Press Visit
When I was invited along to visit Forest Park Hotel in the New Forest, I instantly knew I wanted to share this with my nan, who has had a tough eighteen months, the majority of which she spent on her own due to lockdowns and shielding guidelines. I wanted to take her out and have a good catch up over some good food and drink, and Forest Park Hotel were more than up for the task. The journey from Bournemouth to Brockenhurst, in the New Forest, took around 40 minutes, and was quite nice as we drove through the forest and country lanes. Although it had been raining and overcast that morning, by the time we arrived at the hotel, the sky had begun to clear, and the sun came out.
The staff were so attentive, which is always lovely when you are eating out or celebrating a special occasion. We were given drinks and food menus, and told what the specials were that day, before being given a chance to decide what we would have to drink. My nan suggested champagne, and I was more than happy to oblige. We had a glass of the Veuve Clicquot each, which was lovely, and available to order by the glass.
For our starters, I had the soup of the day, which was vegetable, and served with lovely fresh crusty bread and salted butter – it was gorgeous. My nan had the smoked salmon and prawns, which she really enjoyed too. Something I will say is the portion sizes are more than generous, and my nan, who is in her eighties and not a big eater, did struggle. She went for the pie for her mains and it was the size of her head! I had the burger, and opted to add cheese and bacon. It was really good, but again, on the large side, so I didn’t quite finish it all as I wanted to leave room for dessert!
To finish, my nan had the Pavlova, which looked incredible, and I had the strawberries and clotted cream, which came in the shape of a rose – little touches like this make a meal more memorable. Again, the portion sizes were very generous. There were so many tempting puddings on offer, I think I need to go back just to try more of them.
After we had finished eating, we decided to have tea in the garden, as the sun was now shining and it looked lovely outside with the rose bushes. There is an outdoor bar, which has not been open recently due to covid restrictions, which should be open again soon, and it looked lovely. The venue hire out the hotel for exclusive use weddings, which would be incredible – the grounds are really beautiful and it is such a picturesque location as well.
I couldn’t fault our visit to Forest Park Hotel, the management and staff were all so welcoming, the food was delicious, and the hotel and gardens are picture perfect. As my nan said, it was “a meal to remember’, and I would definitely recommend a visit for an indulgent treat, or to celebrate a special occasion such as a milestone birthday or wedding anniversary. Forest Park Hotel will really take care of you and work to make sure your visit is special.
I was invited along to Forest Park Hotel by Route PR, for the purpose of this review, however all words and images are my own.
