After a busy day at Paulton’s Park it was great to know that our hotel for the evening, the 4 star Macdonald Botley Park Hotel & Spa was only a short drive away.
This is our review of the Macdonald Botley Park Hotel & Spa.
Because it is set in its own grounds in the Hampshire countryside, you feel as though you are escaping the hustle and bustle of the city, yet it is situated just minutes from the M27 – making it a great base for exploring the surrounding area. Car parking was complimentary and there were lots of spaces available.
The elegant lobby area of the hotel was tastefully decorated, with a large welcoming fireplace and comfortable sofas and chairs. Our check-in was friendly, fast and efficient and we all got a very warm welcome, especially the girls. They were given their own Peppa Pig activity packs, which made check-in for the girls extra special.
The hotel has 130 rooms across three different categories – classic, executive, feature, and suites. Our spacious feature room was one of the best rooms in the hotel and perfect for a family stay.
The room was traditionally furnished with dark wood headboards, black desks and more importantly a really comfortable super king size bed. Although I normally prefer rooms with a proper bed for the girls to sleep in, their two z-beds did seem very comfortable.
We appreciated the welcoming fruit plate, complimentary bottled water and Nespresso machine with a full complement of drink options.
Our room contained the facilities you’d expect in this standard of hotel – flat screen TV, tea and coffee making facilities and a selection of magazines. WiFi was complementary and speeds were good during our stay. Minor quibbles were that there were very few electrical sockets in our room making it difficult to charge electrical devices, which we found strange in a modern hotel and some of the carpets in the corridors were looking a little tired.
The spacious white tiled bathroom was nicely appointed consisting of a separate bath and shower. Complimentary toiletries were provided by Arran Aromatics of Scotland, which are one of my favourites.
Our room had views of the beautiful Hampshire countryside and what was the golf course of the hotel, which has recently been sold off to build a new housing development.
Another great feature of the Botley Park was that it had a lovely 15-metre swimming pool, which the girls quickly said was the number one attraction of the hotel. Other leisure amenities included a sauna, steam room, gym and an Elemis Spa.
In keeping with the Peppa Pig theme, the hotel also had a small Peppa Pig playroom near to the health club. This looked like it once was a changing room as it still had the lockers but they had been given a Peppa Pig coloured paint scheme makeover. My 6 year old daughter thought this secret room (as she called it) was great, with a chalkboard, small playhouse and television playing children’s TV programmes.
After a busy day out at Paulton’s Park we didn’t want to venture out again and chose to make it easy dining at The Winchester, the hotel’s restaurant for our evening meal.
Three courses were £29.50 (plus an £8 supplement for the steak), or included in the dinner, bed and breakfast package, and the classic British menu was simple, with seasonal ingredients.
We started with Chinese style chicken which was highly recommended by our waiter, and I could see why, it was delicious.
To follow we both had the steak which was perfectly cooked came with thick hand cut chips – and finished off with a pair of extremely delicious deserts – rhubarb crumble with vanilla ice cream and berry and champagne cheesecake.
There was a children’s menu available with a good selection on offer. The girls chose mains of tomato pasta and pizza and chips – followed by chocolate brownie deserts. Our meals were delicious and the service was great. To keep the girls entertained as they waited for their meals the hotel provided crayons and activity books, it really is a family friendly hotel.
There are lots of beautiful communal spaces to relax in, a lounge with comfy sofas, and a lovely bar area to relax at night with a good selection of cocktails, beers and wines.
Breakfast was served at the Winchester the hotel’s restaurant. This buffet style breakfast was to a good standard with a range of options on offer from hot cooked breakfasts to small pastries, yogurts, fruit and cereals.
Throughout our stay at the hotel, staff from the receptionist to the attentive waiters were very friendly and professional, making a fuss of us from the start until the end of our stay.
If you are looking for a family friendly hotel close to both Marwell Zoo and Peppa Pig World at Paulton’s Park, then the 4 star Macdonald Botley Park Hotel & Spa is a good family option. We would be perfectly happy to come back to this hotel in the future, it’s a great base to explore Hampshire and the perfect hotel for Peppa Pig World.
Booking direct with Macdonald Hotels is recommended especially as they have some great promotions on at the moment. If you plan on visiting Peppa Pig World at Paulton’s Park it is also worth checking the deals on the Paulton’s Breaks website. The packages offers can be great value as they include 2 days park entry.
We were guests of the Macdonald Botley Park Hotel & Spa, all views and opinions are our own.