I can’t quite believe our last Fam to the iconic Chewton Glen was back in 2018; it feels like yesterday. Every time I make the short drive or train trip down to the gorgeous New Forest to host a group or use the property for an event, I fall a little more in love with it, and this time was no different.
For this Fam, we kept the group small and held the event over a Sunday/Monday. We find by having the trip on a Sunday, our members don’t need to take any time out of work which can be difficult and, it means we get that all-important time to enjoy the property at our leisure for a few hours on a Sunday – it’s a perfect formula and always means our group arrives and leaves the property with a pretty great insight into what’s available for their groups.
Arriving last Sunday around 11.00 am, our group of six all met in The Kitchen, Chewton Glen’s Cookery School and enjoyed bubbles on arrival whilst keeping our eagle eyes on the front door you see, James Martin and his talented Chef’s have their residence in The Kitchen (well, he is a bit handsome, isn’t he?!) and we were hoping he would “pop by”.
We spent our time in The Kitchen catching up with Katie (Director of Sales for Chewton Glen) and our all-time favorite Eventprofs Lisa (Group Sales Director – Iconic Luxury Hotels) and we chatted about the current state of our fabulous industry and everything and anything. One of my favorite things about Eventprofslive is that our members aren’t just part of a network; a lot of the group form really strong friendships, and I love seeing those friendships blossom over the years so the majority of our time when we arrived was just spent catching-up before sitting down for lunch.
After a gorgeous lunch in The Kitchen, we took the short golf cart ride down to the main house and off to one of many extraordinary meeting and event spaces for a private “bubbles and brushes” activity. Now, without champagne, painting is not one of my many talents, with, well, the results speak for themselves (see pictures), but what I will say is this is a fantastic activity option for your group and was run by the fabulous Emma and Jayne of Walder Events (FYI, Jayne is the go-to onsite team building activity facilitator across any Iconic properties). We had such a laugh, and we have some creative talents within our members, that’s for sure. The activity took just over an hour with a couple more glasses of champagne and some wonderful dessert canapes it really was fantastic.
After our team building activity, it was back to the hotel to check into our gorgeous rooms (there are 23 suites and 35 bedrooms including the amazing tree-houses), which really are stunning and, that all-important free time to explore the hotel and facilities at our leisure. Eventprofslive member Amber Crighton shares how she spent her free time below:
The group had a couple of hours of downtime before we met up for canapés and a tour of the venue, and what better way to spend it than at the spa!
When entering the spa, you are met with an idyllic 17-metre swimming pool, which has been recently updated with a calming colour palette and refreshed décor. After a few laps of the pool, some of us utilised the sauna and steam room while others relaxed with a book on one of the comfy, poolside beds. However, as beautiful as it was, we didn’t stay there long as we were all very excited to visit the award-winning hydrotherapy spa. The hydro pool has 13 jet stations to ensure you unwind while also easing any muscle aches; there’s no wonder why we spent most of our free time in there!
Just outside is the alfresco jacuzzi. There is something magical about being in an outdoor hot tub in winter. Getting out of the jacuzzi and into the cold while you make the quick dash inside is slightly less fun, but it’s worth it. While we visited early evening, the spa stays open till 9 pm/10 pm (depending on the day), so there is the option to sit out and watch the stars if you’d prefer a twilight experience.
Additionally, Chewton Glen also opens their 10-metre heated outdoor swimming pool during the summer months.
As well as visiting the spa, one of our event profs also managed to squeeze in a quick workout session. While some hotel gyms can be quite limited on equipment, that was not the case at Chewton Glen. As well as the weight machines you’d expect to see and various cardio machines which were all fitted with personal TV screens, there was also a free weights area, complemented by kettlebells, resistance bands and slam balls, as well as a TRX and kinesis wall. The fitness centre also has two purpose-built fitness studios which offer various classes, including Yoga, Box Fit and HIIT workouts. (Amber Crighton, EPL member)
The final part of our Sunday fam was a site visit of all the meeting and event spaces which you can understand more about here. Personally, I have used Chewton for a variety of events over the years, and all have been phenomenal and delivered exceptionally with the highest attention to detail across every single aspect. To me, the size of the property lends itself perfect to retreats and small conferences, and delegates love it – it really is iconic.
Dinner followed the site visit in the dining room with some perfectly paired wine by the properties sommelier, and a good night’s sleep was ensured.
The next morning we met for breakfast took a walk (some of us even used the gym) before it was time to head home.
We loved our Fam to Chewton Glen – the group left inspired, motivated and refreshed, and I can’t wait for more of our members to learn about everything the property has to offer as we share details on this blog and in our members-only Whatsapp group.
If you would like any further details on this iconic property, drop us a line.
