A divine and perfect getaway

Travelling up the sweeping driveway to Stanbrook Abbey you get a striking view of this luxury hotel.

The front part of the hotel and reception are contemporary in design, which is a little unusual, and then the rest of the building is Victorian.

Stanbrook Abbey is a Grade II listed Pugin abbey and was formerly a silent order monastery. It sits nestled at the foot of the Malvern Hills at Callow End, just four miles out of Worcester.

It had been home to more than 200 nuns at one time, but the site was too difficult to maintain, with just 17 nuns living at the abbey before moving on to Yorkshire in 2009.

Amazing Venues took it over and after a £5 million extension and refurbishment Stanbrook Abbey opened in March as the ultimate wedding and function venue.

The contemporary extension at the front of the hotel jarred with me a little because I wasn't sure it fitted in with the rest of the building. But, I'm told people either love it or hate it, and my husband thought it was a brave decision, but worked.

In total, there are now 57 beautifully appointed bedrooms including former nuns' cells.

After a friendly welcome, we made our way to our room for the night, which was the Abbess Suite, which depicted perfectly the rich history of this abbey.

So much thought had gone into every detail of our junior suite, with the wooden flooring, four-poster bed decorated with enormous cushions, mahogany furniture, two sofas and the old fashioned phone. You even had a bottle of Stanbrook Abbey water, which is triple-filtered and bottled on the premises.

Soothing lavender colours in the huge bathroom gave it an air of peacefulness. There was a roll-top bath (just like the Galaxy ad), shower with his and hers shower heads and the backdrop to the room was the arched windows with beautiful views over the surrounding Malvern countryside.

After settling in to our suite, we went along to the Bistro for dinner. Next door was Clarence Room, which had one table for a large party. The Bistro was a little on the snug side, which was surprising given that the whole of the abbey site was so vast.

Staff were friendly with a wonderful sense of humour. The meal was delicious.

I had duo of oak-smoked salmon and beetroot gravadlax, soda bread and celeriac remoulade to start; roast rump and confit leg of Welsh border lamb, dauphinoise potatoes and red currant jus; and then decadent chocolate pot, mascarpone and pistachio brittle for dessert, which was a little to indulgent for me.

My husband Neil had salad of Wye Valley asparagus, poached free-range hens egg and Parmesan; supreme of corn fed chicken, chorizo farce, parsley mash and semi-dried tomato jus; classic vanilla brûlée and shortbread biscuit.

We later took coffee in George's Bar, which is in the contemporary part of the building. The bar is named after Prince George, and lilac reigns. There are pictures of the prince above the bar alongside pictures of George Best and George Clooney. I didn't think the photographs quite sat right with the stylish surroundings.

The following morning after a buffet breakfast we went exploring for a couple of hours.

Wandering through the corridors you felt like you had stepped back in time and you could imagine the nuns from a different era. We came across stunning Callow Hall – a former chapel – with a Pugin-styled vaulted ceiling, and stained-glass windows; the Cale Factory, which was beautifully decorated for a wedding and leads out to a contemporary terrace; the dining hall and the piano lounge with its own grand piano and cocktail bar.

The biggest surprise was in the basement, where there was a room for wine tasting, a Baker's Room and the Games Room.

So much thought and imagination had gone into the whole venue, for example wine glasses forming a chandelier in the wine tasting room.

We wandered outside down to the willow lake, passing grounds where you could try your hand at croquet and giant draughts.

It is fantastic as a wedding venue, with its fabulous setting, but it is also gorgeous for an afternoon tea, gourmet dining and wine tasting. It also has murder mystery evenings and bands.

If you are looking for a beautiful hotel with a twist and not too far away, this could be the place for that special trip, whether it be for a wedding, an anniversary or just an occasion.

Travel facts

Stanbrook Abbey, Callow End,

Worcestershire, WR2 4TY. Telephone number 0330 333 7 222

hello@stanbrookabbey.com

Prices from £135 with breakfast.