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WHATLEY MANOR
F
or those wanting to get away from it all,
and enjoy a late autumn or winter break
Whatley Manor is a rare treat. Located in
the Cotswolds countryside, but an easy
journey down the M4 from London, this
beautifully restored manor house offers a
fantastic combination of first class accommodation,
award winning spa and, two-Michelin starred
chef Martin Burg’s ‘The Dining Room.
It really is a picture postcard pretty place, with
golden stone walls, leaded windows looking out
over gorgeous old fashioned gardens or into a lavender,
rose and jasmine scented courtyard.
On arrival we headed to the acclaimed Aquarias spa
to enjoy signature treatments including a fantastic
Kundalini massage, which combines Reiki healing
with uber-relaxing oils to pamper and sooth the
body and soul. Performed by Ila Therapist of the
Year award –winner Sarah Hickman, it was simply
one of the best treatments experienced for quite
some time. There is an excellent range of facial,
body and beauty treatments to choose from, using
top class products such as La Prairie and of course
Ila – a firm favourite of ours, which uses organic ingredients
including wild-grown essential oils which
smell divine.
The spa features a hydrotherapy pool, tepidarium,
a wave dream sensory room and all the usual thermal
cabins you could desire, plus a gym with Power
Plate and there are Yoga, Pilates, personal training
and Tai Chi on offer too. We particularly loved the
salt scrub showers, where you can use scoops of
scented Himalayan salt to boost your circulation
and scurf away dead cells to leave your skin silky
smooth.
After a wonderful few hours in the spa, cocktails out
in the garden before dinner beckoned, and then
the main event… a much anticipated treat – dinner
at ‘The Dining Room’ with wine pairings. Starting
with young brillat-savarin and truffle ravioli
matched with a 2012 Weingutt Hermann Donnhoff
reisling, on to langoustine tails with Deutz Classic
Champagne, garden pea risotto with a 2011 AOC
Cote do Nuit Village Domain Naudin Ferrand, and
then royal squab pigeon poached and roasted,
dressed with foie gras cassonade, pomme soufflé
and Pedro Ximenez sauce married with a 2008
Michel Theron Clos du Jaugueryon 2008 Bordeax
blend, topped by a selection of artisan cheeses with
a Pomona fortified cider from Julian Temperley in
Somerset. Absolutely divine!
www.whatleymanor.com
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