It's not often that you get to have couple-only time when you're Mummy and Daddy to a three year old and a one year old, but last weekend Adam and I got to have a little bit of just that. And whilst we talked about the boys (quite a bit) and said how much we loved them and missed them, getting to have some quality time together felt amazing. It was also lovely to just take some time 'off' and not be in our usual everyday routine and have to worry about cleaning the house, cooking dinner or getting work done.
We had been invited to stay at the five star Macdonald Randolph Hotel and Spa, located in the heart of Oxford. It was our first time ever staying in Oxford despite not living too far away and what a hotel it was for our first ever overnight stay!
The entrance was really the first thing that impressed us both and then as soon as we got inside, we were greeted by friendly staff and really elegant-looking decor, as well as some super impressive Christmas trees and other really lovely festive decorations. Next to the reception desk was a really lovely looking bar, that we later found out has been featured several times in the TV programme Inspector Morse.
Check in was from 3pm and because we were a little early we headed straight down to the Spa to relax and have the full body massage we had booked. After getting in to our spa robes we headed in to the Relaxation Room shortly before being called for our massages, which were amazing.
Both Adam and I felt super relaxed afterwards so we decided to go and spend some time in the spa's sauna and jacuzzi. We were actually the only ones in the spa at the time which was great as it meant that we could just hang out together in the Jacuzzi pretty much until we started to shrivel. We spent ages just chatting and really enjoying a bit of 'us time', it was so nice.
When we finally decided to leave the spa area and head up to our room, we were quite honestly absolutely blown away by where we were staying. We were staying in a Feature Room and it truly was the nicest hotel room I think we have ever stayed in. It was almost like an apartment, with a living room area, a bedroom and a bathroom. All three rooms were stunning, but the living room was my favourite, I think I could have quite happily stayed in there for the entire time. The views from the windows in the rooms over central Oxford were pretty incredible too. One of my favourite things about the living room was that there was a TV inside of a framed mirror on the wall and when it was on it looked like the TV was inside of a frame and when it was off you would never have known that it was actually a TV and not just a mirror hanging on the wall
That night we ate dinner at the Acanthus restaurant at the hotel and the decor was again, amazing. There were historic portraits hanging on the walls and it all felt really grand yet modern at the same time.
It really was such a nice place to sit and have dinner and I loved that the staff had placed Christmas crackers on everybody's table - it was such a nice fun and festive touch.
As a starter Adam and I both had the asparagus risotto which was seriously the best risotto we have ever tasted. I would go back just to have it again!
I had the Woodland Mushroom and Truffle Macaroni as my main and Adam went for the Mozzarella Stuffed Gnocchi, they were both just as nice as each other, it was really good to see such fantastic vegetarian options on the menu.
In the morning and after a really lovely long shower, we headed down to breakfast in the same restaurant and was really pleased to find a veggie breakfast option as well as lots of other lovely breakfast food and drink. The hotel played Christmas songs throughout the ground floor rooms, which was nice as it meant we got to sit there eating our breakfast whilst listening to the Christmas songs playing in the background, Adam and I both actually commented on how festive we felt during and after our stay.
I wish we could have stayed longer to just chill out some more in the hotel or go and explore Oxford as it was all on our doorstep, but we needed to get back for the boys. So we hopped back on a bus and made our way to the park and ride (which, if you ever go to Oxford is so much easier and cheaper to do!).
We absolutely loved our stay at the Macdonald Randolph hotel, we'd both absolutely love to go back there again one day, even if was just to go and eat in their amazing restaurant again. We both left feeling refreshed, relaxed, super festive and like we'd had had a really lovely experience that we won't ever forget - what more could we have asked for in a hotel and spa?
To find out more about the Macdonald Randolph hotel and spa in Oxford visit http://www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/our-hotels/macdonald-randolph-hotel/.
*We were invited to stay at the Macdonald Randolph is exchange for our honest opinion of their hotel, all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely our own.
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