A night at The Vicarage, Cheshire

There's nothing that I love more than visiting old country pubs which feature exposed wooden ceiling beams, roaring rustic fireplaces, cosy fireside chairs and hearty, wholesome home cooked grub, so when I realised that The Vicarage in Cheshire ticked all of those boxes, I knew it was somewhere I wanted to visit.

The Vicarage Freehouse & rooms is a refurbished 17th Century grade II listed pub and hotel, situated in the rural village of Holmes Chapel in Cheshire. The hotel features 26 en-suite bedrooms, a snug area, games room, restaurant, bar and library as well as six new stylish signature rooms where you can relax and unwind following an afternoon of walking in the idyllic neighbouring countryside. Rooms start from £145 which includes bed and breakfast.

Holmes Chapel, where the Vicarage hotel resides, is conveniently situated just under an hour away from three major UK cities - Chester, Liverpool and Manchester, making this the perfect pit stop for someone looking to explore the North. An hour away towards the East of Holmes Chapel is also the Peak District National Park, perfect for long walks or simply a romantic getaway where you can escape the hustle and bustle of city life and get lost in the wilderness of the countryside.

Last week I stayed in one of the six newly furbished bedrooms at The Vicarage and I was really impressed. The bedroom had lots of character from the wooden beams on the ceiling, to the old fashioned chest at the bottom of the bed. It had plenty of tea making facilities, a smart coffee machine and large television, as well as a jar of homemade biscuits at the bedside.

What really caught my attention after checking into my room for the night was the huge, decadent bathroom with freestanding Victorian style bath, cosy exposed brickwork and the most beautiful mint green dressers. The bathroom alone makes you not want to leave this hotel - it was luxurious and quite unexpected for a cosy pub in the middle of nowhere.

Once we had showered and dressed up, we headed down the bar area for some pre-dinner beverages and to soak up the atmosphere downstairs. The bar again had ample character from the fabric deer heads above the doorways, dog motifs on the fireplace, gold ornate mirrors dotted around the walls and intricate Celtic style engravings in the ceiling work. It was quite dimly lit, but it all added to the appeal, making it feel cosy and welcoming.  It was ever so slightly hipster, but in a way that it was hipster before hipster became cool. Another unexpected surprise was the rock music that played all night - it could be slightly off-putting to some, but for someone who loves her hair metal, I was enjoying the Bon Jovi and Poison ballads playing gently in the background all evening.

After we had mulled around the bar for half an hour, we decided to take our seats for our evening dinner. The menu was quite extensive and had lots of choices for vegetarians, as well as a vast gluten free section. I opted for the Celeriac soup for starter, vegetable Wellington for main and a mouth-wateringly good rhubarb and elderflower cheesecake for dessert, all of which were faultless and full of flavour. My only criticism throughout the evening was the price of wine - I have no issues paying a fair amount for a decent bottle of wine, but I felt that just over £17 for a bottle of Blossom Hill that I could get from my local supermarket for a third of the price was a little bit steep. Needless to say, I still bought and drank it and overall enjoyed being merry, eating good food and listening to a bit of Motley Crue,  so much so that as soon as my head hit the pillow that night I was asleep.

I had a really comfortable nights sleep at The Vicarage, despite my initial concerns of being close to the main road (I barely heard it) and I woke up with a spring in my step eagerly awaiting breakfast. Breakfast was served in a beautiful white conservatory attached to the side of the building and it was lovely being able to look outside at all countryside as we dined. Breakfast consisted of a continental breakfast and a hot cooked breakfast - I went for a pot of fresh fruit from the continental side and ordered poached eggs with hollandaise from the cooked menu, which was cooked to perfection. 

Overall I had the most wonderful stay at The Vicarage and the staff were lovely and attentive throughout our time at the hotel. Would I stay again? Yes.

Have you stayed at The Vicarage before?

*This was a complimentary stay in exchange for this blog post, but views are my own