CF Review: Christchurch Harbour Hotel and Spa, Christchurch, Dorset UK

So, we did it. A full 24-hours away from Country Bebe, holed up like a pair of giddy newlyweds in the Christchurch Harbour Hotel and Spa on the water’s edge in Dorset.

CB was dispatched to his grandparents in Somerset and, after a minor wobble from us (CB had the labrador for company and genuinely didn’t bat an eye-lid at our departure) we were skipping across the border to Dorset, pootling along the coast road via Dorchester, Bournmouth and Poole (a seriously stunning – could be the in Dordogne – route).

The grand, white Art Deco hotel is just before you reach Mudeford Quay (more of which later), facing out over the sheltered inlet. We checked in and nipped up to our room for the obligatory jump on the bed…

Here’s a quick video tour:

Harbour view room, Christchurch Harbour Hotel & Spa

And a couple of shots:

I love the modern nod to the nautical location. The bed was SUPER generous for the size of the room and satisfyingly cloud-like.  Also a special HURRAH! has to go to the lighting system which was refreshingly high-tech yet simple to master. After 6 years reviewing hotels globally, believe me this is not a given. There was obviously on/off options but also four pre-programmed settings to cover all scenarios, meaning you weren’t stabbing wildly at a bank of unmarked dimmer switches to go to the loo in the night. Similarly well planned was a good desk area with iPod dock, a multitude of sensibly-placed sockets for charging phones/tablets and a much welcomed fan, hairdryer and ironing board in the wardrobe. Just little things that made life that bit easier and more comfortable and are by no means a standard these days. Weirdly, saying all that, the room irritatingly lacked a full-length mirror.

The teeny bath room was cleverly designed to maximise on space,  in lieu of a tub was a HUGE walk-in drench shower and generous sized White Company goodies for some in-room pampering:

As the mercury was hovering in the early 30s we were more than a little thankful for this view and the breeze, wafting in off The Solent.

Room tour done we switched to our obligatory fluffy robes and headed to the spa. Although fully booked for treatments during our stay, as hotel guests we could make use of the whole spa complex, with generous sized indoor pool, hot tub, sauna, steam room and salt grotto (a tepid steam room infused with health-boosting minerals). We sploshed and steamed, chatting about all those incidental things that you never quite get round to with a screaming toddler in your ear; emerging an hour or so later as calmer more relaxed versions of the frazzled parents that went in.

Squeaky clean and with an unheard of 2 hours to kill before dinner (freedom between the hours of 5-7pm is SUCH a luxury as a parent, isn’t it!?) we turned right out of reception and onto the waterfront.

It felt like one of those days that never ends when you’re on holiday: the sun was dipping but it was still in the late 20s after 6pm. Children were crabbing in the shallows, families were playing boules on the parched grass, there were plenty of BBQs and ruddy cheeked sailors coming in after a day on the water, making a beeline for the Haven Inn right on the harbour.

We carried on our amble, passing this amazing ferry sign (pirates: note the last entry)

Daydreaming about living in one of these cottages that’s footings literally were at the water’s edge:

Then, as we turned the corner, out of the shelter of Mudeford, we were hit by the sea spray and buffering winds of The Solent proper.

My iPhone camera wasn’t up to the job, but you get an amazing vantage point of The Needles from here, over the sandbanks.

By the time we got back we were more than ready for these, in the newly re-opened and overhauled Upper Deck restaurant:

A dangerously refreshing Grapefruit Martini and a classic Mojito. We sat at the bar chatting and listening to this guy tinkling the ivories with beautiful takes on current chart hits – think Bruno Mars and Pink.

Here’s another view across the restaurant:

The front was one long run of windows, looking out over the terrace to the water. There was a brilliantly eclectic, loosely nautically themed, salon hang on grey linen walls. With lots of statement chrome and glass lighting, private banquet seating and gorgeous original parquet flooring, it made for a beautiful, relaxed space and we settled in happily for a 2-hour graze through the tasting menu.

Here are our highlights:

A wild garlic oozy risotto, with grilled local asparagus, rocket and the genius addition of a poached egg. Rich, fragrant and moreish. I could have eaten a bucketful. But that’s the beauty of a tasting menu, lots of little morsels of deliciousness that leave you wanting more.

We managed to work our way through an antipasti board of locally cured meats; a surf & turf combo of melting rib eye with garlicky prawns; a beautifully perfumed and light monkfish curry; another selection of locally sourced cheeses then this extravaganza almost finished us off:

You can see the chocolate fondant got demolished, even before I could snap it. The creme brulee and homemade lemon sorbet and pistachio ice cream were of equal success.

We rolled out onto the terrace and cwtched up with a pair of Old Fashioneds and looked out at the moon on the harbour. With the piano music wafting out through the French doors and the twinkling of lights on the horizon it felt almost Gatsby-esque. Obviously without the tumultuous love lives or Leonardo Di Caprio – but still.

The perfect end to a brilliant 24 hours away – yes, of course we missed CB but for healthy marriage maintenance I cannot recommend a trip like this enough. In fact, I can’t recommend Christchurch Harbour Hotel enough.

We were guests of the Christchurch Harbour Hotel & Spa for countryfille.com, but there are a selection of great value offers throughout the year.