LUXE Serendipity magazine

By Donna Richardson

On January 25, 1998, David Beckham proposed to Victoria at a country hotel in Cheshire, making the location famous. He reportedly filled the restaurant with flowers and then went upstairs to their room, where he ran a bath for her before getting down on one knee. Now, more than 25 years after Posh and Becks announced their engagement, 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 newer annex built in 2007.
Get acquainted with the past 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. His son, Baron William junior, sold the hall and now The Von Schroder crest and coat of arms can be seen on the beautiful, barrelled ceiling in the main dining room. The Baron changed the traditional Georgian mansion into a small chateau.

Furthermore, he was responsible for substantial additions to the building and gave the house anunusual 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. Handpicked 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.

The Spa

The rural location and isolation make it a perfect retreat for spa seekers. The Health Club and Spa is located in a converted stable block, complete with a handsome clock on top. It beautifully combines modern elements with traditional charm, featuring a large glass-roofed indoor pool, a coffee shop, and a spa relaxation area that includes a steam room, gym, and treatment rooms. Treatments offered include facials and massages using Elemis products, all administered by trained therapists. The relaxation area was the venue for the launch of the Elemis Champagne Rose Spa Day, where guests had the opportunity to try the latest range of products while enjoying a deep relaxation session with a qualified yoga teacher. Attendees were able to use the wonderful swimming pool, complete with relaxing waterfalls, and were also treated to a full Elemis facial. This included an hour-long session using the Pro-Collagen Rose Facial Serum, Pro-Collagen Marine Cream, and the cleansing balm from the range. The event featured an exquisite afternoon tea in a room filled with roses and illuminated by candlelight, offering delicate cakes and delicious sandwiches, paired with Villa Saletta Rose Spumante produced in Julia Hands’ very own vineyard. This delightful gathering took place in the Oak Room, the hotel’s main restaurant, and was hosted by Handpicked Hotels and Elemis founder Noella Gabriel.

Accommodation

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 paneling, decorative latticework and big bay windows. In the annex, 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 a relaxing and pampering evening. 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.
Settle in for a three-course meal at the hotel’s AA Rosette-awarded restaurant, which offers à la carte menus showcasing Cheshire produce.

Food and drinks

As a guest at Elemis, I was warmly welcomed to an exquisite afternoon tea, held in a beautifully adorned room overflowing with the enchanting fragrance of fresh roses. The atmosphere was elegant and serene, with delicate floral arrangements that created a dreamy ambience, setting the perfect backdrop for a delightful culinary experience.

As the evening unfolded, guests were treated to an exquisite banquet that tantalized the senses. The first course featured a delicate langoustine tart, its buttery pastry harmonizing perfectly with the succulent seafood. This was followed by the star of the evening: honey and lavender-glazed Creedy Carver duck breast. The dish was a symphony of flavors, served alongside luscious cherries, aromatic gingerbread, and crisp chicory. A tender barbecued duck leg added a smoky richness, while a vibrant radicchio ragout lent a delightful bitterness to balance the dish.To conclude this culinary journey, diners indulged in a decadent Valrhona dark chocolate fondant, its molten center oozing with rich chocolate goodness. This indulgent treat was beautifully paired with a subtle matcha tea, a light and refreshing contrast. The presentation was adorned with airy Aero chocolate, a drizzle of velvety chocolate sauce, and a scoop of plum porter ice cream, which provided a sweet-and-tangy finish to the meal.This remarkable dining experience was perfectly complemented by Hennessy XO, a luxurious cognac known for its rich, spicy, and complex character, inviting guests to savour every sip as they reminisced about the night’s extraordinary flavors.

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, yogurt flavour with a fluffy and light texture that melts in the mouth; 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; Wensleydale Blue Wensleydale; Perl Wen, one ofWales’ 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 – 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, has 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, with 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.

Get outdoors

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 ofWales in the west.

Trmore, the conveniently located hotel, is just a stone’s throw away from the medieval town of Nantwich, which is known for its wonderful Welsh rows. Here, you can enjoy a coffee in the Bookshop, a charming venue that was built soon after the Great Fire. The Bookshop is a gorgeous Tudor property that looms over the cobbled streets. It’s a lovely place to relax while you watch shoppers meander about and listen to street opera. Alternatively, you can step inside the bookshop to select some fantastic books and explore the historic building with its unique nooks and crannies. It’s truly a treat to visit 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. 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.

A stay at Rookery Hall starts at £207 per night
Main Road, Worleston, Nantwich, Cheshire CW5 6DQ.
Telephone number: 01270 610016.
Email: rookeryhall@handpicked.co.uk.