For my birthday this year, we initially booked to go to Valencia which of course we’ve had to cancel due to the pandemic. Luckily for us, there is no shortage of places to go and discover here in England but this time around we decided to have a relaxing stay without lots of driving required.
Enter Coombe Abbey Hotel, the beautiful photos that I’ve seen of it immediately made me want to spend my birthday there. It ticked all the boxes for us – beautiful property, unique stay, magnificent surroundings and a park to walk around in.
We took the train from Euston Station in London which took us to Coventry in less than 2 hours. From the train station we took a cab ride, the property itself was less than 10 minutes away.
As soon as we entered the beautiful courtyard, we knew that we’re in for a treat. Coombe Abbey Hotel used to be the largest abbey in Warwickshire in the 11th century. I loved that they were able to keep its original structure and fittings. The reception area blew me away!
Passing through arched walkway, you’ll reach the reception area which looks extremely Medieval. On the left was the grand staircase and further on you’ll find the restaurant and bar. I already took loads of photos even before we’ve checked in, I just couldn’t get enough of it.
We had the Mowbray room, which overlooks the magnificent garden and lakes. It’s a duplex with the bed on the second floor, a small sitting area on the mid-floor and the bathroom on the lowest floor. As expected, it’s very much dated but you can tell that it’s been lovingly cared for and the view from our room is just stunning!
I can’t take my mind off the fact that it does look like it could house a ghost or two though, lol. I mean, can you blame me?
The husband on the other hand loved everything about it and parked his behind on the seating area for most of our stay in the room with a whiskey in hand while looking at the beautiful scenery that we have from our window.
We explored the property after settling in and discovered so many nooks and crannies around. I was advised by a staff member that they normally have a hotel tour but because of covid-19 they stopped doing it. I also sent a message to Coombe Abbey’s instagram page just to check if they have any online map or tour of the hotel that I can follow but they didn’t reply back unfortunately.
With the things that we’ve seen inside the hotel, I think an online guide would be great. It looks very historical and I really wanted to know the stories behind it. Take this area for example, who is this priest buried inside the hotel and does he haunt the abbey now? Lol.
We explored the outdoor area the next day which was massive. We started of course from the hotel’s well-manicured garden and the lake that we were seeing from our room. It is accessible to the public and there were quite a few people enjoying the scenery with us.
There are a lot of walking trails that you can take from here, we took the Heron’s Way trail which was 2 miles long. It passed through Go Ape where you could do high ropes adventure as well as ziplining, Bird Hide and Climbing Forest among other things. There’s also an area where you could do axe-throwing as well as archery if you fancy that.
We’re not really into those kinds of things so after our walk, we went to the bar and enjoyed our pint outside with the sun shining on our face. It’s rare to get this much sunshine during this month so we thought it’s imperative for us to enjoy it.
After our drink, we went back to our lovely (and possibly haunted) room and took a nap. Lol.
For my actual birthday, we booked our table at the Garden Room Restaurant for dinner. It’s extremely famous for its Afternoon Tea as well as celebratory dinners, it was packed both nights that we were there. We weren’t able to dine there on our first night as we didn’t have a reservation which still worked well for us because we were able to try the food at the Garden Bar just next to it.
Seeing how busy it was the previous night, I had high hopes that our dinner at the Garden Room Restaurant would be superb. Unfortunately, it didn’t meet our expectations. I was expecting for the meal to blow me away considering the hype and the price of each dish but what we had was a mediocre meal.
Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t extremely bad but I guess it was lacking that “ooompf” factor. I had Coombe Tournedos Rossini with a price tag of £34.50. It’s beef fillet tournedos served with foie gras and black truffles. I couldn’t smell the truffles in this dish let alone taste it.
The beef fillet was cooked perfectly though, juicy and tender while the foie gras added that buttery and fatty taste to it. I think if not for the foie gras, the entire meal would have been bland. Our meal at the Garden Bar the previous night was definitely better (and cheaper).
Service was also on the slow side but very friendly so it was easy to overlook especially since you can see that they’re all trying their best to accommodate everyone.
Our stay also included daily breakfast which was served at the Garden Room Restaurant as well. I loved their breakfast service, you can either opt for the buffet where they serve English breakfast dishes or order something from their breakfast menu. On the day that we were checking out, I ordered avocado on toast which was beautifully prepared and cooked.
Overall, it was an amazing 2 nights that we spent at Coombe Abbey Hotel. While the food didn’t really wow us, everything else was impeccable! I sure wish to go back there again when the pandemic is over, hopefully then we’d be able to have a proper hotel tour. 🙂
Coombe Abbey Hotel
Brinklow Road, Binley, Warwickshire CV3 2AB
+44 2476 450 450
For more information, visit their website.
We paid a total of £311 for our two nights stay.
The return ticket from Euston to Coventry was £50 for 2 people based on super off-peak times price.
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Happy belated birthday! And wow, the Coombe Abbey Hotel looks amazing. I am glad your stay was fantastic! Everything looks so stunning and yes, it would be great to learn more about the hotel’s history. My birthday is next month and if I lived close by I would have liked to visit here perhaps once we are able to travel again. This place is definitely on my bucket list!
Maureen | http://www.littlemisscasual.com
Thank you Maureen, it’s a beauty isn’t it? 🙂
what a wonderful place to spend birthday in! happy birthday too!
I hope someday I can visit the UK and see all these charming villages and castles. I think your birthday was fabulous despite opting for plan B. Take care always.