Saturday 7 November 2015

A stay at the Sprowston Manor Marriott Hotel and Country Club: Review


With Leo having just started school at the beginning of September, I wanted to make his very first half term break a special one. Since Leo started school quality time is even more important than before, just to get that one on one time with no outside pressures looming upon us, nowhere we have to be, no appointments we have to make, no one other than just Leo and I.

Sometimes you just need to get away and have some time away from the hustle and bustle from your everyday lives.

With the October half term upon us, we packed up my little car and hit the road for Norwich. It was going to be just Leo and I for 1 night and day, and I was rather excited. We were on our way to spend the night at the Sprowston Manor Hotel, and having never been to this part of the world before I was looking forward to exploring the unknown area.

It took us about 4 hours to drive from the Midlands to Norwich and find the hotel, but considering all of the other half term traffic on the roads, I feel like we made pretty good time. We pulled up into the hotel drive, and before we even saw the hotel, I knew that we were somewhere very special. The lining of the drive is dotted with oak trees, and they feature throughout the beautiful hotel grounds, The gardens are absolutely stunning, and as we pulled up closer I could see fellow guests playing golf  on the 8-hole PGA Championship Golf Course and Driving Range.


Sprowston Manor is a beautiful building that dates back over 450 years, all guests are provided with complimentary parking outside the front and around to the back of the hotel. As Leo and I un-packed the car and made our way accross the courtyard and into the reception we couldn't help but look all around us. Leo was of course very excited at the prospect of spending the night here, and as soon as we walked through the doors and into the building he exclaimed 'Mmm! It smells lovely in here!' and he was right, as soon as you walk in, you are greeted with the most amazing aroma. 

We checked in and the receptionist was very helpful, she told us about all of the amenities that were available to us during our stay, breakfast and check out times and even offered us a hand with our luggage. 


Rooms at the Sprowston Manor Hotel

Our room was on the first floor and there is a lift that guests can use to assist with luggage. We made our way up and found our room easily, we walked over the swimming pool and thanks to windows that look out over it, we got to have a look before we retreated for a well deserved rest after all of the travelling from that day.  

The room was a generous size, clean and had absolutely everything we could possibly need:

- Alarm clock
- Mini Fridge (additional Cost)
- Coffee maker/tea service
- Iron and ironing board
- Luxurious bedding - down comforters, custom duvets, cotton-rich linens
Pillows: down/feather
- Safe
- Trouser press
- Hair dryer
- Separate tub and shower
- Cable/satellite TV
- Color TV
- Mini-bar: all rooms, beverages and/or snacks for a fee
- Movies/videos, pay-per-view


Our room was equipped with two big double beds, so realistically Leo and I would have a bed each once bedtime rolled around. He very quickly laid claim to the bed nearest the window and made himself right at home, and while I un-packed our bags for the night, he pulled out his swimming costume and begged for me to take him down to the pool.


We made our way to the pool, but due to unforeseen circumstances it had to be closed earlier than usual. The team at the hotel couldn't have been more apologetic and even offered to cover the cost to send us to the local swimming pool not so far away. Leo was a little upset but it was nothing taking him out for some food in Norwich town centre didn't solve. We hopped back into the car and followed the SatNav to Intu Norwich, which is just under 20 minutes away from the hotel. We had a little look around the shops, before Leo decided that he was far to hungry to walk any further...The shopping centre was my idea of heaven and I wish we had planned to come in a little earlier so that we could have had a proper look around, although this probably did save me a ridiculous amount of money in the grand scheme of things.

We decided to sit and eat in Giraffe as it meant that Leo could get his obligatory pizza fix, and I could enjoy Quinoa and Sweet Potato Fries at the same time, anywhere I can get either of these food items is a winner in my eyes! There was a generous selection of main stream places to eat, and it took us a while to decide on one place, but we both agreed that we made the right decision.

We made our way back to the car (via Hotel Chocolat) which just so happened to be on the way... It was still early but both Leo and I were completely wiped out from the day of travelling. We popped to Tesco which is just down the road from Sprowston Manor and stocked up on fruit and snacks so that we could just have a relaxed evening cuddled up in bed. And that is exactly what we did, by 18:30 we were snuggled up watching television and consuming Blueberries. 


By 20:30...Both Leo and I had fallen asleep. Out for the count, full, cosy and contented. Perfectly happy with our lazy evening in our beautiful hotel room with just each other for company. I woke up around 10pm and couldn't believe how early I had succumb to sleep. I am usually up into the early hours, and I don't know if it was the travelling that knocked the stuffing out of me, or just because I was so relaxed with that beautiful boy of mine.


One thing is for sure though, we had an absolutely fantastic time, and we will most certainly be going back, but next time we will make sure it's for a long weekend.

After we awoke on the Sunday morning we were refreshed and raring to get the day going. We decided that we would pop over to Great Yarmouth and spend a few hours there. If you do visit Norwich and the beautiful Sprowston Manor, there are some much more visually stunning places to visit than Great Yarmouth. I found Great Yarmouth to be very industrial and it wasn't as kind on the eye as Norwich had been, it's only about 30 minutes from the hotel, but it's very different surroundings. 


We did have a very enjoyable day at the pleasure beach and popped down onto the beach front, and finished our short trip away on a high. 

Thanks for having us Sprowston Manor, we had a fantastic time!

Disclaimer: We were invited along to the Sprowston Manor Marriott Hotel and Country Club in exchange for our honest opinon. 








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