On our 2016 visit to Newcastle to watch a weekend of rugby league action and see the city we decided to extend our trip up north by a day so that upon our departure we could swing along Hadrian’s Wall since neither of us had seen it before – we duly stopped along it at Chesters Roman Fort and Housesteads Roman Fort – then drop back down the country more along the western side with an overnight stay somewhere around half way back home. That somewhere ended up being Rookery Hall Hotel and Spa in Cheshire and the reason we selected it was because we’d stayed at a few hotels run by the Hand Picked Hotels group before so knew we’d experience some fine dining in excellent surroundings.
Some photos of our bedroom and bathroom in Rookery Hall to start with because us travelling people do like to take photos of bedrooms and bathrooms to share for some reason. As you can see: large, spacious, clean.
One thing to consider with a place like Rookery Hall, shared with nearly every hotel of this type set in an historic building with sprawling grounds, is that there’s not a lot else to see and do in the area. Once you’re at the hotel then that’s pretty much it. You might get lucky and have a village or some other point of interest in walking distance but generally-speaking your hotel arrival marks the start of doing very little else, and you might find that perfectly fine. As a result we tend to arrive at these hotels late in the afternoon so that we’ve got time to take a wander around the grounds and snap some photos then freshen up ahead of some drinks and dinner before retiring, and that’s what we did here too.
Rookery Hall was built in 1816 for William Hilton Cooke, a wealthy landowner with a sugar plantation in Jamaica. In 1867 the property was purchased by Baron William Henry von Schröder who made alterations and extended it, transforming its appearance from the a fairly plain, late-Georgian building into a chateau in a neo-Elizabethan style at the turn of the century; Rookery Hall has a fairly unique architectural heritage among country houses in the UK as a result. Von Schröder was High Sheriff of Cheshire. The building and grounds were sold but remained in private hands until 1979 when a succession of hoteliers gradually turned Rookery Hall into the place it is today, transforming rooms into bedrooms, and adding additional wings, a restaurant, and spa.
We aren’t spa people so can’t tell you anything about what the one at Rookery Hall offers other than to say that it seemed quite popular. Our short walk around the main buildings and the pond had us spotting numerous couples strolling across from the main part of the hotel to the spa area dressed in gowns. There was only the slightest air of some cult meeting and initiation ceremony taking place but, since we don’t visit spas, that might be true of all of these so-called areas of relaxations.
One thing you’re guaranteed with a Hand Picked Hotel stay is good food, whether that’s with the included breakfast or with the dinner that you might add on or may get with whatever deal you might manage to book for your stay. As keen cruisers we’d say that we can expect dinner to be about the same as speciality dining options on Princess or lines of that quality and above. We certainly had no complaints with our evening meal or the pre-dinner drinks and nibbles or the after-dinner cocktails at Rookery Hall.
We had a nice stay at Rookery Hall and it was everything we expected it to be: interesting building, great food and drink, lovely views with pleasant walking areas. The lack of anything to do in the vicinity might be a consideration for some people but if you’re after a place to stay for pure relaxation and you’re the sort of person who likes spas then this could be ideal. We certainly like these sorts of places around the country for their historic connections and fancy dining options… but… prices at these hotels have sky-rocketed over the past few years making them far less attractive for stays. At around the time we visited here, for instance, we got a room, breakfast, and dinner for less than the price of just the room and breakfast costs these days, and it’s only been a few years. That effectively adds about 50% to what we paid for the same experience now and while there may be extenuating circumstances behind that sort of rise it’s not the sort of expense we can easily justify if we’re looking for somewhere to stay that’s a bit different.