OK so Shirell Heath is not even in Surrey let alone Surrey Heath but it’s not far away and the Deach family had such a great weekend I had to blog about it.

Claire (my long suffering wife) signed up for special offers through Devere Hotels and a couple of months ago we had a one night stay at De Vere Venues New Place in Shirell Heath, Hampshire. Very close too Portsmouth.

So impressed with the short stay, we booked again this time for two nights.

Interestingly the first time we booked, we almost did not show up for our reservation because Claire had read a bad review on Trip Advisor about this Hotel. That review is a terrible injustice to New Place which I hope this blog will counter because it could not be further from the truth and proves the point that there is just no pleasing some people.

The hotel is in the middle of the countryside but close to the beautiful village of Wickham. Southampton, Portsmouth, Southsea and of course the retail Mecca’s that are West Quay and Gunwharf Quays are only a few miles away.

The facilities that the Hotel offers are second to non and if you are into activities, then New Place has a wealth of them on offer.

Rooms are modern and well equipped. I was particularly impressed that the reception area has free refreshments on offer such as tea and fresh coffee as well as two Apple Mac Computers for the use of guests. Free WiFi is available all over the hotel for those (like me) who can’t bare to be disconnected to the world wide web.

The buffet breakfast included in the deal is incredible. So much on offer. Healthy options of fruit and cereal as well as pastries. Also as much fresh coffee, tea and fruit juices as you like. But if it is a full English your after then that’s provided too and as much as you want. The breakfast chef (one of the most cheerful chaps I have ever met) will make your eggs exactly how you like them including poached. After such a hearty breakfast you don’t need lunch.

If you want to burn off your colourific breakfast there is an indoor heated pool and gym as well as more relaxing facilities such as a jacuzzi and a sauna.

The service at New Place is superb too. The remote control for the flat screen tv in our room did not work. I called reception and the duty manager was in our room five minutes later changing the batteries.

Incredibly our weekend break cost £49 per night which included breakfast. By the way that price is not per person, it covered our family of three.

We ventured into the nearby village of Wickham and had a superb evening meal at the Kings Head Pub. Our five year old daughter was very welcome and had a lovely time.

New Place has something for everyone. It worked really well for our young family as it is so ideally located. Our daughter loved going to the Seaside at Southsea to collect shells. An activity that costs nothing other than parking and was the highlight of the weekend for her.

I think I may have shot myself in the foot by writing this blog, because now the secret’s out, we might find that there will be no rooms at the Inn for us as it will now be fully booked with Surrey Heath residents.

Check out my photo blog from some of the places we visited last weekend, including this superb hotel.

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