Golf/spa weekend

[Fish]

hellidon lakes offers all your asking for along with a ten pin bowling alley, part of the Q-Hotel chain nestled in the northants countryside,

played there today and the course was in good condition

IMO Hellidon Lakes is awful, I wouldn't pay any amount to play there again.

 

[Deleted member 18588]

hellidon lakes offers all your asking for along with a ten pin bowling alley, part of the Q-Hotel chain nestled in the northants countryside,

played there today and the course was in good condition

Sorry but if it was the last course (and hotel) on earth I would still give it a miss.

 

[Hacker Khan]

No spa for the wives. There are massive plans for a spa and its about 18 months away and it will be very good.

What, it's in the name!! I may look at doing them under the trades description act then. What's next, Burton on Trent isn't on the Trent and Leeds Castle isn't in Leeds??

 

[Lord Tyrion]

The Hunting course at Slaley is very good indeed. High quality. It can be slow, lots of society days and corporate stuff, but on a nice day it is lovely. The Priestman is definitely second best but still decent. In my view the Hunting is streets ahead of anything Forest Pines can offer but I appreciate that is subjective. If you want to be clever you could play one round on the Hunting and a second at Close House just down the road. Great set up there.

Prices in the bar at Slaley are high but then so are most Hotel / Spa set ups.

Ramside Hall is getting some renovation at the moment. Avoid The Cathedral Course, play the Prince Bishops, but due to the work on the Hotel you may get a good deal at the moment. Key thing however is to make sure all of the spa options are open. I do not know if the building work is affecting them so you don't want to have your break ruined for the sake of a few quid.

Another one to look at is Linden Hall, north of Morpeth. Course is in great nick, it is a lovely place to play and it has a spa as well. I can't comment on the spa but the course is worth it.

 

[Astraeus]

The Hunting course at Slaley is very good indeed. High quality. It can be slow, lots of society days and corporate stuff, but on a nice day it is lovely. The Priestman is definitely second best but still decent. In my view the Hunting is streets ahead of anything Forest Pines can offer but I appreciate that is subjective. If you want to be clever you could play one round on the Hunting and a second at Close House just down the road. Great set up there.

Prices in the bar at Slaley are high but then so are most Hotel / Spa set ups.

Ramside Hall is getting some renovation at the moment. Avoid The Cathedral Course, play the Prince Bishops, but due to the work on the Hotel you may get a good deal at the moment. Key thing however is to make sure all of the spa options are open. I do not know if the building work is affecting them so you don't want to have your break ruined for the sake of a few quid.

Another one to look at is Linden Hall, north of Morpeth. Course is in great nick, it is a lovely place to play and it has a spa as well. I can't comment on the spa but the course is worth it.

Thanks. I had looked into Linden Hall but the spa reviews weren't great and there were many comments about the "tired" look of the hotel. I'll check out the others also.

I contacted a number of the hotels mentioned here and had some very competitive offers come back. In terms of value-for-money I think it is now a shootout between Slaley Hall and St Mellion. I think the golf may be better at St Mellion but the spa treatments slightly better at Slaley Hall. St Mellion's location does, surely, suggest nicer weather at the end of August?! The Mere offered a very competitive package and, surprisingly, only one hotel dismissed talk of a 'package' by stating "we are a 5* hotel and our prices reflect that".

 

[Smiffy]

In terms of value-for-money I think it is now a shootout between Slaley Hall and St Mellion. I think the golf may be better at St Mellion but the spa treatments slightly better at Slaley Hall. St Mellion's location does, surely, suggest nicer weather at the end of August?!

I have never played at Slayley but have played St Mellion loads of times. The Nicklaus course is still one of the only courses I have played that makes me think "Wow!". It is the sheer size of the thing. It's very difficult to explain, but I have played other great courses and you get a sense of occasion, but walking down some of the fairways on the Nicklaus course, with it's tall pine trees and bunkering make you feel very tiny in comparison. It's a really weird feeling, and maybe it's only me that feels like this???
Sadly, the weather cannot be guaranteed down there. I hate it when people come back from holidaying in Cornwall with tans that make them look like they have been to Barbados and tell me what wonderful weather they have had. Whenever I go down there it is normally blowing a gale and peeing down with rain! But you stand a better chance in August maybe than later in the year, and the course should be in exceptional condition.
The other course there (The Kernow?) has some reasonable holes on it, but is not a patch on the Nicklaus course.
I don't know what handicap you play off. But be warned....the course is a brute. Possibly one of the toughest courses I have ever played. But I'd go down there for a game in a heartbeat if it were a bit closer!

 

[Smiffy]

hellidon lakes offers all your asking for along with a ten pin bowling alley, part of the Q-Hotel chain nestled in the northants countryside,

played there today and the course was in good condition

I played in a large society day there about 4 or 5 years ago.
A total and utter dump of a golf course.
"Possibly" one of the worst golf courses I have ever played.

 

[Fish]

I have never played at Slayley but hiave played St Mellion loads of times. The Nicklaus course is still one of the only courses I have played that makes me think "Wow!". It is the sheer size of the thing. It's very difficult to explain, but I have played other great courses and you get a sense of occasion, but walking down some of the fairways on the Nicklaus course, with it's tall pine trees and bunkering make you feel very tiny in comparison. It's a really weird feeling, and maybe it's only me that feels like this???
Sadly, the weather cannot be guaranteed down there. I hate it when people come back from holidaying in Cornwall with tans that make them look like they have been to Barbados and tell me what wonderful weather they have had. Whenever I go down there it is normally blowing a gale and peeing down with rain! But you stand a better chance in August maybe than later in the year, and the course should be in exceptional condition.
The other course there (The Kernow?) has some reasonable holes on it, but is not a patch on the Nicklaus course.
I don't know what handicap you play off. But be warned....the course is a brute. Possibly one of the toughest courses I have ever played. But I'd go down there for a game in a heartbeat if it were a bit closer!

The weather can't be guaranteed anywhere, the wind & rain down in Camber this morning is of biblical proportions

 

[Smiffy]

The weather can't be guaranteed anywhere, the wind & rain down in Camber this morning is of biblical proportions

It's no better 15 miles up the coast!!
Flaming June they call it

 

[mashleyR7]

Look on golf breaks.com for good deals. They'll also book you your other halves spa treatments in with the hole package.