Matfen Hall Hotel Review: A Girly Night In Northumberland

Matfen Hall in Northumberland has been on my list of North East spa hotels to visit and review for some time, so shortly after their summer menu launched, I took my friend Shannon for a girly night at Matfen Hall Hotel for her birthday.

We enjoyed a beautiful two-course meal in the hotel restaurant, an on-the-bed picnic over Love Island (I spent years refusing to watch it and now I can’t believe what I’ve been missing), and some relaxation time in the hotel spa the next day. If you’re thinking about booking a stay at Matfen Hall, I’ve reviewed our stay here to help you make up your mind.

My Matfen Hall Hotel review

Inside Matfen Hall hotel rooms

After a pleasant welcome at reception, we made our way to our room: number 4, which was on a sort of mezzanine level with our door opening onto a corridor over the Great Hall. Matfen Hall has a slightly confusing layout (or maybe we were just useless at navigating around!) and there are newer extensions running off stately old wings.

This really lends to the hotel’s ambience, and we felt like naughty kids peeking into the Great Hall and running down the grand staircase to the spa in our bathrobes.

Our ‘Principal Room’ had tons of space, with mighty high ceilings and a large bay window looking onto the hotel’s golf course. The decor is slightly chintz, which works well with the hotel’s history. If you’re looking for sleek, modern interiors, this isn’t the hotel for you – but if you like to feel the years of stories within the walls of your accommodation, you’ll love Matfen Hall.

Our bed was huge and super comfy (we did a bounce test and boomeranged it on Instagram, obviously), and there was a large, comfy seating area, where we enjoyed some pre-dinner drinks and grazed on the fruit bowl we’d found waiting for us.

The bathroom was also huge, with his n’ hers sinks (or hers and hers, in our case), a large walk-in shower and equally large bathtub.

There were ESPA product samples, hotel slippers and other toiletries, so we didn’t want for anything.

There was a high school prom on at the hotel on the night of our stay, so we had fun peering out of the window to check out the dresses. At night, we turned the large TV screen to face the bed and fell asleep with a crime documentary still playing, sweets scattered across the bedsheets.

A review of the restaurant at Matfen Hall Hotel

There are three bars at Matfen Hall, and the Keepers Lodge is the ideal place to spend a sunny afternoon.

We had a reservation for dinner at Matfen Hall Hotel’s Library Restaurant, and began with a pre-dinner and drink and some nibbles in the adjacent bar.

The Library Bar is decorated as the name would suggest, with one wall lined with old books and windows looking onto the hotel grounds. It was very quiet in the restaurant so we did feel we had to whisper across the table, but I suppose that contributes to the library theme.

The service was very prompt at dinner and we had barely been seated before courses started arriving.

First, a complimentary appetiser from the chef: a haddock bite with diced cucumber. It was served with some delicious homemade bread: plain, olive and our mutual favourite, cheddar and chilli.

I’d been debating over a few options on the starters list but in the end we both opted for the same thing because I knew I’d get food envy if I let Shannon get it while I tried to be adventurous.

The dish in question? A twice baked cheddar cheese shuffle, which was all at once wonderfully light and filthy rich. It was served with perfectly cooked asparagus and a dreamy cheese sauce that would have made any dish a winner for us.

No sooner had our empty plates been spirited away, the mains appeared. Again, we both went for the same thing (sorry, I couldn’t order something else for the sake of the review because the red meat was calling my name!)

Our ribeye steaks were delicious and the chips just as good. The accompanying mushroom and tomato were also very high quality, and we both almost cleared our plates. It’s no wonder Matfen Hall’s Library Restaurant has 2 AA Rosettes.

I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again because it 100% applies here: one of the best feelings in life is falling into a comfortable, warm bed with a happy belly!

A Northumbrian breakfast at Matfen Hall

When we woke up the next morning, we were still pretty full from dinner the night before but I knew I’d find room for breakfast as we approached the Library Restaurant again and smelled the bacon.

There was a small continental buffet and a hot food menu, which we decided to order from. Shannon went for the Matfen Breakfast (bacon, flat mushrooms, grilled tomato, sausage, hash brown and egg) and I chose the Northumbrian Breakfast (local sausages with caramelised apple and black pudding, atop eggy bread).

Both were very satisfying but the toast we ordered was forgotten so we had to ask again towards the end of our breakfast. It was great when we got it though, and the waiting staff were otherwise lovely!

Matfen Hall’s spa

Guests can use Matfen Hall’s Aqua Vitae Spa until 4pm on the day they check out, which meant we had plenty of time to prolong the relaxation. We lolled at the poolside for a while and then I drifted off for my treatment.

My lovely spa therapist recommended I try their Elemis Resurfacing Biotec Facial, because my main skin concerns are acne scars and general greyness. She talked me through what she would do and when we started, I instantly felt my muscles relaxing.

I almost fell asleep, cocooned in towels on that table! I reluctantly went back to the relaxation room and spent the rest of the day looking in the mirror at my glowing skin, for once feeling good about going makeup-free.

No pictures of the hotel spa because there was a water aerobics class taking place and I wouldn’t invade people’s privacy, but you can check out the hotel website for an idea of how it looks.

Check room prices and availability for Matfen Hall Hotel

We thoroughly enjoyed our girly stay at Matfen Hall Hotel and would recommend it to friends or couples looking for a super chilled break in Northumberland. I’ve tried to cover as much as possible in this Matfen Hall Hotel review but please leave comments if you have any questions and I’ll try to help!

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