Review of Lucknam Park, by Sam Lewis

Lucknam Park is a manor house near Bath. With its sweeping drive and majestic tree-lined driveway, it claims to be both a family friendly retreat and a romantic country bolthole for couples. Preposterous? There was only one way to find out: visit during half term… without a child. After two days, with as many little horrors as you care to imagine, Lucknam still scored top marks and remained remarkably quiet and serene.

The facilities

Where do I start? The enormous equestrian centre? The outdoor floodlit tennis courts? The mini all-weather five-a-side football? The fitness centre? Quite simply with over 500 acres of grounds, a walk in the park would have sufficed, but with such a variety of activities on offer, this hotel would be hard pushed to ever feel crowded.

A short walk through the courtyard at the back of the house brings you to a multi-million pound glistening teak, glass and limestone extension. Here you'll discover a super sleek spa with some surprising contemporary trimmings. Join the yummy mummies swimming laps in the striking 20-metre pool; bob around in the indoor/outdoor hydrotherapy pool with the older madams; or recline on the body-moulded heated beds after a short spell in the heat therapy rooms.

Lucknam's accolades extend further than the spanking new spa, which incidentally houses a bustling contemporary brassiere (complete with wood-fired oven and sports screen) providing the perfect place for families to munch on pizza (don't worry girls there's an anti-cellulite treatment available on the spa menu).

Back in the main house in the Park Restaurant, head chef, Hywel Jones, brandishes the coveted Michelin star serving up elegantly presented dishes made with organic, free-range and locally sourced produce. A wonderfully animated sommelier made our evening pairing excellent wine (and topping it up on quite a few occasions).

The rooms

41 spacious bedrooms (including 13 impressive suites) provide the perfect environment in which to relax and unwind. All are individually designed with marble bathrooms and each one offers splendid views across the park or courtyard. Pillows are plump and some rooms have open fireplaces and sturdy four-poster beds (well Pavarotti used to stay in one of them after all). My advice? Splash out on one of the suites that have spacious sitting areas so that you can take tea overlooking the grounds and indulge on the chef's home-made shortbread.