As part of our Stay, Play and Explore Break in Leicestershire we stayed at the Hinckley Island Hotel. It is a great value break which includes bed and breakfast and also tickets to three popular local attractions. Prices start from £129 per night. The attractions included in the deal are: Conkers, Twycross Zoo, National Space Centre, Twinlakes Theme Park and Stonehurst Family Farm.
On arrival, the four star hotel was pretty impressive and full of smartly dressed people as a wedding was taking place. We did feel a little embarrassed coming in muddy (we changed our shoes in the car!) and smelling of fire smoke after a day at Conkers. Luckily, the hotel manages to mix formal with relaxed and we were immediately put at ease in this friendly venue.
We had been warned that there would be a bit of a squeeze in our room with the extra beds. This room has two double beds and is meant for a family of four, but we, a family of six, were really pleased with the size of the room even with all the beds.
One of the checks that the kids always do when staying in a “nice” hotel is check for hot chocolate. As expected, this hotel did have hot chocolate sachets (yay!) but unfortunately only one and there were only two cups anyway. I’m sure if we’d have asked at reception we could have had more though. There were enough biscuits for us all to share however (double yay!).
The kids were delighted with some child friendly Jungle Kids Hair and Body Wash- this was a nice touch!
We all had very quick showers and put on our bathers so we could have a quick dip in the pool before supper.
The pool is absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately I couldn’t take any photos but have a look at the website to see it for yourself. We hadn’t packed Izzy’s swim jacket as we knew we were only going swimming once and myself or Dave could hold her hands. The pool was very deep. At it’s most shallow only Dave, Danny and I could stand. Luckily, there are inflatables and woggles around the outside for younger kids anyway. I got to swim a lap around the pool on my own while Dave watched all the kids, so that was a nice treat. There were also lots of sunloungers around the pool and a fitness suite if you get a chance to use it.
There are male and female changing rooms (not a family room) and lockers which take £1.
After the pool, we rushed to our room to change for supper. We hadn’t had time to check out the different dining options in the hotel but had glanced quickly at the menu we saw in our room and liked what we saw. We started off in The Triumph Bar, so named as it features a full sized Triumph Motorcycle on display behind the bar.
We had some drinks and then looked at the menu. It was very different to what we had seen earlier and Dave didn’t fancy it as much. I asked the waitress where we could access the other menu and she patiently explained that we would be better off in The Brasserie. She was so helpful and transferred our tab over to this eatery and we moved across (I know, you can’t take us anywhere!).
I had the Falafel and Spinach Burger (I know it looks a bit like meat- the waiter thought it was steak when he bought it out, but thankfully it was the right vegetarian one!). This was £10.95. Dave’s Thai Chicken Curry came to £13.95.
Dave, Danny and the girls were all happy with their food too and they had huge portions, as you can see. The kids meals were £4.99. A bottle of wine started at £19.50 (for the adults, not to go with the kids meal…).
After a long day at Conkers, swimming and dining we were all tired and ready for bed.
I did some work while enjoying a glass (tumbler!) of wine, Dave watched TV and three of the kids slept. We were offered a wine glass at the bar but Dave knows I’ll drink wine out of anything most things.
Rebecca stayed up a bit longer writing about her day (I wonder who she follows?).
Danny ended up having the double bed to himself while two of the girls shared the single bed- lucky boy!
Then we were all up for breakfast. It was self service with both hot and continental selection. The food was delicious. I had hash browns, mushrooms, tomatoes, scrambed egg and a fried egg. I also had a croissant and fresh fruit (it’s all gotta be done at a hotel breakfast!).
Danny loved his traditional cooked breakfast including sausage and bacon. The girls enjoyed pan au chocolat and fruit. Dave ran around making sure everyone had drinks, food, cutlery etc as he always does- sorry/thanks Dave! He did eventually get to sit down and eat too, I promise, but self serve food is never easy once you have four or more kids (and a hungry woman who usually keeps taking photos!).
I actually forgot to take photos of breakfast on this occasion so had to quickly snap Caitlyn with her cup of tea and second pan au chocolat (shh!).
We were sad to leave our hotel and room. It really was lovely. We would have loved time for another swim but had to travel on to our next destination.
At breakfast time, we were treated to the banging of Indian wedding drums and the bright colours of sarees as another celebration was held at the hotel.
For more about the rooms, please watch our video (sorry it’s a bit short ranged- I only packed my prime lens!).
We will definitely stay at Hinckley Island Hotel again and can’t wait for the new Marco Pierre White restaurant to open!
***PLEASE NOTE – HINCKLEY ISLAND ARE CURRENTLY UNDERGOING AN EXCITING MULTI-MILLION POUND REFURBISHMENT INCLUDING THEIR RESTAURANT (ALTERNATIVE DINING AREAS ARE IN USE) & PUBLIC AREAS. THEIR LEISURE CLUB WILL BE CLOSED FOR REFURBISHMENT FROM EARLY AUGUST UNTIL LATE SEPTEMBER 2015 THEREFORE THERE WILL BE NO LEISURE FACILITIES AVAILABLE DURING THIS PERIOD***
We were given a complimentary stay at Hinckley Island Review in exchange for an honest review of our Stay, Play Explore Break.
It looks so spacious, I love staying in hotels. That pizza looks amazing too! x
Yeah, there was plenty of room for us all x
Such a lovely touch to have the children's toiletries, I've never seen that anywhere before! Love a good hotel breakfast too (especially hash browns!) x
This place looks great and perfect for kids and with so many lovely outdoor attractions nearby. Sounds like you all had an amazing timeLaura x
Yes, lots to do in that area, will definitely go again x
Looks good. Breakfast is one of my fave parts about staying in a hotel.
Oh yes, I love a good breakfast in a hotel too. x
This place looks really good, great that you all got biscuits hehe x
Haha! Yes, we were happy with that! lol x