When the most famous footballer in the world proposed to his Spice Girl wife at a Cheshire country hotel on January 25, 1998, the pair put it on the map nationally. Reportedly he filled the restaurant with flowers and then went upstairs to where the couple was staying and ran her a bath before getting down on one knee. Now more than 25 years since Posh and Becks announced their nuptials, Rookery Hall is still popular with romantics wanting to pop the question.
It is undoubtedly a quixotic venue, set within 38 acres of the Cheshire countryside where couples are cocooned in privacy. The property’s 70-room accommodation offering is split between a Georgian building and a more modern wing built in 2007.
Hotel
The hotel was originally built in 1816 for William Hilton Cooke as a private estate bought with the proceeds of his Jamaican sugar plantation. At the time it was called the Rookery Worleston. He owned this as well as over 500 acres in this area.
Baron William Von Schroder purchased the Hall in 1867 together with the park, farms and greenhouses, and his son, Baron William junior, sold the Hall in 1947. The Baron changed the traditional Georgian mansion into a small chateau and the Von Schroder crest and coat of arms can be seen on the beautiful, barrelled ceiling in the main dining room. Furthermore, he was responsible for substantial additions to the building and gave the house an unusual character which makes it almost unique in this country.
Guests also, it is said, share the hall with some ghosts. The Grey Lady, whose portrait hangs in the drawing room, was an elderly maid of the Cookes, the builders of the hall some 200 years ago. She had a fatal fall whilst hanging curtains and is said to roam the corridors leaving a sweet smell of flowers in her wake. Another tale refers to young master Schroder who sometimes materialises in the salon crying because he has lost his dog.
After the hall was sold in 1947, it continued to be used as a private house until its purchase in 1979 by Harry and Jean Norton. These renowned hoteliers embarked on the successful transformation of Rookery Hall into an exclusive hotel with 12 en suite rooms and an acclaimed restaurant.
In 1984 the Marks family bought the hotel when the Nortons retired and the addition of the west wing in 1990 provided another 21 luxury bedrooms. Rookery Hall became part of The Handpicked Hotels Group in 2001. Hand Picked Hotels was set up by former city lawyer Julia Hands, whose vision was to create a collection of individual hotels, where guests could enjoy welcoming and charming service delivered in inspirational surroundings.
Room
Suites in the main house are named after the months of the year and feature heavy fabric curtains and marble bathrooms with double sinks and inviting roll-top baths. You’ll also find period features such as sweeping oak staircases, wood panelling, decorative latticework and big bay windows.
In the modern wing, you’ll find newer living quarters, boasting super king-sized beds with Hypnos cashmere mattresses. They also feature large bathrooms with huge walk-in showers and a wide bath and televisions set into the walls for relaxing and pampering evenings. The hotel offers a welcome plate of cakes and a turn-down service where they close the curtains and turn on Classic FM to set you up for a relaxing night’s sleep. They also leave cookies and milk for the little ones and chocolates on the pillow.
Food and drink
Settle in for a three-course meal at the hotel’s AA Rosette-awarded restaurant, which offers à la carte menus showcasing Cheshire produce. Begin with the langoustine tart followed by the honey and lavender glazed Creedy Carver duck breast with cherries, gingerbread, chicory, barbecued duck leg and radicchio ragout. And to finish, the Valrhona dark chocolate fondant with matcha tea, Aero, chocolate sauce and plum porter ice cream go down well with an indulgent Hennessy XO 25 which is rich, spicy, complex and a truly historical Cognac.
Alternatively, couples can share a British cheeseboard with grapes, celery, quince jelly, chutney and crackers with five cheeses. These are Kirkham’s Lancashire creamy, made in the traditional two-day curd method to give a buttery, yoghurt flavour with a fluffy and light texture that melts in the mouth and Quicke’s oak smoked cheddar, which is smoked using oak chips from trees grown on the Quicke’s estate for a sensuously smoky, buttery flavour.
Cheese lovers will also find a serving of Wensleydale Blue; Perl Wen, one of Wales’ best loved soft cheeses – along with its equally loved Cenarth cousin, the blue Perl Las – which is a soft–centred glorious and unique cross between a traditional brie and a Caerphilly with fresh citrus and a hint of sea salt, and Golden Cenarth. the latter is a rind-washed semi-soft cheese, washed in cider to produce quite a mild taste when young, but developing a stronger pungency with maturity and presented in a wooden crate, which is ideal with a savoury biscuit and a glass of beer.
The plush Weaver bar, run by Dan, serves delicious bar food including a sumptuous steak sandwich. Meanwhile, in the summer months, why not enjoy the al fresco meal of grilled lobster or even a lobster pizza followed by caviar? This relaxing space is open until late and offers a range of tempting beverages. There’s an extensive wine list from Provence and one can enjoy a delicious bottle of Chateau d’Esclan’s Whispering Angel on the patio to accompany their food.
If you are craving more sweetness, then a Three Wrens Apple Crumble Sour cocktail made of Three Wrens Apple Crumble Gin, fresh lemon juice, egg white, gomme, garnished with shortbread crumble and Granny Smith fan will do the trick. Alternatively, the salted caramel espresso martini is a good choice made of Absolut, Kahlua, espresso, caramel sauce, salted rim, garnished with coffee beans and cocoa powder. You can also enjoy a nightcap in the drawing room. During our stay, a famous comedian and his entourage stopped by for a drink fresh from a gig in nearby Crewe.
Spa
The hotel’s rural location and isolation make it a bolt-hole for spa seekers, too. The Health Club and Spa can be found in a converted stable block with a handsome clock on top. It combines modern with traditional with a large glass-roofed indoor pool, bar and coffee shop and spa relaxation area with a steam room, gym and treatment rooms. Treatments include facials and massages, using Elemis products, administered by trained therapists.
This relaxation area was the stage for the launch of the Elemis champagne rose spa day where we could try the latest range of products and enjoy a deep relaxation session with a qualified yoga teacher. We were able to use the wonderful swimming pool with relaxing waterfalls and I was also treated to full Elemis facial which lasted an hour, using the pro collagen rose micro serum, the pro collagen rose marine cream and the cleansing balm from the new range as well as the facial oil.
The event included an exquisite afternoon tea in a room filled with roses and lit by candlelight, with dainty cakes, delicious sandwiches and the Villa Saletta Rose Spumante produced in Julia Hands’ very own vineyard. This took place in the Oak Room, the hotel’s main restaurant, hosted by Handpicked Hotels and Elemis founder Noella Gabriel.
To do
Rookery Hall, in the village of Worleston, is surrounded by rolling countryside. It welcomes guests with dogs who can access the wider rural area. By the front door are wellies, walking sticks and umbrellas, which you can borrow, along with wildlife guides and binoculars. This means there is no excuse not to explore the property’s picturesque gardens and wooded parkland.
It is also not far from Beeston Castle, set 350ft above the Cheshire Plain on sheer rocky crags where, on a clear day, you can see across eight counties from the Pennines in the east to the mountains of Wales in the west.
Furthermore, the hotel is just three miles away from medieval Nantwich which has wonderful Welsh rows. Here you can enjoy a coffee in the Bookshop and Coffee lounge, which was built soon after the great fire of Nantwich in 1583, which is a gorgeous Tudor property with beams looming over the cobblestones. This is a wonderful place to enjoy a sandwich as you watch shoppers meander about and enjoy street opera. Alternatively, step inside the bookshop to select a great tome and have a look around the period property with all its ancient nooks and crannies. It is a real treat before or after a shopping trip.
You can also take a drive to the charming village of Sproston where you can enjoy a delicious upmarket meal at the Fox and Hounds. It offers a delicious range of fine food from duck spring rolls and pate for starters to steak pie and chips to salmon and new potatoes or curry for dinner. They also have a fantastic kids’ menu, which includes three courses and a drink.
In a nutshell
Overall, a trip to Rookery Hall Hotel and Spa offers a wonderful escape from the city. You can get there from London in just under two-and-a-half hours. London to Crewe by train is around 146 miles, then you take a taxi to the hotel. Alternatively, if you are coming from the Midlands take the A50, M6 and A500.
Factbox
A stay at Rookery Hall starts at £207 per night.
Address: Main Road, Worleston, Nantwich, Cheshire CW5 6DQ.
Phone: 01270 610016.
Email: rookeryhall@handpicked.co.uk
Website: handpickedhotels.co.uk
Photography courtesy of Rookery Hall Hotel and Spa.
