Hotel Review: Treehouse Suites, Chewton Glen

I’m really excited today to have a friend of mine, travel writer Helen Ochyra, reviewing the brand new treehouse suites at the fabulous Chewton Glen in Hampshire. If you’re looking for a honeymoon getaway with a difference, not too far from London but in the middle of the countryside, which combines unique accommodation with mod-cons and luxury, then you really couldn’t do much better than this. A treehouse probably doesn’t sound like the ideal place to spend your honeymoon. But how about a five-star treehouse in the grounds of one of England’s leading country house hotels? One with so many facilities we’re finding it difficult to list them all? King-sized bed, check. Standalone bath with own TV, check. Wifi, wood burner, coffeemaker….

Chewton Glen, located on the borders of the New Forest national park, unveiled twelve brand new treehouse suites this summer. Decorated in muted, natural tones and with plenty of floor-to-ceiling glass, these luxury treetop rooms let the scenery do the talking. It whispers to you as you make a coffee in your snack-stocked kitchenette, it gestures from outside with a wave of its branches as you soak in the bath, and it practically yells at you from the verandah – where you are sure to spend most of your time.

That’s not just because it has panoramic views of the forest and oceans of private space to relax – it’s mostly because it has a hot tub. Which is yours and yours alone.

On our visit I – naturally – spent most of my time in said hot tub. My husband, meanwhile, seemed to be trying to watch three flatscreen TVs simultaneously, as well as ordering us a luxury hamper using the provided Samsung Galaxy tablet. The treehouse hampers, whether for breakfast, dinner or just a midnight snack, are delivered through the secret hatch, directly into a cupboard accessed from your kitchenette. As a result, you needn’t see another human being as long as you’re here – leaving you plenty of quality time alone together. Perhaps in that hot tub. But if all that alone time gets a little too much, there’s also a whole country house hotel just a complimentary buggy ride away. And boy, is it packed with activity. We played croquet on the lawn, swam in the pool and relaxed in the hotel’s award-winning hydrotherapy spa, before my husband finally managed to convince me to swing a few clubs on the hotel’s par-3 golf course. He beat me, of course, but I got my first ever par.
Back at the treehouse, we celebrated in relaxed style with chamomile tea made from actual chamomile flowers, drunk in front of a real fire with Original Beans chocolate – a nice touch, since for each bar purchased Original Beans plant one tree. Afterwards we slept like logs, waking to find the forest almost literally at the foot of the bed, practically begging us to get outside for a romantic stroll.
We ignored it of course, taking a seat on the verandah instead, to devour the breakfast hamper of pastries, cereals and charcuterie, washed down with coffees we only just about managed to extract from the extremely professional coffeemaker.

Sadly checkout loomed, but thanks to a 12-noon deadline there was a little time to spare. Just enough to sit back and enjoy those views – and perhaps for one more hot tub.

In a nutshell:
We loved: The views; the spacious bathroom with his and hers sinks; the free snacks; the private hot tub; having access to a golf course and hydrotherapy spa.
We weren’t so keen on: Having to share a treehouse with another couple (there are two suites per treehouse); book a whole one to yourselves if you want true privacy.
Ideal if you want: An ultra-relaxing honeymoon with the best of both worlds – total privacy, and the facilities of a five-star hotel.

Need to know:
Chewton Glen, Hampshire, UK
Rates: From £600 a night for a studio suite, including breakfast hamper and access to all the hotel’s facilities.
Nearest airport: London Heathrow

Photographs © Chewton Glen