We ended our October half term week in the Somerset countryside at the beautiful setting of the Doubletree by Hilton Cadbury House.
This is our review of the Doubletree by Hilton Cadbury House and what it offers families.
After stopping off for a little retail therapy at Cribbs Causeway shopping centre in Bristol (I couldn’t resist) we continued our journey down the M5 towards the hotel.
On arrival at the hotel, the first thing you notice is the striking Cadbury House, which dates back to 1790.
Over the years the building has been everything from a private house to a boarding school to a country club.
In 2003 Cadbury house was converted into a 4 star Doubletree by Hilton with the 132 bedrooms located in a modern annexe building connected to original house.
Set in the beautiful countryside of North Somerset, the landscaped grounds of the hotel are stunning with terraced lawns, a large lake with fountain and what we thought was hilarious was the quirky life-size cow watching over the grounds.
Holly in particular loved watching the pheasants wandering around the hotels grounds and chatting with the doves in their bird house. In the summer months it must be just delightful to spend it in the stunning grounds of the hotel.
The hotel was busy when we arrived on Saturday afternoon but there were lots of car parking spaces available and we made the short walk to the hotel’s entrance.
As part of a recent £1.5 million investment 72 rooms at the hotel have been refreshed and a new modern boxed extension has been added for the lobby area.
One of the design features we loved on arrival was the large living wall, which has been cleverly used to blend this modern design into the historic building.
Inside the modern, bright and stylish lobby area are the wonderful panoramic views across the North Somerset countryside through the giant floor-to-ceiling windows.
Aside from the stylish décor in the lobby, what really stands out at Cadbury House, was the warm friendly welcome we received on check-in, thanking us for our loyalty given our Hilton Gold status with a drinks voucher each.
One detail we love about staying in a Doubletree by Hilton is its famous welcome cookies. On check-in all guests receive a warm chocolate cookie which the girls loved – why don’t all hotels do something like this to welcome guests?
We headed to our family interconnecting room through the maze of corridors at the hotel, (until you get your bearings it can be quite easy to get lost here.)
Our Interconnecting Family Room:
Of the 132 rooms at the hotel there are several options for families including family rooms with sofa beds.
We stayed in a family king and twin room which we feel works best for us as a family, especially with the children getting older and not having to sleep on a sofa bed – plus the fact that we all like the extra space offered by having two rooms.
Both rooms were lovely and spacious and although we were in rooms that had not been upgraded during the recent refurbishment, they were clean and tastefully decorated – if not a little dark, but that could have been because we were on the ground floor.
Our rooms featured all the amenities you’d expect from a Doubletree by Hilton hotel such as a flat screen tv, air conditioning, high speed wifi, tea and coffee making facilities and in-room safe.
Having an interconnecting room was perfect for us. The girls in particular were more than happy to relax in their own bedroom after choosing their beds, watching their favourite channels on their large wall mounted TV or using the desk for activities such as drawing and colouring in.
Beside our beds, as well as throughout our rooms, were plenty of electrical sockets, which are essential for travellers these days with so many pieces of technology to charge.
Both bathrooms were modern and clean with large walk-in showers but to the girls dismay after they had bought their favourite Lush bathbombs no bath.
The bathroom goodies like most Doubletree by Hilton hotels were provided by Crabtree and Evelyn along with lots of soft white fluffy towels. Fluffy white bathrobes and slippers were also provided.
Facilities:
The biggest attraction of the hotel for the children apart from the cookies was their fabulous indoor swimming pool. As soon as we had put our cases in our room the first thing Chloe and Holly wanted to do was to check out the swimming pool.
Located in a separate building across from the main hotel was the health club. It was one of the best we have visited in the country.
The spa facilities included a Jacuzzi, sauna and steam room which was so relaxing and the girls enjoyed the pool so much that they didn’t want to leave. They enjoyed it so much that they got up early the next morning for a quick swim before breakfast.
Outside was a more tranquil hot spa for adults only, which was my husband’s favourite area of this impressive health club.
On the way to the outdoor terrace of the spa, you walk past the treatment rooms which looked so relaxing, and something I would definitely look at booking on a return visit without the children.
Whilst I was looking through the extensive list of spa treatments on offer, my husband checked out the gym which had a great range of equipment available.
There were stylish spaces to relax in, including the atmospheric bar next to the main restaurant with lots of comfortable seating. What caught our eye was the full sized snooker table and we had great fun challenging each other to a game.
The original house contains the function rooms and it is here that many of the original features of the house are retained – plus we loved the red quirky welly phone box.
Before dinner the hotel’s manager took the girls to have a sneak peak of a Harry Potter themed event that was taking place that evening which looked amazing – unfortunately it was for adults only!
The next morning we explored this original part of the hotel and we had a quick game of giant draughts on the floor of one of the conference spaces.
Dinner
One of the best parts of staying at a hotel for the girls is being able to dress up in a party dress for dinner. At Cadbury House you are spoilt for choice with two Marco Pierre White restaurants on-site .
We had dinner at the hotels Marco Pierre White Steakhouse restaurant and were seated at one of the plush leather booths in the very glamourous surroundings of the restaurant.
It was really family friendly with a great children’s menu to choose from and the staff were so welcoming and friendly toward the girls.
It was fascinating looking at the pictures around the restaurant which capture the career of Chef Marco Pierre White including one where he is allegedly made chef Gordon Ramsay cry.
The children’s menu offered a good range of dishes even for the fussiest of eaters. Chloe selected the tomato soup of the day to start and Marco’s mini fish and chips for mains with Holly deciding on a fresh fruit platter to start and chicken goujons and chips for mains.
To start, we chose the spiced pumpkin soup (it was Halloween half term week after all) and a selection of breads for the table.
Moving on to mains, I went for steakhouse burger and my husband couldn’t resist the 35 day aged ribeye steak and triple cooked chips, both of which were delicious.
To finish we chose chocolate brownie and ice creams all-round which was a real treat.
Prices were reasonable for a 4 star hotel and our dinner experience was excellent with very attentive, highly trained staff.
If you have a Tastecard you can get 2 for 1 on courses meals Sunday – Thursday which makes dining here even more attractive.
There was also the Marconi café offering coffees, teas, pastries and smoothies and the trendy Bardolino Italian restaurant located in the health club, both of which are run by the Marco Pierre White restaurant group.
Breakfast
Having slept soundly in the comfortable beds and after an early morning swim, we headed down to breakfast.
You can either take breakfast in the main dining room or in the garden room overlooking the grounds of the hotel.
We recommend the garden room as it seemed more of an exclusive area to have our breakfast and if you have a table by the window there are stunning views of the surrounding countryside.
Breakfast was excellent in the typical Hilton buffet style. There was a wide range of options on offer from hot cooked breakfasts to small pastries, yogurts, fruit and cereals. Hot tea and coffee are served to your table.
Once more the level of personal service received during breakfast was exceptional and this high level of customer service is a credit to the hotel management because it really does make a difference during your stay.
Location
Located in Congresbury, Somerset the hotel is in a great location just 10 minutes from the M5 and less than 30 minutes from the centre of Bristol. It is also a perfectly placed hotel if you are flying out of Bristol Airport and want to stay the night before.
It’s a short drive to the beautiful cathedral town of Wells, Cheddar Gorge and Wookey Hole – all of which I would highly recommend visiting if you are in the area.
Overall
OverallWould we recommend a stay at this hotel? Yes without a doubt, the Doubletree by Hilton Cadbury House is one of the best places to stay in Somerset.
Everyone is made to feel very welcome and the food and setting is very special. It’s a great place for a family weekend break – kids will love the swimming pool and welcome cookies.
The Doubletree by Hilton Cadbury House ticks all the boxes for families looking for a family-friendly hotel that’s close to Bristol, Bristol Airport and nearby family attractions including Wookey Hole.
Prices at the Doubletree by Hilton Cadbury House start from a very reasonable £83 per room for a king family guest room when booking direct at Hilton.com
We were guests of the Doubletree by Hilton Cadbury House