After a hectic few weeks with work - I say weeks, I had 2 months without a weekend off - and in a moment of madness and stress I booked Ryan and I a weekend away just to spend some proper time together without me running off to the theatre at 7pm on a Saturday night.
Although I knew we wanted to get away from the city, I also knew that neither of us had the time to actually book time off, and as sods law goes I actually had to squeeze in an industry event on the night we were meant to go, so somewhere we could drive to within 2 hours but also was a bit of a countryside escape, was important.
When I saw a deal come up for The Great House at Sonning, it looked perfect - a cosy hotel alongside a gorgeous river but also partnered with Coppa Club, so I knew it would be a bit of a treat and we could rely on them for the comforts of good cocktails and food from the reputation of the London branches. And even better, only took us 1hr 15 to drive there!
We got everything we expected and even more, starting with a very kind room upgrade when we arrived from a Cosy Room to a Deluxe Room in The Palace Yard - which was gorgeous. All the rooms have a modern countryside feel to them but luxurious at the same time, and the bathroom was probably bigger than my bedroom at home - so there's that! We had brunch at the Coppa club (which I heard is George Clooney's local - but no sightings so cannot confirm nor deny) and then headed into Windsor for the day as it was a little cloudy and I hadn't been there since I was a little girl. I also slyly wanted to pretend I was Megan Markle walking down that aisle but Ryan was too distracted by the weapons and armour so I got away with it. After wandering around the town for the afternoon, we relaxed back in the room and then headed back down to the Coppa Club for an evening of food and slightly too many of the incredible cocktails. They have a gorgeous outdoor terrace covered in fairylights which we sat underneath for a lot of the evening - very instagrammable and will be making an appearance on there in the near future.
After checking out the next morning we indulged in yet another brunch - the hollandaise sauce was the best I've had so I couldn't resist another Eggs Benedict. The sunshine had made an appearance for our last morning so we made a half hearted effort to burn the calories off by taking a stroll along the river. It was such a beautiful little walk, with all the boats rolling past and Mr Birdwatcher Ryan spotting a kingfisher, a heron and god knows what else, I swear that boy is the next Dr Dolittle. As we came back to the pub, everyone was sitting in the beach chairs in the garden while they had a BBQ getting fired up, the outdoor bar opening, boats mooring up and dogs jumping in and out of the river. It was so lovely and had to drag ourselves away to get ready for a Monday back at work! Will definitely try and come back in the summer and make the most of the pub garden and terrace in the sunshine.
Anyway, haven't written a blog post in a little while so I hope you guys enjoyed and that I have answered a few questions that some of you sent me about our stay. I will pop the hotels website down below for any of you interested - they also have way more venues than I expected so will try to visit a few more. But also worth keeping an eye on Secret Escapes, as that was where I booked ours and it was such a great deal!
Tara-Jade x
*All views are my own and this was not a gifted trip or collaboration*
