The Totally Idyllic Charlton House Hotel and Spa

Located in the heart of the Mendip Hills, Shepton Mallet, Somerset England, lays a beautiful country house hotel oozing character and charm. This is the ideal country hideaway to celebrate with family and friends with excellent food and a heavenly Spa to unwind in. This gem is now headed by Duncan Bannatyne, famous for his part on the BBC’s Dragon’s Den.

The Bannatyne Health Club chain is now in its 20th year and the group places a strong emphasis on wellbeing and exercise, forming a central part of living a healthy lifestyle for its members. Charlton House Hotel and Spa is part of the Bannatyne Group of health clubs and hotels known UK wide. One of 47 Bannatyne Spa locations, Charlton House Hotel and Spa is set within beautiful luscious grounds and includes all of the features a country house has to offer. Two minutes away by car is Kilver Court designer outlet shops, and locally are some fabulous award winning gardens. Just 30 minutes’ drive is the location for the major music festival attraction – Glastonbury.

History, Style and Character

Stepping back in time the Charlton House Hotel and Spa style and character is reminiscent of the Victorian era and 1500s, but with some modern extensions and additions for your comfort. Roger and Monty Saul, the founders of Mulberry, once owned Charlton House Hotel and Spa and the hotel’s shabby-chic decor is indicative of the Mulberry era.

Beautiful heavy drapes adorn the windows throughout, and deep leather Chesterfield sofas and Persian rugs helped to create a stylish and chic atmosphere.  The conservatory features even more stunning drapes and pretty pink cushions and the walls are a warm shade of terracotta.  The artwork on the walls is a combination of nautical prints and pictures of the hotel’s drainage system, dating back to 1900, providing interesting facts!

The Charlton House Hotel and Spa Experience

We decided to take the fast train from Paddington Station straight into Castle Cary, followed by a scenic country lane 10 min drive to the idyllic Charlton House Hotel and Spa. I knew we were in for a treat as we were warmly greeted upon arrival; it was impressive, they were expecting us!  The allocated room was simply stunning with a real key access, on the ground floor with its own private courtyard. The room decor had a Tudor feel with further heavy drapes, traditional wooden floors adorned with warm cosy rugs and soft luxurious soft furnishings. The bathroom was in a separate room, it had a large sunken bath, a washroom style waterfall shower, and luxurious toiletries and skin care by Elemis, a good excuse for a long soak.  A large inviting bed perfect to end the evening after a day full of dreams. At the end of the bed was a comfortable sofa, table and flat screen television, perfect for relaxing.

The Bannatyne Charlton House Hotel and Spa has partnered with the luxurious brand Elemis, who recently awarded the spa their Pampering and Wellbeing Experience of the Year Bronze award. The spa offers a fantastic menu of treatments to detox, de-stress and invigorate. The treatments are designed to target wellbeing concerns, muscle pain, stress relief, relaxation and balance. The spa also offers a variety of spa maintenance treatments such as OPI gel manicures and pedicures and many more.

The Spa Experience

Two lovely spa therapists who provided us with robes greeted us and flip-flops, greeted us. The spa has a Moroccan theme and true to its theme the decor was indeed authentic Moroccan in nature, it was similar to a Moroccan Riad.  The atmosphere commands you to relax, de-stress, be prepared and achieve rejuvenation. They offered us a glass of iced lemon infused water; perfect to prepare our bodies for our treatments and hydration. The spa facilities include treatment rooms, a Finnish sauna, crystal steam room, experience showers, ice fountain, aroma infused laconium and my personal favourite a large hydrotherapy pool, with the most romantic outdoor hot tub. We truly enjoyed the entire spa, it was such a treat, and we felt thoroughly spoilt.

The Elemis Spa Treatments

The spa therapist was friendly and very knowledgeable and the chosen treatments were Targeted Toning Tighter and Salt Scrub by Elemis. The treatment was a powerful blend of massage and detoxifying clay for toning and to help improve circulation. The treatment started with a body brush, salt scrub and stimulating very intense massage designed to target my particular areas of concern, my thighs and arms. The therapist gave me an abdominal massage in a clockwise direction to help stimulate the detox process, she then finished with a treatment mask, which had cooling effect and accelerated the toning and tightening effect. I was encased in a cling film type wrap and covered with a blanket to keep me warm. Following the treatment I felt rejuvenated and detoxed, a great start to the New Year.

Dinner

We were greeted by the host for the night and given recommendations for food and wine. Charlton House Hotel and Spa offer a superb selection of wines and a crafted menu using the finest locally sourced produce. We had worked up an appetite during the day from the spa experience, so were eager to order.

We were served customary bread and butter (also offering gluten free options). We chose our starters; Gravadlax of Salmon, mixed leaves, horseradish cream and toasted rye bread, it was succulent, light and flavoursome. Charcuterie selection, which included Cornish coppa, smoked duck, Cumbrian ham, pickles and chutney, this gave a tasty fusion of flavours. For our main course we decided on the slow cooked brisket of beef in ale with delicious soft creamed mashed potatoes, this was a divine warming Winter dish, the beef was tender and seasoned to perfection, my friend had pan-roasted salmon, “Pink Fir Apple” potatoes, Romanesco broccoli with pancetta cream, you can tell when fish is fresh it and this was fresh, the pancetta cream was the perfect accompaniment, the dish was light but filling. We found space for dessert, which was New York vanilla cheesecake with red berries compote and a crème fraiche sorbet, my friend decided on the selection of South West cheeses. Each and every dish we chose had all the right textures and flavours for an enjoyable memorable dining experience.

The conclusion

The Charlton House Hotel and Spa experience was as expected a perfect combination to ensure complete relaxation, a wonderful culinary experience and a de-stress in a tranquil spa. The Victorian vintage feel and knowledgeable staff combined to create the most perfect stay.

Charlton House Hotel and Spa is a ‘must’ to escape to the country for business, or as a retreat or a romantic getaway with the person you love. Take a stroll in the grounds of the house to take in the country air. Charlton House Hotel and Spa is one of the top wedding venues in England to make your special day truly wonderful. Charlton House Hotel and Spa is a breath-taking setting for your special day and offers the opportunity to enjoy full use of the beautiful hotel and spa facilities.

Charlton House Hotel and Spa will definitely leave a lasting memory that will stay with you for years to come.

W: Charlton House Hotel and Spa
E: Enquiries
A: Shepton Mallet, nr Glastonbury, Somerset, BA4 4PR
T: 01749 342008