Travel review: Ye Olde Bell Spa, Hotel and Restaurant at Retford

Ye Olde Bell, set in rural Retford, is the ideal location. With friendly staff and delicious food, the spa and hotel is a lovely destination, ideal for couples looking to spend some quality time together.

The spa itself, which opened in June last year, boasts a range of experiences all in one space, meaning guests can relax and need not move far for the numerous facilities.

Before entering the spa, visitors are given a robe, flip-flops and a locker in which to store their personal items – complete with a small bag for jewellery. The dressing room itself also has a drying machine for swimwear, meaning you need not sit around in wet clothing all day.

Among the facilities is a vitality pool, which is both inside and out. This pool is fairly spacious and has a number of jets and seating areas; ideal for working on aching muscles and stiff joints.

My only complaint with the pool was that I found it not warm enough when swimming outside – it was, however, November when we visited so it was very cold outdoors. In the summer I’m sure it would be ideal.

There’s also a lovely relaxation area around the pool inside, which has seats and even a Hawaiian-style bed. While being sat in this area, guests can also enjoy relaxing footbaths.

This area is very attractive, but nothing when compared aesthetically to the stunning outdoor area which has heated loungers and wooden Alpine cabin-style seats, with furs and blankets and fires placed in front of each of them. This area was so lovely – especially once the sun had set – that it was a little disappointing the spa closed at 5.30pm. We could have spent hours there.

Returning inside the spa, other facilities include a walk-through snowstorm experience, which was certainly unusual, and a warming herbal laconium.

For those who like it hot, there is also a Stone Bath, which is a medium heat room (similar to a sauna) and a very hot Alpine sauna, which was great.

The steam bath, meanwhile, was one of my favourites. It is a very warm, humid room; the steam from which aids with congested sinuses and heavy chests.

For cooling down after this, there is also a shower walk with atmospheric lights and sounds. For the brave, this also ends with an optional ice bucket, which tips very cold water over guests from above with the pull of a chain.

Finally, the spa also has a salt inhalation room, which was very pretty with ice crystals all on one wall and comfy loungers spread around. We did not really feel any benefit of this room, however, and instead preferred the warmer experiences, so did not really spend a great deal of time in this area.

While relaxing in the spa, guests are also invited to purchase drinks from the bar’s extensive menu, though I thoroughly enjoyed the free herbal teas and citrus water on offer. What’s more, the lovely staff are very accommodating and happily bring these to you while you relax in or around the pool.

The spa boasts a wonderful restaurant too, at which the kitchen is visible from the dining tables – something I always find reassuring. The menu offers a range of foods too, even highlighting the healthy and more indulgent options.

Above the main spa area are a variety of treatment rooms, where my partner and I enjoyed a mini Turkish ritual massage. For an extra-special experience, couples can even share a double massage room.

Though my other half found his experience a little rough (and his masseuse sadly had a terrible cough, which was a little off-putting), mine was exquisite. I could have happily laid there for hours.

After enjoying a day at the spa, we retired to our accomodation (The Grove lodge) which was nothing short of stunning. We were lucky enough to have been allocated an incredible two-storey lodge which, admittedly, looked nothing much more than a small semi-detached house from the outside.

But inside it was absolutely beautiful – and looked like a homely hunting lodge, complete with a comfy leather sofa, a rocking chair, antlers on the wall, a huge bath and shower upstairs and a cosy king-sized bed.

There was also a small kitchen area and fridge, meaning if guests wanted to self-cater it was entirely possible.

With a door between this lodge and the one next door, it would be ideal for a family or group, with the option of privacy between the two.

On the evening, we wandered over to the on-site restaurant named Restaurant Bar 1650 for dinner. With oak panels and an art deco bar, this was a lovely area in which to share an intimate meal for two.

After taking our seats, we were treated to a small bread roll each, which unfortunately were tough and dry. The amuse bouche which followed, however, was delicious: a quail egg with ham hock and pea purée.

For starters, my other half enjoyed a very small (but exquisitely tender) slither of venison fillet, while I opted for a confit of Peking duck leg, with hoisin sauce and pickled cucumber. The duck was a little dry, but the portion was very generous and it was meaty and delicious.

For mains, I had the lamb cannon, which was cooked to perfection, and served with juicy square, fried potatoes – these were very nice, but a little plain.

My partner had corn-fed chicken which was plentiful, juicy and moreish.

Though none of the meals looked particularly generous, each of them provided the ideal amount of food and we left perfectly satisfied.

Though more than a two-hour drive from the Midlands, Ye Olde Bell is undoubtedly somewhere I would love to visit again – and certainly a destination I would recommend.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

• Cost of using the spa: morning spa priced from £65 (arrivals between 9.30am and 10.30am, with four hours spa access and two-course lunch); afternoon spa priced from £50 (spa access from 3pm to 6pm and lunch can be added on request, subject to availablity); full day spa access from £95, with two-course lunch); twilight spa priced from £55 (evening access from 5.30pm to 8.30pm on selected days, with canapes from £8 per person which must be ordered in advance).

• Spa overnight packages from £149.50 per person

• Treatments available range from 30-minute. experiences (costing £40), to 120 minutes (costing £120). Beauty treatments such as hairstyling and lash treatments also on offer.

• A variety of spa packages are also available – ranging from Ladies Who Lunch from £175 per person, to Treat for Two for £360 for pair, and Afternoon Unwind for £85 per person.

• Accommodation prices star at £135 for ‘classic single’, to £425 for the lodges.

• For more information on the spa, hotel and restaurant, visit www.yeoldebell-hotel.co.uk/spa