A couple of weeks ago I took a little road trip down to the New Forest to the little village of Beaulieu to stay at The Montagu Arms. We were kindly invited for a gifted stay and it had been so long since I've been to the New Forest that I was excited to explore, especially in the Autumn.
The hotel is lovely and typically British, with an absolute maze of corridors leading to all kinds of rooms. We were on the very highest floor in a gorgeous room that over looked the high street below. The rooms are classically designed, with a living space and two televisions, one overlooking the living room and the other the bed. They are also smart TVs meaning you can catch up on your favourite Netflix shows from the comfort of your room.
The bathroom is completely white marble, with a deep bath and a shower for your choice. Of course I had to indulge in a bath while I was there now that I don't have one in my own home!
All rooms have free wifi and central heating (although it did get a little too hot in the night). There's also tea and coffee available along with some complimentary homemade biscuits which were delicious.
We had dinner in the hotel's The Terrace restaurant included in our stay. This is actually an option you can select when booking so that your dinner, bed and breakfast is all paid for in one.
On arrival you're presented with canapés alongside your drinks in the lounge area. The canapés were absolutely delicious, including a cheddar and onion meringue and butternut squash tartlet.
At our table we were given a warm loaf of bread with butter which was amazing.
The first course was 'scrambled eggs and smoked salmon', which was almost like a mousse that really did taste exactly like scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on toast! It was amazing.
For starter I went for the plaice in a shellfish bisque.
And for main I had the sea bass with slow cooked squid and artichoke. All of the food was absolutely incredible.
For dessert I had the salted caramel fondant which was seriously good. You know I love a dessert!
There is the option to either have breakfast brought to your room or to have it downstairs and we chose to go downstairs. You can order from the menu and then the rest of the food is served buffet style, with toast and pastries being brought to your table fresh.
I went for the pancakes and my mum went for the avocado toast. I have to say my pancake was probably the most disappointing part of our time there. It was a bit like eating a rock and the kitchen didn't have any maple syrup either. Such a shame as the rest of the food we had during our stay was to such a high standard. The rest of the breakfast was lovely, especially the granola and yoghurt with berry coulis.
We took to exploring the surrounding area of the New Forest after check out on the second day. The little village of Beaulieu is just so beautiful and definitely worth a wander around. There are a few independent shops as well as a garden centre that was very festive. It didn't take long to explore, but there are a few walking trails around too, plus you can find lots of ponies and donkeys wandering around this area if you're looking for them!
The leaves were an absolutely beautiful shade of orange within the woods, so it was the perfect opportunity for me to take my Frozen 2 inspired photo! I was so pleased with how this came out!
Our stay in the New Forest was just so wonderful, and it was so lovely to get away for a couple of nights to somewhere quiet and beautiful. The Montagu Arms is such a gorgeous hotel and I'd definitely recommend it if you're looking for a weekend away in the New Forest. It doesn't take very long to get there from London and it's like escaping to a different world.
Let me know if you've ever stayed in the New Forest! x
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