The Hampshire Four Seasons

 

Since the first two days or so in Europe are always spent in a haze of exhaustion, we decided to book a countryside hotel outside of London to rest for two nights and also give me a base to visit Jane Austen's house in Chawton--and this post is dedicated entirely to that hotel, because the Hampshire Four Seasons is amazing. Of course any Four Seasons is going to have impeccable service and accommodations, but this is the first hotel I've ever been to that was kid-focused while also providing a luxury experience.  

     
 
    
 
When we landed, it was lunchtime and I didn't want to miss a second of the hotel since it looked so nice--so we settled in at the restaurant for some blackberry cocktails and burrata. We also ate at the restaurant for dinner, where I had mushroom risotto and a blueberry pavlova. Kids eat for free at the buffet, which was stocked full of favorites--tiny burgers, mac n cheese, and nuggets included. 
 
    
 
     
 

    
 
    

Elowen making friends with the dog statue at the entrance, and also the dovecote from the 16th century.
 
     
 
 

The hotel itself is an 18th century Georgian manor set on 500 acres of grounds, overlooking Dogmersfield Park (which is first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 and is where King Henry VIII first met Catherine of Aragon!). The grounds have gardens, stables, a canal, a games lawn for croquet, a spa, a kids' play cottage where they can do crafts, and a small waterpark with a slide (shamelessly knocking off Nemo without actually referencing Nemo).


     
 



  

Our room and a welcome note to Elowen on the door. I could have stayed here for a week just relaxing and taking walks through the green fields...it's an amazing hotel with stellar amenities, and the perfect place to rest up after an international flight.

    
 
 
    
 
  

Also on our first day at the hotel, they had set up a petting zoo for the kids! Elowen got to pet and feed lambs and was also impressed by the turtle and guinea pigs.

  
 
     

The Saturday night fireworks show the hotel puts on for kids, right outside the restaurant.
 
 

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