Mudpie Fridays >> Hampshire >> Marwell Hotel Review – A Bespoke Hotel in Winchester

Marwell Hotel Review – A Bespoke Hotel in Winchester

Marwell Hotel Review. Over the weekend we visited Marwell Zoo which is one of our favourite zoos, we have visited many times before. Only this time we stayed at the Marwell Zoo Hotel. Although technically it is just the Marwell Hotel since it is unaffiliated with the zoo. it is part of the Bespoke Hotel chain which manages 50+ hotels across England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland. However, because of its proximity to the attraction, many people think that it has something to do with it.

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Marwell Hotel Review

Having booked online, I was surprised by how well-priced it was and that it included breakfast. Overnight on Saturday for a family room for three costs £78. This makes it a very viable accommodation solution for those who are visiting Marwell Zoological Park. And do not live near to the attraction. I was also a little bit dubious by the fact that it was quite so cheap. Being cheaper than a Premier Inn I wondered about the quality of the rooms, the food and the breakfast in the morning. This is how we got on – Marwell Hotel Review.

Where is the Marwell Hotel located?

The 3-Star Marwell Hotel is located in the beautiful Hampshire countryside. Close to Winchester’s Historic Centre and Winchester Cathedral which is around a short drive of 25 minutes. It is opposite Marwell Wildlife Park you use the same entrance to reach both the Hotel and the Zoo. An ideal location to explore the zoo which is a two-minute walk away.

This Winchester hotel is the perfect base to explore the area and is close to various other family-friendly attractions such as Peppa Pig World at Paultons Park. Which is 30 minutes’ drive away. It is also a convenient location if you are after some retail therapy with Gunwharf Quays under an hour’s drive one way. And in the other direction, you can enjoy Southampton’s shops and everything the city has to offer in around half an hour.

You can use the address Thompson’s Lane, Colden Common, Winchester, SO21 1JY.

How to reach the Marwell Zoo Hotel

Marwell Hotel is accessible by public transport, although the journey may involve a combination of services depending on your starting location

By Train: The nearest train stations to Marwell Hotel are Eastleigh and Winchester. Both stations are within a 10-mile radius and on mainline routes with good connections from London Waterloo, Southampton, Bournemouth, Weymouth, and Portsmouth.
By Bus From Eastleigh & Winchester: You can catch the bus service that connects Eastleigh station to Marwell Zoo. The M1 bus service operated by Stagecoach provides a direct link from Eastleigh station to Marwell Zoo on weekends and school holidays. There is also a shuttlebus run by BlueStar. More information can also be found on the Marwell Zoo website.
By Coach: National coach services may take you to Winchester or Southampton, from where you can transfer to local buses or taxis to reach the zoo.

Our arrival at the Marwell Hotel – Review

Coming from Sussex we drove to the hotel. If you follow the signs for the zoo at the entrance you will see a small roundabout with the zoo carpark straight ahead. Instead, you can turn to the left and you’ll see a smaller car park which is intended for hotel guests. There is free parking available and you park here and enjoy the zoo before checking in. When we visited check-in was at 3 pm

We checked in just after this since the zoo itself shut at 4 pm due to it being Winter season. It was very straightforward. You can opt for a pre-paid room which reduces the price slightly. At check-in, we were given some information about the leisure facilities, indoor pool and breakfast timings. Along with an old-fashioned key which the kids loved.

It is a colonial-style hotel and reminded me very much of being on a plantation. It was built in 1989 and intended to remind people of being on safari. With different wooden buildings on stilts amongst the trees and woodland area. Each wooden building is joined together with a glass-covered walkway.

Each wooden hut has several rooms. We stayed in 109 which was in the furthest wooden hut from the reception area and it was a ground-floor room. There are also second-floor rooms in each of the wooden houses. These are reached by internal stairs, I did not see a lift. The area between the stairs was used as a storage place with several travel cots and seating left there for the duration of our stay. It was really quirky, having not stayed anywhere like that before I really liked how unusual it was.

Our Family Room

There are several different types of rooms available. We opted for a family room, although I have my suspicions that the rooms are a very similar size and all that varies is the furniture in them. Although our room looked like it had a new carpet.

Our family room included a private bathroom, that came bath and shower combined. As well as a large double bed and bunk beds for the kids. There were also free tea and coffee facilities and plenty of storage. Including a wardrobe with ironing board, bedside tables and a desk at the front with more draw space. In one corner of the room on the wall, there was a flatscreen TV on a bracket. There were various satellite channels and if you were lucky children’s movies. Although being children of the 90s we ended up watching Gladiators.

There was no fridge or safe, which was a little disappointing. Because we’ve been staying longer than a night the fridge would’ve been handy. We could not see the flat-screen TV since the bunk bed cut off one side of the screen. If we had been in a double room without the bunkbeds it would have been fine. But it was a clean room, with plenty of towels and a comfortable bed. There was also free wi-fi. All were non-smoking rooms.

Other things to think about

Visiting January, it was very cold outside and you could feel this in other areas at the hotel, especially when walking along the glass passageways. However, our room was extremely warm, even though it had full-length windows at one end. This had a patio door onto a metal walkway that doubled as a fire escape. I would imagine that the second-floor rooms had a nice view of Marwell Hall. Because it is made of wood we did hear the people above us. So for this reason, if we were to stay again I would request a second-floor room within the same block. Since it is the furthest away from the function rooms and any potential wedding celebrations.

Marwell Zoo Hotel Facilities

In the main part of the hotel, there are a couple of public areas. There is a relaxed bar opposite reception is a bar with a lounge area downstairs and then a spiral staircase to a little bit more seating upstairs. It’s not a big bar although it had a good range of drinks, yet I could imagine if the hotel was full you may struggle to get a seat.

Since we visited in January, it was relatively empty and we had no problems sitting in the bar, playing cards and having a drink. It is set up to be a wedding hotel so there could be a chance that there is a wedding when you visit. There was not one during our visit, but it looks as though the function room does lead directly onto the bar. Something to consider, as all the buildings are made of wood and built on stilts, which does have an impact on the soundproofing.

As a guest of the hotel, you get free use of the leisure centre, which includes an indoor heated swimming pool with a sauna and steam room. Access is via a keypad. You can pick the number up from reception where you can also get towels to use. The pool itself is a good size. Housed in a wooden building on stilts is not particularly deep. Being 1.5 m in the deeper areas and 1.3 m in the shallow areas. Perfect for the kids with some seating around the outside. It was very pleasant sitting there with the sun coming through the floor-length windows, the trees outside blowing in the wind, and watching the kids play in the water.

Dinner at the Hotel

There are two areas to eat, you can eat in the formal on-site restaurant or in the bar area. At the Marwell zoo hotel. There are two different menus, a bar menu and a restaurant menu. When we asked it was possible to combine the menus and eat at either the bar or the restaurant. Although if it was busy I am not sure if this would have been possible.

I had booked a table in the dining room restaurant in advance. However, we decided to eat in the bar since it was warmer and they had a big flatscreen TV. This was showing the new season of gladiators which Harry was particularly interested in.

The Menu

The dinner menu is quite limited with only a few courses and a few options under each course. They did have vegetarian and vegan options available and have a focus on British cuisine made with seasonal produce. My husband opted for the pork terrain which is off of the main menu and then the gammon and chips which was off the bar menu. While I had beetroot and goat’s cheese salad followed by gnocchi with mushrooms, squash and cheese.

The food is not cheap. It’s obviously where they make their money a meal for three costs the same as the night in the hotel which was £78. However, what I would say was that the adult food is very good quality. And some of the best I’ve had in what I would call a standard hotel. The children’s menus are also quite limited and again is on the expensive side. £3.95 for garlic bread is more than I would like to pay. Harry just opted for plain pasta for a main which they were happy to do. Evidence that the food is made from scratch.

All the waiting staff were extremely helpful and polite. Nothing was too much trouble. We had a really good experience and I wouldn’t hesitate to eat in the restaurant again.

Breakfast

We booked so that breakfast is included in the price of the room and the room cost £78 for one night, but the three of us I wasn’t expecting an awful lot. It is possible to book without breakfast. I was surprised to find an à la carte menu where you could opt for poached eggs, eggs benedict and eggs royale among other things. There was also the option for a full English breakfast and a vegetarian option. All of these were included in the price with no extra charge.

As well as the a la Carte there was a selection of hot items in one corner, and a small selection of cereals, bread, and pastries. Along with a small selection of fruit and yoghurt. Again, the waiting staff were very polite and helpful with fresh pots of tea and coffee being offered. Breakfast is held in the restaurant area which looks like it has recently undergone refurbishment.

Final thoughts on our Marwell Hotel review

I would imagine that in the warmer months you can really enjoy the setting of the Marwell Hotel. With woodlands views and seating set up underneath the trees. Although it was not open during our stay. It is a great location to escape for a one night stay or for short breaks. The only thing to be mindful of is that I can imagine that it would be quite noisy with a wedding going on. For £78 for the night, I really could not fault it. After a great day in the wildlife park, it extended our stay. If you are looking to book the Bespoke Winchester hotel then we found the best rate to be on booking.com*

Have you visited the Marwell hotel or the Marwell Zoo hotel as it is sometimes referred as? I would love to hear about your experience in the comments below.