I recently had the pleasure of visiting boutique hotel Jesmond Dene House for an overnight stay, dinner and breakfast and I would highly recommend a visit to anyone looking for a relaxing night away or high quality dining experience. At 38 weeks pregnant I felt it would be the perfect break before our little one came along, whilst providing the perfect opportunity to celebrate my husband’s birthday.
Staying on a Friday night, we arrived at Jesmond Dene House at around 6pm where we were greeted by its extremely attentive front out house team who checked us in and talked us through the hotel’s facilities. Although Jesmond Dene House is located just a few miles outside of Newcastle’s city centre, it is set in leafy, picturesque surroundings that immediately give the feel of being in the countryside – perfect for those looking to relax after a long day. We had a quick look around the grounds before making our way upstairs to our room to get dressed for dinner.
Located in the attic of the hotel, I was surprised at just how spacious our room was. Boasting a stunning bathroom with a freestanding bath and separate shower, our room was decorated to an extremely high standard. Fresh coffee and milk was provided as an alternative to the instant coffee you often receive in hotels, and the room also had an iPad dock – something I always take full advantage of when staying away from home.
We quickly got changed and decided to head down to the bar prior to our restaurant reservation at 8pm. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to sample any of the bar’s alcoholic drinks selection, however they do offer a range of non-alcoholic cocktails so I decided to sample a Chauffeur’s Bellini, with my husband opting for a G&T. We spent a few hours in here before heading through to the main dining room for our meal.
On arrival we were presented with warm, freshly baked bread and I would highly recommend trying the mozzarella and tomato roll! We were ordering from the Dinner Menu, which is available from 7pm to 9.30pm. This is seasonal so has changed since we were here.
We both opted for scallops to start which proved to be a great choice. For our main course John opted for Lemon Sole with potatoes and I decided on a Goats’ Cheese Risotto. Both meals were beautifully presented and absolutely delicious – offering just the right portion size.
Although we enjoyed our main courses, we hadn’t seen anything yet! I’m not usually a dessert person but having read the menu – and being unable to eat a lot of the cheeses available – we decided to push the boat out and order a Dark Chocolate Sphere. I can honestly say hands down that this is the best dessert I have ever had.
Arriving as a solid ball, we were presented with a warm sauce that was poured over the sphere to melt the shell, which unveiled a mixture of salted caramel, peanuts and caramel ice cream. I’m already planning our next visit back so I can order this again.
Once we had finished the meal we decided to head back to the room as it was quite late.
The next morning we got up and made our way down for breakfast in the dining room’s conservatory which overlooks the hotel’s grounds. I was still quite full from the night before so just opted for a continental breakfast, however John tried out the Full English which he again thoroughly enjoyed. It was then time for us to check out and even though it was only Saturday morning I genuinely left feeling like we had enjoyed a full weekend away.
The whole experience was second to none and came at the perfect time as our baby arrived two weeks later. If you haven’t been before I would highly recommend making a booking.
Full information about the hotel can be found by clicking here and they have several great offers running should you be interested in booking a package with accommodation and dining.
Thank you again to Jesmond Dene House for having us and we will definitely be back again soon!
No Comments