As the name would suggest, the hotel is set in a 16th century manor house with a quiet garden setting.  In the late 15th century, Henry Roper greatly enhanced the moated house, which he called The Place. He became an important officer in the royal household of Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII and it seems likely that both she and her husband were visitors to The Place.  A descendant of one of the owners of The Place, named Robert Wright, gave the name Brook Hall to the moated house and in 1535 named the estate the Manor of Marygreen after his new bride.  The hotel reverted back to this name in later years as it was known also as The Moat House when it became a hotel in the late 1960s.

Marygreen Manor has 44 bedrooms and is home to the Tudors restaurant that is well renowned in the area for quality food and service.  

 

As you step into reception you are greeted by typically Tudor décor, which is very pleasing to the eye and immediately transports you to the Tudor era.  

 

 

We were greeted by Geeta who was extremely welcoming and wanted to make sure that we had everything we needed.  She arranged for a porter to take our luggage to our room, which was far better than us trying to find it, which would not have been difficult. 

 

Most of the guest rooms are set around the beautiful courtyard at the rear of the hotel which makes its nicely secluded and hosts a rose arbor, an authentic thatched game larder and an ornamental pond.  This also makes for a pleasant view in the morning.

 

The deluxe room that we were in demonstrated a crossover of Tudor styling and decor with modern features and contained all of the usual things you would expect such as a kettle, TV and air conditioning.  Those who decide to upgrade to the Tudor rooms would have feature beds which are either antique carved or four poster and are located in the main house, each named after Catherines of Aragon and Howard, Jane Seymour and Anne of Cleves to give you that real sense of authenticity.  

 

For those that want an extra special touch, you can stay in the Brampton lodge which is in an annex to the hotel and suites include a jacuzzi bath, bathrobes, slippers and a separate lounge area.  

 

Corporate bookings are available at the Marygreen that would make a welcome change for anyone doing business in the area to stay somewhere a bit different.  

 

Rooms are priced between £150 - £240 per room (pricing correct as of July 2012) and represent good value for money.  The hotel also hosts murder mystery weekends and would be very interesting to come back and get involved in.

 

Our room was surprisingly large and the view to the courtyard garden was welcome, and additionally all rooms have air conditioning and the usual modern facilities that you would expect to find in a hotel including complimentary hi speed internet access.  

 

The bathroom at the back of the room was modern and featured a lovely powerful shower that was hard to leave as it was so luxurious.

 

Complimentary Bee Kind shower gel, conditioning shampoo and body lotion was available for guest use and were much nicer than the usual blandly fragranced options that other hotels can supply.  The bed was extremely comfortable and soft pillows were fine if you like them - it was lovely to nestle down and to be in a bed that makes you want to stay in it all day!  

 

The hotel is not far at all from the local town centre and a taxi would cost around £7-8 each way.  We chose to eat in the hotel restaurant and stay in for the evening, which was much to our delight and pleasure.

 

The following morning we chose to go back to Tudors to sample their breakfast menu.  We were not disappointed!  Both of us opted for a full English breakfast to order that was cooked to perfection.  Tea and coffee was plentiful as was the selection of juices, cereals, bread, cold meats, croissants and fruits that were available from a buffet.  The service was fantastic and given that the restaurant was very busy with the wedding party coming in from the night before, there was never an inkling that the waiters were stressed or busy; service was not compromised in the slightest.

 

All in all, the hotel was a delightful place to stay in - everyone was pleasant and extremely helpful, and the hotel fully deserves its four star accolade that it has earned.

 

www.marygreenmanor.co.uk/  

 

Written by Nicola Vangalis Stobbs