Slaley Hall Hotel and Spa Review

North East staycations have quickly become my favourite way to spend my weekends in England. Throwing an overnight bag into the car and driving into the sunset on a Friday afternoon with your loved one with the sole purpose of spending 24 hours eating good food, drinking good wine and focusing on relaxing together: that’s happiness, for me.

I’m making it my mission to try all of the best luxury spa hotels in the North East England region and review them for you, so I was really pleased to be invited to review Slaley Hall recently.

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One Friday afternoon, we drove through the impressive Northumbrian countryside to the Edwardian style golf hotel in Hexham. We passed newborn lambs and horses, and eventually crunched up the driveway to see the sprawling Slaley Hall mansion with golf carts parked outside.

Slaley Hall Hotel & Spa review

After checking in, we walked through the old-world style hotel to our ‘VIQ’ room, number 208. As soon as I opened the door, we were struck by the view: a sweeping vista of the first hole.

Slaley Hall has two PGA Championship golf courses, and watching the golfers reminded me of how long it’s been since I played. I got into golf when I moved back to the UK and have even had a lesson at a PGA Academy at The Belfry but sort of lost interest after a while. I wouldn’t mind getting back into it now the sun is back though!

We found a delightful little welcome gift waiting for us: chunks of creamy homemade fudge with a cute message piped onto the plate. Once we’d finished running around checking the room out, enthusiastically opening every door for a good nosey, we sat in the armchairs and devoured the fudge, with a drink each from the mini bar: Peroni for Tom, Sauvignon Blanc for me.

Highlights of the room – aside from the free mini bar and view – included dreamlike pillows (I actually woke up and expressed an interest in stealing them), white bathrobes and a huge mirror, which I appreciated because sometimes we’re fighting for space to get ready.

The hotel grounds give it a real rural countryside feel, and there are 1,000 acres of surrounding Northumbrian landscape to explore.

We were booked in for dinner so we trotted back through the hotel to Hadrian’s Brasserie, the hotel restaurant. Once seated, we ordered a bottle of white wine and looked over the menu.

Tom went for the three-courses-for-£28 menu while I opted for a la carte because I was craving steak.

Nothing immediately struck my fancy on the starters list so I decided to try something I wouldn’t normally order: goats cheese with sun-dried tomatoes and focaccia, accompanied by homemade ketchup. It was pretty tasty! I’ve never had a homemade ketchup and thought it was executed very well, I just wish there had been more focaccia for the cheese.

Tom’s ham hock croquette was our winning starter. It had a crispy outside and tender, salty meat filling. It was accompanied by a fennel sauce which we didn’t expect to love but did, and pickled carrots, which converted Tom to pickled veg!

I ordered the steak ‘bavette’, which is a cut I’ve never had before, but the menu mentioned that butchers often kept it for themselves so I figured it would be good. It wasn’t the juicy, thick steak I was hoping for, but that was my fault for not knowing what to expect I suppose! The triple cooked chips were proper comfort food, though.

Tom had gone for the burger with bacon, cheese and fries. It came in a brioche bun, which is the making of any good burger in our opinion! He thoroughly enjoyed it.

Dessert was caramel cheesecake for Tom and white chocolate mousse with crumbled pistachios for me.

The waitress who served us was lovely and the food came out quickly but because it was busy, we waited ages for a dessert menu. It didn’t really matter to us though because we were enjoying sitting there finishing our wine!

After dinner we dropped in to the bar on our way back to the room. I couldn’t see a cocktail menu anywhere but had a hankering for an espresso martini, which the barman gladly made for me.

After a truly refreshing night’s sleep, we got ready and headed back to Hadrian’s Brasserie for breakfast. While we did enjoy dinner the night before, we weren’t blown away, but breakfast ticked all of our boxes.

There was a hot food menu with faves like eggs benedict, a full hot buffet and plenty of continental options. We both started with delicious hot sausages, crispy bacon, beans, mushrooms and scrambled eggs, skipping the toast because we were trying to be healthy. Then I got carried away at the continental buffet for dessert and had a mini croissant, mini cinnamon swirl and a chocolate brownie!

Well, if you can’t have chocolate for breakfast during a hotel break, when can you?

With full bellies, we headed to the hotel spa, where we were taken to a relaxation room and given a menu of treatments. You could opt for one longer treatment or two shorter ones, and Tom and I were lucky enough to use the double treatment room, which was a lovely treat for a couple. I’d definitely recommend asking for the double room if you’re visiting Slaley Hall Hotel Spa with your partner, friend, sister or mum.

We were quite overwhelmed with how many treatments there were to choose from and eventually settled on the same two: a 30 minute facial followed by a back, neck and shoulder massage.

The two ladies who did our treatments were lovely and made sure everything was tailored to our preferences, asking how firm we wanted our massages, whether we wanted to feel relaxed or energised afterwards, and which ESPA scents we preferred. I always appreciate when a treatment feels a bit more bespoke because one size definitely doesn’t fit all, especially for facials and massages.

I got the giggles during my facial because from the deep breathing coming from the table next to me, I could tell Tom had fallen asleep. He’s still denying it – but that just shows how relaxing the hour was. We left with glowing skin and tension-free muscles, feeling amazing. It was all we could do not to fall asleep as we lounged by the pool, but we did manage a stint in the jacuzzi before it was time to get ready and head home.

I feel like I should mention that the pool area was roasting hot and I actually found it a bit uncomfortable, but at least our teeth weren’t chattering, I guess.

We thoroughly enjoyed our night at Slaley Hall and while the meal (or perhaps just the menu that day) wasn’t on par with some of the other local hotel restaurants we’ve tried, we still enjoyed our meal. If you love spa days, Slaley Hall is definitely for you – I’d say Slaley Hall’s spa was in the top two North East spas I’ve tried so far! We drove away feeling so relaxed and happy, and most importantly, like we’d had some real quality time together.

Check Slaley Hall Hotel prices and availability

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I’ll definitely go back one day to sample Slaley Hall’s afternoon tea, which is served in The Dukes restaurant. I’m also trying to review all of the North East’s best, and I’ve heard good things about Slaley Hall’s offering! Have you stayed?

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