Birthday Roadtrip Part 2!

Stop 8 : Kenwood Hall, Sheffield

 

So the Hayley's left stop 7 happy, relaxed and ready for the next part of the roadtrip, onto Sheffield and Stop 8 - Kenwood Hall

 

This Principal Hayley hotel is located one mile from the city centre, in what feels like a quiet and upmarket residential district. The hotel itself has 12 acres of land around and the walk into the centre was easy and gave us the opportunity to see suburban Sheffield!

 



Kenwood Hall has free on-site parking and a well-equipped leisure club, including an indoor pool, sauna, steam room, spa bath and gym.

 

More Birthday Surprises........

On the drive up from Solihull, Hayley C was treated to her second birthday surprise.

The Owl House is a brand new Boutique Day Spa located in the idyllic grounds of Langley Priory. We felt so welcomed by the lovely staff, in particular, Lizzie who made sure we had everything we needed.

We started off our spa experience with a gorgeous picnic basket lunch, where Hayley A completed the cheesecake challenge and ate her entire lemon cheesecake with no problems! After lunch we sunk into the outdoor hot tub. It was great to be in the warmth of the tub, but hear the rain pattering on the canopy above.

Next we headed to be “Pigs In Mud”.  This is a fun, invigorating and detoxifying treatment that takes place in a Herbal Steam Chamber. The thought of covering ourselves with mud seemed a bit strange but we embraced it and sat back under the twinkling stars of the Rasul chamber to let the mud do its work. We were left with baby soft skin and are definitely mud converts!

After a relaxing massage, Hayley C rounded off the day with a Bare Minerals make up tutorial and Hayley A had a moisturising hair treatment

All in all, a fabulous place to go to be thoroughly pampered and looked after. We were definitely happy little owls when we left!

Rooms glorious rooms.....

We were lucky enough to be able to experience two different types of room during this stay!

The 1st night we spent in an executive suite complete with a four poster bed! The room was in the oldest part of the hotel which dates back to 1845. It felt like we were in a private west wing!  Hints of this era can be seen in the decor of the conference rooms and library in this wing of the hotel.

  

This room overlooked the hotel green, which was lovely. We took a walk  around the grounds and watched the ducks battle with the frozen sections of the pond!



The second night we moved into an executive twin room with a Juliette balcony which gave us a beautiful view over the lake. We had a double bed each and they were the comfiest beds EVER! It was a fight to get up in the morning!

The room was lovely and spacious and Hayley A particularly enjoyed the spinning chair......

 

Birthday dinner, Kenwood style...

 

The staff were really sweet and friendly - decorating our table for our evening meal in celebration of Hayley C's birthday. We felt very special to have a table cloth, runner, sprinkles and complimentary birthday Prosecco, a happy birthday indeed!



The restaurant was different to the other tempus we have been to, offering a completely alternative menu which made a great change to us Tempus regulars! The choice was smaller but didn’t detract from the quality. The birthday girl had a chicken casserole and rice followed by apple pie and ice cream. Hayley A had delicious pasta with mushroom sauce and field mushrooms. It was a lovely way to spend our first night at Kenwood.

Out and about in Sheffield....

There is plenty to do in Sheffield, whether you like to go shopping or visit a museum. We took the tram to Medowhall which has every shop you could possibly imagine and an excellent variety of eateries in the food court.

We visited Sheffield cathedral and stepped into the Winter Garden which is home to more than 2,000 plants from around the world. It was also lovely to take a walk along the canal and with a glimpse of the sun we even got a chance to sit outside and enjoy a bit of winter warmth.

The obligatory cake shot :)

Birthday treat number 3 was afternoon champagne tea where we met Hayley A's lovely friends Helen and Adrian and cutie Evan.  Opportunity to catch up with friends and indulge in amazing cakes – perfect afternoon!

Our last night was spent in local tapas bar Cubana. A vibrant atmosphere complimented by delicious food and cocktails. Whilst we ate we were treated to one of the weekly Kizomba dance classes, although we weren’t brave enough to join in!

TAPAS..yum!

             

Valentine’s day dawned and it was time for us to head home.

 

After a filling breakfast in the dining room, we packed our bags and waved goodbye to Kenwood.  

A fun filled birthday road trip in two great hotels. Now to decide where Principal Hayley will take us next......

Birthday Roadtrip Part 1

Stop 7 : ST JOHN'S, SOLIHULL

Let the birthday roadtrip commence!!!

Right in the centre of Solihull St John's provided a great two night stay, great location close to restaurants and the main city amenities and also to the wonderful Birmingham.


Modern, bright and welcoming the hotel was bustling with guests there for various conferences taking place, but service was still speedy and staff attentive and friendly. Lovely receptionist Laura-Jane greeted us and made us feel welcome.

Our room was an executive double so plenty of room for two people, as we had a king sized bed, and lounge area with chair and two seater sofa. The room was homely, and cosy especially with our complimentary robes and slippers. The complimentary bottles of water were also really handy and a nice touch

 

The bathroom was a treat, with bath and a separate shower and heated towel rail. Gotta love a hot towel!




  

The Tempus restaurant : buffet breakfast was great with a good selection of hot and cold items although we did find that on the second morning (after one of the conferences) the restaurant was a lot busier. However, food was continuously replenished and was always boiling hot.

The evening menu offered a varied choice to other Tempus' we have visited, and service and food both great. Notable was the offering of a great vegetarian option of thai butternut squash curry (not seen on any other menu). We both opted for the orange chocloate mousse for desert, which was divine. We would definitely recommend the restaurant to future guests.

     


Swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna and steam rooms make up the health and fitness centre. Unfortunately the jacuzzi was out of action during our time but we made the most of the rest and had a good relax.

The hotel also offers a bar, conference rooms, garden space which looks great for warmer visits and parking is available.




Surprise no 1! Hayley A organised little treats for us, and stop 1 was a Fish pedicure at Junjou Spa in the famous Merry Hill Westfield , followed by a walk along the Dudley Canal and Marina area for lunch. Even more special (and cold!) as the canal had frozen over.

Viva Birmingham! We had a visit to the Genting Club Casino at Star City, the closest we could get to Vegas! And we had a good go at the roulette table. No big wins but plenty of fun!


Top Tip! The Castle in Dudley looked beautiful and handily located next to the zoo but be advised it closes at 3pm...as we found out at 3.30pm when we wondered why we couldn't get in!


A lovely relaxed stay at Solihull, great start to our roadtrip and brilliantly located for the first adventures....next stop Kenwood Hall, Sheffield!!
Blog to follow :)

Stop 7 & 8 - intro!

Hayley C

Hayley A

Stop 7 & 8:

The Birthday Roadtrip

With Hayley C hoping to forget the big 28 we loaded up the car and headed off on a road trip to Solihull and Sheffield. Each day bought Hayley C a birthday surprise from other Hayley and so began our adventures.

4 nights....2 hotels....2 Hayleys...and lots of food

Blogs to follow for:

• Stop 7 : St John's, Solihull

• Stop 8 : Kenwood Hall, Sheffield

Stop 6 : The George Edinburgh

We have a new love of our life and his name is George! 

Stop Six took us to Edinburgh and on arrival to George Street a row of flags outside the hotel waved us to our home for the weekend. The George.

We were booked into a deluxe twin room and were lucky to have a view across George Street to the Hard Rock Café and the stunning Dome restaurant still adorned with twinkly lights and Christmas decorations. 

The perfect view through the large picture windows, like excited children we squealed when we saw we had a double bed each and both couldn’t peel ourselves from the comfy beds each morning! 


The room easily houses these and two chairs, a small table and dressing table and still has acres of room. This is enhanced by amazing high ceilings. We did need to put the heating on when we arrived as the room felt chilly but soon was warm and cosy. 


The room package includes use of robes and slippers which we quickly utilised while chilling out with the TV. Films, TV channels and radio stations available.

 
The George is classy and impressive on first view but they back it up with quality of service. It’s quality recognised and proudly displayed are numerous awards won by the hotel. Including Best Hotel in Edinburgh at the Scottish Hotel Awards 2011. 


We stumbled upon a wedding fair whilst there and so took a look at the fabulous domed ‘Kings Room’ available for hire. On Saturday it played host to Katy and Peter’s wedding, and though we were disappointed to learn it was not the reuniting of Jordan and Peter Andre, the room was presented beautifully, worthy of any VIP wedding.

 

The George’s restaurant Tempus is well worthy of mention and lives up to the quality of the hotel itself. As part of our package we got dinner on the first night. 

This was the first Tempus restaurant and so maintains its originality by offering a much wider choice than other locations. We ordered a mini platter each made up of mini chicken satay mini burger mini fish and chips. 

Just heavenly, little bits of what you fancy does you really good! On the second night we had main meals,fillet steak and chicken ballotine so we saw just how versatile the restaurant is, catering for all. 

Breakfast is also served in the Tempus and offers a selection of cooked foods from a kitchen bar, cereals, fresh fruit, danishes and bread. The waiters can also take orders for other hot foods. 
Great start to any busy day. 


Mention must go to Jay our waiter on both nights who was a real star, helpful and friendly, he made us feel welcome right away. All the staff we met were fantastic and so friendly eager to help make our stay fantastic. The staff sparkle as much as the many chandeliers!

 

Location: 
The appeal of the George is furthered by it’s amazing city location. Edinburgh is simply stunning offering a whole range of things to do even on our second visit to the city. All main attractions are easily accessible.

We took the airlink bus from the airport. Only £6 return to Waverley Bridge it was less than a 10minute walk to the George from there. And we were handily one street away from all the shops of Princes Street…and one huge Primark!!!

Must sees? 
A visit to Edinburgh castle. Sightseeing bus tour gave us a great overview of the main attractions of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Dungeons fun for all the family.

 
Feeling brave? 

Mercat tours took us to the vaults under the south bridge late on Saturday night. Our tour guide Ella was captivating with her tales of the dark and ghostly happenings in Edinburgh. Offering a different look at the history of the city it is a brilliant way to spend a few hours, if you can handle it!

 

Something different? 

JoJo’s Bakery offered a cupcake decorating courses so we booked in for a 2 hour special. Handily located just off the Royal Mile, we headed along to learn from the wonderful JoJo how to create cute but scrummy cakes with icing, buttercream and handmade roses.

It was a perfect weekend, a mix of sightseeing, activities, city and green, new and old, with a great hotel to look forward to at the end of an energetic day. 

February brings us to stops at St Johns and Kenwood Hall. 

After The George captured our hearts they have a lot of impressing to do...

Stop 5: Grand Central Glasgow

Stop 5 : THE GRAND CENTRAL

Glasgow. Ok so lets dispel some rumours. Glasgow doesn't always get a great press, and we were warned about not going out at night etc etc. ITS ALL RUBBISH!!

Glasgow is amazing. We found the people friendly, welcoming, funny, and the city is clean, well looked after and jam packed with things to do. Museums, art galleries (we'd recommend the GOMA), markets, churches, a Cathedral, Shopping.the list is endless and offers something for everyone.

The city is a lot more historical and cultural than we ever imagined. We needed much longer than two nights to cover everything.

The first day we were up early and so decided to try out room service. The breakfast was delivered at 7.15am, and does incur an additional cost but great quality food and still warm upon delivery.

We booked a day tour with Timberbrush out to the Scottish Highlands seeing among others, Loch Dormand, Loch Oich and of course the infamous Loch Ness where we had a half an hour cruise and visited the ruins of castle Urquhart. Would well recommend the tour, with Colin our knowledgeable and amiable tour guide/driver we saw so much more to the country than we ever would on our own steam.

Highlight too was meeting new great people on the tour - especially Kara the brilliant mining engineer from Australia who promised to take the challenge of trying haggis... and irn bru

Kara and Hayley C

After the long day's tour we were overjoyed to go back to the hotel and really get to explore our accommodation before heading to The Tempus Restaurant for dinner. We were upgraded to a twin executive room, with our beds draped in crisp white sheets and dark throws and matching pillows. The room was modern, but with high ceilings and pictures of trains and rails gave the room character, and reminded us that the hotel is part of the Central station built in the late 1800s.This quirky location and stunning exterior gives the hotel a unique selling point.

The beds were really comfortable and very generous with pillows. Although the hotel is located so close to the station we were not effected by any noise and had a pleasant nights sleep. The bathroom needs mentioning - we had a bath, separate shower, large mirror and so much space we could have got a bed in there. Luxury! Our room also had TV with free view, tea tray(including biscuits this time!), lots of cupboard space, ironing board and hairdryer...and bath robes and slippers. To be honest it was tempting to just stay in the room and chill out in our towelling robes!

Ok so perhaps not such little details but spectacular extras. The reception also offers a touch screen information point offering ideas of places to visit, bars, attractions.

We also noticed how popular the hotel was for events. Charity functions and weddings both took place during our stay and everyone seemed to be having a grand time!

The recent refurb is evident - the hotel is faultless - clean, almost sparkling! with little details that make the hotel feel special - a large drop chandelier down the staircase, a selection of old travelling trunks on the window sill, a grand piano, rail themed long canvas prints down to oversized hourglass shaped plant pots.

Down in the Tempus restaurant the staff were attentive, chatty and made the whole evening really pleasant. Hayley C had the sea bream as advertised in the menu 'winning dish for Scottish chef of the year' and Hayley A felt adventurous and tried the Venison en croute.

Absolutely beautifully cooked and presented and a great portion size. The food is reasonably priced and great selection that we hadn't seen in other Tempus branches. The restaurant itself is inviting and warm, we sat by the fire and was the perfect relaxing end to a busy day.

We finished the evening by staying in the hotel in the Champagne Bar...for quite a few hours! Overlooking the station concourse, Champagne central offers a great chic setting for all, the mirrored bar and the beautiful art deco chandelier are the vocal points of the bar. The menu is varied with cocktails, soft drinks and an extensive range of champagnes and wines suited to all tastes.

Breakfast, as you may already have realised is our favourite mealtime and so the Grand won us over with its offer of fresh pancakes! Notably impressive too was the presence of chefs cooking and topping up breakfast offerings. Really gave a sense that we were having fresh quality food.

We were spoilt for choice. The restaurant itself is a little small especially on the Sunday morning we arrived at the same time as a wedding party so tables were limited but they use the space they have well, using the adjoining Deli for overspill of guests and offering juice and pastries to those who did have to wait. It's a great example of quality customer service, and everyone left happy...and stomachs satisfied!

The hotel is perfectly located - aside from being part of a main train station it is around a 20 minute drive from the airport (airport buses are cheap at £7 for an open return) and surrounded by bus stops which take you all around the city, and of course being in the centre of Glasgow we could get to most places on foot. We wandered to the shopping streets on the Sunday, stopping at the famous Willow Tea Rooms on Buchanan Street. Not the high tea experience we were expecting but still delicious cakes and well needed hot chocolate.

We also took the City Sightseeing tour bus around the city taking in all the best sights, The Tall Ship, the amazing Cathedral and People's Palace - more than you can ever see in just one day, but great way to get an overview of the city.

We feel like parents admitting they have a favourite child, you know it's wrong BUT.... We have to admit that this is our favourite Principal Hayley hotel (so far.?!) The Grand Central is right up there on top. It is a great all rounder in a fantastic location and they really have an eye for customer service and quality. We would recommend the hotel to all, and will definitely be booking up again.

The Challenge is just getting better and better...