Lime Wood

With the prospect of a mid-week retreat to Lime Wood –  a hotel renowned for its timeless interiors (created by not one, but several high-profile designers), a luxurious spa and a fantastic restaurant – I decided to leave Mr Smith at home. Instead, I invited my interior-designer sister along to enjoy a much needed, child-free pamper session. 

Kids dropped to nursery, Granny briefed on childcare, we set out for the New Forest. In typical fashion, about an hour into the journey, our sisterly squabbling began. Thankfully, since it was a Tuesday morning, traffic was light and we soon made our approach past the wild ponies, up the long, sweeping driveway to Lime Wood. 

Our bickering was already forgotten as our bags were whisked away from us at the entrance. Once a 13th-century hunting lodge, the building is situated in beautifully manicured, established gardens and lawns. We were a little too early for the wisteria, but the grand house is still a very impressive and attractive example of Regency architecture. We were ushered into reception for a quick and friendly check-in, before a tour of the hotel and our room, which was in a red-brick pavilion in the grounds of the main house. It was spacious and in shades of buttery neutrals, overlooking the forest. But it’s the main house that wins the interior-design awards. 

A series of classically proportioned drawing rooms have been given a modern twist with bold patterns and upholstery, tactile textures, and glossy fixtures and finishes. Art lines the walls and considered mood lighting creates a cosy yet refined atmosphere. The pièce de résistance is the ingenious retractable glass roof over the atrium bar, flooding the inner courtyard with natural light. Guests gravitate here morning, noon and night, and it’s where we enjoyed our complimentary glass of fizz before our reservation at Hartnett Holder & Co. 

The hotel restaurant has Angela Hartnett and Luke Holder at its head, with a menu of Italian dishes using locally sourced and seasonal produce, designed for sharing. On our best sisterly behaviour, we ordered almost one of everything on the menu. The food was delicious, the atmosphere relaxed, the service charming and personable. We even kept the fighting over the food to a minimum. But then our beds were calling us for an early, child-free, undisturbed night’s sleep, before our much-anticipated day at the spa. 

Next day and up early (my sister’s body clock set to toddler mode), we decided on a morning workout before breakfast. The gym is on the rooftop of the spa, aptly named the Herb House, as the whole thing is set within an idyllic walled herb, rose and lavender garden. Packed with state-of-the-art equipment, this is a hotel gym like no other, with double doors that open onto the roof. While we were there, a PT session was underway, the client lunging between the botanicals. Many of these botanicals, I learned later while enjoying my massage, are used in the treatments themselves, and the herbs are served up daily in the dishes on offer at Herb House’s healthy café, Raw & Cured. With workout views across to the main house and grounds, even the most gym-phobic might be tempted to at least have a look. 

With our sweaty session complete and us both wanting to remain on the healthy wagon for a while longer, we opted for breakfast at Raw & Cured instead of in the main house. Sipping on fresh juices, nibbling on cacao balls and reading the morning paper in the sun (something my sister declared she hasn’t been able to do in peace for over three years), we felt very smug indeed. 

We whiled away the rest of our day reading beside the indoor pool, jumping between the cold shower and sauna, plunging into the forest-encircled hydro pool, and contemplating life on the sun deck. Our spa day ended appropriately – with an incredibly indulgent and restorative full-body, hour-long, deep-tissue massage. 

Supple, Zen and inspired by Lime Wood’s interiors, we set off back to London in time for nursery collection, wondering how long it might take for the effects of our wholesome break to wear off… The answer was one hour into the journey, when, right on cue, our squabbling began again.