Lime Wood Hotel

My wife and I booked a last minute short break at Lime Wood and wow are we glad we did so! Several clients, with very discerning taste had recommended it to me previously, so we decided to give it a try and see what it was all about and it turned out to be the best 5 Star Hotel Break we’ve had in many years! Set in its own grounds in the heart of the beautiful New Forest, this country house hotel is an impressive building as you drive through the grounds to it. We were attracted by the spa facilities as well, because we had a spa break lined up which unfortunately had been derailed. And the spa, has literally everything you could wish for from treatments to sauna, steam room, pools including an outside heated pool which really puts you in the heart of the Forest to a state of the art gym with trainers. The welcome upon arrival, was second to none; extremely professional, and equally extremely warm and friendly! The reception staff, greeted us like they were waiting specially for us, and Piotr the duty manager introduced himself, making it clear if there’s anything we wanted or needed they were there to help. This highly professional, slick yet warm and very friendly vibe made the hotel feel like a second home (though sadly we don’t have staff on hand at ours)! It’s clear that the staff really enjoy working there, and genuinely want to do everything possible to make your stay as perfect as possible. I don’t care for cold, haughty service nor over familiar “hey guys” type service. Lime Wood strikes the middle ground perfectly.. not too formal but respectful and professional and at no point during our stay did they drop the ball. They have had a very talented designer, design and dress the rooms, and I could wax lyrically about it for ages, but in all honestly you need to go and experience it, and you’ll know what I mean! We had a beautiful room, with every possible facility available, looking out across manicured lawns/gardens and pond. Which as a view it set you up perfectly each morning, for your day after an excellent night sleep on a really comfortable bed. Breakfast was an event in itself, because besides the traditional breakfast offerings of full English etc, and a beautiful buffet they have some really interesting dishes on offer. So for example one morning I had perfectly poached eggs, with black kale, chilli and garlic (which I now do at home I loved it so much) with delicious fresh home-made focaccia toasted and it was a taste sensation. In fact each morning I went with a different dish keeping away from the normal fare, and each one of them proved to be absolutely delicious and extremely well thought out. I’m a keen cyclist, and took advantage of the numerous bikes they have available to use free, along with cycle helmets, and went out for a ride one morning in the forest, to burn off an extra big breakfast and it was wonderful. Besides a short stint on the road I also used the designated paths Lime Wood has in the forest to really get into the heart of it. On the way back, I stopped briefly at their greenhouse which supplies the kitchen with fantastic ingredients, which they turn into scrumptious dishes. It’s taken this long for me to write a review because I’ve been phenomenally busy with work, and in all honesty, it’s only because we had such a wonderful time and the staff looked after us so well and worked so hard, I have taken time to do this now. But duty calls so time to wrap up. The restaurant is excellent, I’ve done a separate review on that, in fact it’s so good, that instead of going first thing in the morning at the end of our stay, we stayed on for lunch in order to squeeze in one more meal. There were too many high points to list, from the barman nailing my martini exactly the way I like it, first time on the first night, and then remembering it each night, to the room, the ambiance, the spa, the staff.. I’ll sum it up by saying, we thank the staff for a fabulous stay and for a great experience, we can’t wait to go and stay again, which we will do as soon as we get opportunity, and if you want to treat yourself, go and indulge yourself at Lime Wood!