It had been a truly long drawn out week, the sun had been shining and I had been stuck behind a work desk. I was very ready for the bank holiday weekend to get here.
It finally got to 5pm on Friday and I was straight out the door. I was going to be staying at the Hilton at St George's Park in Burton on Trent with fellow blogger Gingey Bites. I had been invited to there to take part in their latest Rediscover Hilton campaign and review our stay. I never get a chance to get away so I was really excited about going away just for the hell of it. Often I find I stay away from home in hotels for work purposes so never really have the time to relax. 
Into the Sat Nav the postcode and off we went. I'd got my Nica weekend bag packed, my cute new Primark dress and was ready for the adventure. I live quite close but I'd never actually been to Burton on Trent and neither had Gingey. Firstly we got really lost! The sat nav had us down a random country road, after a while of searching we pulled over to check the directions. Whilst stationary we both admired how blissful the area was with the sun shining, green fields and birds tweeting. As we took this all in a little pheasant was plodding across the road... happily minding its own business when this huge 4x4 came zooming past and no joke the bird was in two pieces. Feathers went everywhere. Both myself and Alex squeaked with horror, we'd never seen anything like it!
Luckily after our traumatic ordeal with the pheasant we finally found our way the St George's Park grounds. This plays host to the National Football training center for the 24 England teams and also to the Hilton hotel & a Hampton by Hilton hotel. As we took along the winding road leading up to the hotel it was clear this was going to be a a gorgeous venue. There were of course football training pitches but if you looked further than that, all you could see was hills and trees. It was stunning and more tranquil than I first thought. We parked up behind the huge building, trotted into the hotel and were greeted by a friendly member of staff behind the counter.
We were treated like royalty and immediately told where our room was, what the facilities were, when dinner was and that we only had 30 minutes left in the executive lounge before it closed. Now as you know I spend a lot of time working away and stay in numerous hotels, if you go to a Hilton when you hear the words exec lounge - you jump at the chance! Delicious canapes, drinks and in a relaxed setting?! Oh yes please!
Myself and Alex quickly scampered to our room, dropped our bags off and hurried back to the exec lounge. Our room was spacious, modern and equipt with very comfy beds. I had a a lovely little welcome note, along with some wine and cheeky Green & Black's chocolate.Venturing back along the card only executive suites corridor, we sat down in the exec lounge and instantly went for the wine. We both do love a glass and this wine was simply fantastic, very easy on the taste buds and just what we needed after our pheasant incident!
As we continued to relax into the wonderfully grand surroundings, we decided it was time to head for dinner. We had a table booked and were placed so we could overlook the grounds. The ceilings were high with very modern but warming interiors with windows looking into the kitchen. I always love to see the hard work behind the scenes, it makes you feel like the chefs are involved and have a connection with the restaurant rather than just being tucked away. 
We both ordered our food and even though the menu wasn't vast the selection was quite diverse. As for the taste? I couldn't fault anything, it was spot on. 
I ordered mushroom and onion pate, halloumi and
sweet potato salad followed by thee most amazing banoffe pie. Gingey had some amazing
items too. 
The Banoffee pie was the best thing I have ever tasted... I may have to try and create on myself soon!
After thoroughly devouring our meals we decided to head into the bar area next door. There was a wedding going on in one of their conference rooms, so the bar was quite full but not noisy it just felt warm and relaxing. We had our decaf tea and coffee, then as rock n' roll as we are we decided to head to bed. I knew we were both going to sleep well! We pampered our feet and faces before hitting the hay. 
After both having a wonderful nights sleep we decided before breakfast we'd head to use the gym and spa facilities. We headed down in our gym gear and were welcomed by the team. Into the gym we went and firstly I was surprised how modern it was the equipment was quite vast and very spacious, unlike many you see in hotels with only 1 treadmill... this one had plenty. We worked out then took a nosy at the pool, which even though we didn't have time to go in it was extremely inviting!
After a quick show it was off to breakfast and back into the restaurant. The room was so light with it's huge windows which overlooked the masses of green countryside, a perfect setting for my yummy breakfast of poached eggs! There was so much more to chose from you could honestly have got carried away there was that much selection!
When we came to leave I suddenly realised for once I hadn't rushed, I hadn't been frantic, I hadn't even thought about anything or anyone... I'd simply relaxed.
Personally I wouldn't of thought to chose such a location normally I'd head for a city based venue, however I was quite surprised how much I loved the calm environment I was in.
It was such a wonderful stay and considering I'd of never thought to go there - it was a real treat.
xoxo
