Thursday 3 January 2013

My magical life in a treehouse



I always think of treehouses as being magical places where you can go to escape from the stresses and strains of the world. And that was exactly what I needed, some “me time”. I wanted to get up close and personal with nature, albeit with a touch of pampering in regal and rustic surroundings. So, I decided to check into a treehouse suite at Chewton Glen, one of the UK’s best spa hotels, on the edge of the New Forest in Hampshire. 


Treehouse


A stay at Chewton Glen is one of life’s greatest pleasures. I love the way that this hotel has married tradition and heritage with modernity and innovation. Therefore, I wasn’t expecting this to be a stay in any old treehouse and I wasn’t disappointed. Chewton Glen had reinterpreted the definition of a treehouse and given a new meaning to the term luxurious.

I was whisked from reception, for a couple of minutes’ ride, in a buggy over to the six eco treehouses, comprising 12 suites, one to be my “home” for the night.  


Outside the treehouse


This slice of heaven, supported on stilts, was nuzzled in a secluded wooded valley. And, no you didn’t have to climb up a ladder to get in, the entrance was ground level. Decked out in a soft palette of white, muted grey, and wood, this apartment achieved the wow factor with its amazing design and the leafy, dreamy view which welcomed me out of the floor-to-ceiling windows in both the bedroom and living room. 

There were other touches such as night-lights shaped like owls, a wood-burning stove, which added a romantic flavour on a cold winter’s night, a kitchenette packed with goodies including cake and chocolate as well as a good coffee machine and interesting books on shelves which conceal a secret staircase to a loft, kitted out with beds – ideal for kids. The hot-tub, on the balcony, was the perfect place for drinking a glass of champagne and watching the stars. If I was a movie star, I couldn’t have expected anything more lavish.

Once you have arrived in your treehouse, you feel reluctant to leave, but a treatment at the spa is a must. I had a superb Haute Couture facial using products by beauty guru, Linda Meredith. It included a wonderfully relaxing head, neck and shoulder massage.


Inside treehouse


Sitting in the bath watching television, I was almost tempted to have room service and not go to dinner in the hotel. But, as a breakfast hamper containing fresh fruit, juices, breads and cereals and cold cuts would be delivered to me next morning through a cleverly concealed delivery hatch, I decided I could linger in my cosy abode all morning.

Besides Vetvier, the hotel’s exquisite restaurant, whose head chef is Andrew Dubourg, previously at London’s Wolsey and The Square, is a great experience in fine dining. For a starter, I had smoked salmon, followed by the most succulent and delicious Dover Sole. The desserts were too tempting to resist. I opted for the Fig Carpaccio. The head sommelier, Oscar Malek, suggested trying different wines to match each course. I even tried a dessert wine, Dandelion Vineyards “Legacy of the Barossa” 30 year-old Pedro Ximenez Pedro Ximenez which comes from Australia and is bursting with candied fruit flavour. A perfect end to a wonderful meal.

The hotel and treehouse are perfection personified. I would have given anything to have hibernated there until spring.

By Daralyn Danns

For further information visit www.chewtonglen.com