A few weeks ago my friend Jess and I decided to book a spontaneous girly break and opted for another one of the Harbour Hotels in Guildford. I recently stayed at the Brighton Harbour Hotel and you can read all about that here. We booked the Sparkling Spa Offer which included an overnight stay with breakfast, a complimentary cocktail each and access to the spa with a 40 minute spa treatment.
The Guildford Hotel seemed much more central than Brighton, and as I drove I was worried it would be difficult to find but it was actually quite straight forward. Once there we checked into our room, which was lovely and spacious, before heading down for afternoon tea. We were meeting another one of our friends, Mandy, for this, and we were seated in the restaurant on a lovely table overlooking the veranda (which I’m sure would be lovely in the summer, but sadly it was raining whilst we re there). The Guildford Hotel had the same contemporary décor and quirky vibes as Brighton but it was still unique – this time the restaurant had a gorgeous, indulgent pink theme and the rooms had a darker, cosier feel.
Afternoon tea was delicious and although there were no cheese sandwiches, their cake selection was strong. I would have loved there to be some classics – such as a good old victoria sponge – but thought had clearly gone into each creation and they looked and tasted great.
That evening once our friend had gone home, Jess and I went for dinner – after enjoying our complimentary cocktail of course. The bar at the Guildford Hotel was really fun, with the tallest bookcase we’d ever seen and the coolest chairs covered in the prettiest feather fabric. We retired that evening tired but very, very full.
The next morning we had our breakfast which again was a similar spread to Brighton however this time everything was help yourself (in Brighton you had to order your hot food). This was done in a little alcove off the restaurant and although there didn’t seem as bigger selection as Brighton, it was just what we needed and the fruit was delicious. I’m not usually a big breakfast eater but I always find myself trying a bit of everything when I stay somewhere. I guess there’s nothing like a good hotel breakfast – so why not go all out?
After breakfast we visited the spa which was a welcome addition to the start of our day – although I did regret eating so much then lying on my belly for a massage (which was great by the way). I did however, manage to relax afterwards and despite the spa being a little smaller than expected it was really tranquil. We stayed there for a good couple of hours – I’m pretty sure I fell asleep – before heading back to the restaurant for a spot of lunch ano then heading home. I ordered a chicken club sandwich and it was insanely good. The kind of insanely good you want to eat every day until you’re finally sick of it because you’ve eaten it every day and not because it doesn’t taste good.
