area, signed in at the spa reception as hotel guests (which is included free of charge during your stay) and chose our lockers in the changing rooms ( a pound is needed for these, which you get back at the end). The pool is a good size, so we swam a few lengths and then enjoyed the bubbling hot Jacuzzi, probably out-staying our welcome slightly, but was relaxing all the same. Finally we decided we couldn’t leave without trying out the sauna and steam room, a few minutes in each is all that was needed.
Showered and changed we retreated back to our room to enjoy a glass of Prosecco before dinner.
Matt who previously looked after us during our afternoon tea, was also there to greet us for dinner and was extremely attentive and polite, stopping to chat to us between main course and dessert.
The menu in the restaurant is simple but has a good selection, so we started with the Tomato & Basil Soup, which was clearly homemade, thick and tasty, served with a bread roll and plenty of butter.
My dining partner chose the Mushroom Ragu & Goats Cheese, served on Parisian toast with rocket leaf- a good sized portion was delivered.
For main course being vegetarian, I was defaulted to the Mushroom Risotto, being the only option on there for myself- usually in this scenario I would request an alternative option, however decided to go with it and was pleased I did as it was full of flavour and a generous portion I was unable to finish afterall.
I’d have liked to see more vegetarian options on the menu, however we improvised for my dining partner who is not keen on risotto and so requested the Cumin & Maple Roasted Heritage Carrot & Avocado Salad as a main course ( advertised as a starter) to which they happily obliged. She then went with a side order of fries and peppercorn sauce for dipping. The salad was colourful and artistically presented on the plate and the fries and sauce were a welcome hot addition.
For dessert we decided to share an Eton Mess, which arrived prettily in an oval dish, with lashings of cream, chewy meringue and strawberries, just how it should be. We also enjoyed a bottle of Prosecco alongside dinner in the vibrant and busy hotel restaurant. Usually hotel restaurants in my experience can be relatively cold and desolate in atmosphere, but I was pleasantly surprised by how energetic it was and this enhanced the experience for us.
After a satisfying three courses, we retreated back to our room, where we enjoyed a peaceful sleep and awoke next morning to revisit the restaurant for a cooked breakfast. Continental options were also available, – the usual cereal options, juices, fresh fruit platters etc..however the cooked English style breakfast was calling our name, so we went with scrambled egg and baked beans on toast with a couple of hash browns thrown in for good measure.
We checked out shortly after, driving down the country lane back to reality, having had a pleasant stay indeed.
Fiona Duncan-Steer
